Review: kingston hyperx savage 240gb

Technical characteristics

FEATURES SAMSUNG 850 EVO 1TB
Format	2.5 inches.
SATA interface	SATA 6Gb / s SATA 3Gb / s SATA 1.5Gb / s
Capacities	120GB, 240GB, 480GB and 960GB.
Controller	Phison PS3110-S10 (+ Toshiba A19 MLC)
Writing / Reading rates.	Sequential Reading Max. 560 MB / s Sequential Writing Max. 530 MB / s 4KB Random Read (QD32) Max. 100, 000 IOPS 4KB Random Write (QD32) Max. 89, 000 IOPS
Temperature	Operational: 0 ° C to 70 ° C Non-Operating: -40 ° C to 85 ° C
Weight	96 grams
Useful life	1 million hours. 306TB (1.19 DWPD).
Consumption	0.39W idle / 0.5W average / 1.4W (MAX) read / 4.35W (MAX) write
Price	120GB: € 73 approx. 240GB: € 100 approx. 480GB: € 200 approx. 960GB: € 540 approx.

Kingston HyperX Savage 240GB

Once the Kingston HyperX series was reserved only for its highest memory ranges, today it extends to all types of ranges, in items as disparate as components and peripherals. In this case it is an SSD, which by specifications comes to become the highest range in Kingston at the moment, although we will see it even surpassed by the slightly more expensive HyperX 3K in several important points.

In this case we will analyze the disk with the data migration kit and external box for the hard disk that we replace (which we can use for the same kingston if we want). I must say that it is probably the most complete pack I have ever seen, tremendously rich in accessories and with its own value even without counting the SSD.

First we will take a general look at the presentation and packaging

The appearance is impeccable, especially if we open the box, with the SSD very well presented and all the other accessories at the bottom

Detail of the accessories, first of all a key to what is probably the best backup and disk migration software for windows, the Acronis True Image, next an original screwdriver with two tips and pen shape, adhesive plate to increase the thickness at 9mm in case of using it in old equipment, SATA cable, and screws to anchor both the disk and the 3.5 ″ adapter (included in the pack, not visible in this photo).

We do not end here, since also Kingston includes in this pack a box of 2.5 ″ to take advantage of our old mechanical disk, in the usual case that this disk is the replacement of the original disk of our laptop, which can also be used perfectly to use this disk as external memory. The box has a remarkable quality, has a USB3.0 connection and does not require external power.

As we say, a true wonder in terms of accessories, and highly recommended to purchase this disc with this pack to make the most of it, and above all not to throw away our old mechanical disc.

Aesthetically it is somewhat more aggressive than other models such as the Samsung, it shows that this is aimed at a younger profile, and that it will be mounted on many gamer teams without a doubt. It is a 2.5-inch SSD with 7mm thickness (expandable to 9), compatible with all notebooks that use a SATA disk.

Disc thickness detail

As we advance this model mounts a Phison PS3110-S10 controller, a very competent chip (the S10 supports ECC error correction and TLC memory), quite expensive and that has already been seen in some recent releases of Patriot and Corsair. Phison has traditionally been a brand very focused on low cost SSDs that are very common in mass OEM purchases, but it seems that they are doing their best to compete with the highest.

The FLASH memory is run by Toshiba, with A19 64Gbit MLC memories manufactured at 19nm, a total of 16 packages that give us a total capacity of 256GB, of which 16 are for overprovisioning, leaving us with 240GB advertised as usable space. In the 240GB model we also find 256MB of DDR3L 1600 memory, manufactured by Nanya.

Test of performance

For the tests we will use the native controller of the Z87 chipset on a Sabertooth Z87 board. Although it is known that there have been slight performance optimizations in the latest chipsets (Z97 and X99) in principle we do not expect a loss big enough to alter the results.

The Crystal Disk Mark values are very good, especially in sequential, where they exceed with QD = 32 even the outstanding 850 EVO. Unfortunately, no queue is somewhat modest results for a high-end SSD. Using 4KB blocks, we can see what is currently the weak point of this Phison S10 controller, again with a slightly lower result than the 850 EVO.

The performance in AS SSD Benchmark 1.8.5636 is quite good for a 240GB disk, with somewhat lower values than those seen in the 850 EVO, especially in the sequential sections, where we confirm what we saw in the Crystal Disk Mark, and also in reading. in the case of 4K blocks with QD = 64. The rest of the results are undoubtedly up to the task without particularly standing out from the rest. Just over 100 points separate it from the Samsung.

From the worst possible conditions we pass to a test that gives us an idea of the expected results under favorable conditions, with compressible data. In ATTO Disk Benchmark the results with large files are excellent, equaling the 560mbps announced in reading, and even exceeding the expected results (by 10mbps) with 540 in writing. Not everything is good news, since it shows a somewhat less regular performance, with results with small blocks (1-4KB) that drop around 20% of its competitor Samsung.

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In this case, the performance is also quite consistent throughout the entire capacity of the disk. We have also not observed performance decrease after filling it completely and deleting data, showing that TRIM works and the garbage collection algorithm is good.

Final words and conclusion

This is undoubtedly the first Phison controller disc to win our recommendation, and a huge improvement is noticeable from the company's first chip-mounted discs, some with abysmal performance such as the OCZ Octane.

Sequential read / write performance, under ideal conditions, is at the top of the tables, above even heavyweights like the Samsung 850 PRO of the same capacity. In addition, a very big advantage that it has over the disks based on the Sandforce SF2281 controller , such as the HyperX 3K, is that the performance is similar using compressible and incompressible data, making it a very consistent SSD in its results.

Not everything is good, the score in PCMark is in the middle of the tables and not in the highest as we would expect for its price, so the performance in real use (opening programs, starting…) does not seem so good as in synthetic tests. To top it off, the market for SATA SSDs is really saturated, with also very fast alternatives and with a Marvell controller, such as the Sandisk Ultra II, or the Samsung 850 EVO at a price very similar to this disk, which at the moment are more off-road disks. Probably with a newer Phison firmware the situation will be equal, but at the moment the purchase decision is not at all clear.

We cannot finish the review without praising the great accessory pack that this SSD includes. Surely it is more common to see in stores the pack with only the SSD, but without a doubt the complete pack has our recommendation without reservation, since we also get a USB3.0 box for our old hard drive, good migration software, and up to a screwdriver. At a slightly tighter price it would be a very, very clear purchase, especially on the 960GB model, which is considerably more expensive than its direct competition.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ VERY HIGH SEQUENTIAL READING / WRITING PERFORMANCE, BETTER EVEN THAN THE SAMSUNG 850 PRO / EVO	- PERFORMANCE WITH SMALL BLOCKS AND IN REAL USE IS NOT AS HIGH AS IN SEQUENTIAL
+ AESTHETICALLY THE BEST WE HAVE SEEN, FINISHED IN METAL	- LIMITED BY SATA INTERFACE.
+ CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE THROUGHOUT CAPACITY, EQUAL WITH COMPRESSIBLE AND INCOMPRESSIBLE DATA
+ ACCESSORY PACK REALLY PREMIUM. THE BEST WE HAVE SEEN
+ 3 YEARS WARRANTY