Kingston uv500 review in Spanish (full analysis)

Kingston UV500 is the 2.5 inch format storage unit that we will discuss now. Available in various capacities from 120GB to 1920GB, it is a 256 bit AES full encryption disk. It has a Marvell 88SS1074 controller and NAND 3D Flash memory to offer speeds of up to 520 MB / s under the SATA 6 Gbps interface.

Before we begin, we must thank Kingston for trusting us in giving us this SSD for analysis.

Kingston UV500 technical features

Unboxing and design

Kingston has chosen the most concise presentation for this Kingston UV500 unit. It certainly coincides with other products, being an encapsulation with a cardboard plate next to a plastic mold that seals the product inside. In short, the image speaks for itself, and it is not bad at all, on the contrary, we will prevent it from coming out of a box and we will also have the product perfectly in sight.

After removing the transparent plastic from the front, we can remove the unit, which in this case comes completely alone without an instruction manual or anything like that. We all should have a SATA III cable in the bundle of our motherboard or PC to be able to install this unit.

At first glance, it is clear that Kingston UV500 is a unit in a 2.5-inch format under a SATA III 6 Gbps interface, that is, 600 MB / s theoretical, because those 750 MB / s will never be reached if we did the conversion. The unit is presented in a glossy gray painted aluminum package with the logo and branding on the upper face. This package can certainly be opened, but we do not recommend it because we will surely damage it and it may be unusable.

The back area is going to be of special relevance, since we can find quite important information in it. What we are talking about is the PSID (Physical Secure ID) code, it consists of a string of 23 characters and cores that acts as an unlock key for the SSD.

Well, we know that Kingston has implemented full 256-bit AES encryption on hardware in this unit, if in any case it is blocked due to the operating system, or because we have forgotten the file encryption key, through this code we can unlock the unit without having to lose all the data inside. Also, this key is only available on this label, and uniquely and differently for each unit sold, so don't lose it.

The total measurements of this Kingston UV500 are 100 mm long, 69.8 wide and 7 mm thick, standard measurements in this type of 2.5-inch units. But, in addition, Kingston has presented this UV500 series with up to three types of variants, under mSATA, M.2 and SATA interfaces, the one that we have. In fact, each of them offers quite a few storage capacities:

SATA 2.5 ": 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, 960GB, 1920GB 2 2280: 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, 960GB mSATA: 120GB, 240GB, 480GB

Without a doubt we have a lot to choose from, and they really are units with very low prices and good performance, at least the one at hand. As for the mSATA interface, it is certainly surprising that the manufacturer has chosen to make drives of this type, at least users who cannot use M.2 will be able to opt for them, although it is obviously not the best.

We will learn in more detail what are the technical characteristics of Kingston UV500 will offer us. Both this unit and the rest of the UV500 series have been mounted with NAND 3D TLC memory together with a Marvell 88SS1074 controller to combine the great capacity of life together with the speed they offer. In fact, Kingston offers the user a series of measurements obtained by the ATTO benchmark program, which we will then contrast on our test bench.

So we are talking about a sequential read speed of 520 MB / s and sequential write speed of 500 MB / s. It is not bad when we consider that we are very close to the real maximum of the interface. Since other manufacturers usually always give the theoretical readings instead of the real ones. And as for the number of operations per second (IOPS) in random read and write for 4K blocks we have, 79K and 35K respectively.

The encryption system is using 256-bit AES hardware and is compatible with TCG Opal 2.0. As for the rest of the benefits of interest, the manufacturer specifies a power consumption in reading of 1.17W and in writing of 2.32W. As well as life an approximate of 200 TB of writing or 1 million hours of MTBF. All this will be ensured with a 5-year guarantee and free technical assistance.

Test and Performance Team (Benchmark)

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i9-9900k
Base plate:	Asus Maximus Z390 Formula
Memory:	16 GB DDR4
Heatsink	Corsair H100i V2
HDD	Kingston UV500
Graphic card	Nvidia RTX 2060
Power supply	Corsair RM1000X

To get the most out of this Kingston UV500, we don't need a large team behind it, so with the Z390's native chipset controller it will be more than enough. We have used the following benchmark programs for maximum performance:

Crystal Disk MarkAS SSD BenchmarkATTO Disk BenchmarkAnvil´s Storage

All of them in their latest versions.

The results are quite similar in all programs, and we see that this unit is close to what it promises, with a maximum of 542 MB / s in sequential reading in Crystal Disk Mark, although somewhat less write performance than promised, with a maximum of 503 MB / s also in the same software. The rest of them present somewhat lower measurements, although relatively close.

Management software

Here we have to give Kingston an ear flip. The software for your SSD seems to be from 2010… an interface that is not very well-kept, a typeface from many years ago and that overlays with the same letters.

Leaving that aside, it allows us to update the firmware, check the health of the SSD, we also have a security section and a small LOG. Not bad, but all of Kingston's work is "tarnished" with this vintage software.

Final words and conclusion about Kingston UV500

Kingston re-launches a good range of SSDs at a very competitive price. It has a Marvell 88SS1074 controller and NAND 3D TLC memories. As many of you already know, the best memories are the MLC, at least for consumption, although these 3D TLC offer us good durability and optimum performance for the price we pay for it.

At the performance level it has worked very well. We have obtained the theoretical 540 MB / s of reading and a writing of more than 500 MB / s.

We recommend our guide to the best SSDs of the moment.

What we liked least was its software. With a vintage interface and that is not taken care of. Surely we will see a new interface soon to end these times. From our point of view, the black point of the product.

Currently we can find this 480 GB model for just 68 euros in online stores. We also find it at 120 GB (31 euros), 240 GB (42 euros), 960 GB (131 euros) and the 1920 GB one for just 277 euros. What do you think of this new Kingston SSD? We liked it a lot and we think it is a 100% recommended product.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ GOOD COMPONENTS	- NO MLC MEMORY
+ GOOD TEMPERATURES	- SOFTWARE WITH A VERY OLD INTERFACE
+ PERFORMANCE
+ COMPETITIVE PRICES