Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB Solid State Drive Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

As highlighted right back at the start of this review, the price point of this drive is the whole reasoning behind the 3K line of HyperX SSDs. The 240GB SKU of the now popular drives can be had for around £168 or ~70p/GB whilst the 120GB and 480GB models are on sale for around £86 (~71p/GB)  and £320 (~66p/GB) respectively.

Overview

Since the solid state drive first came to market we have seen both the capacities and performance soar to remarkable levels whilst the price has dropped considerably, making them now the drive type of choice for many users. As one of the major players in the consumer SSD market, Kingston have had to keep themselves one step ahead of the game in order to keep their positioning strong. Due to this constant battle to stay one-step ahead, the original line of HyperX SSDs which bear the blue trim are now hard to find. Whilst these drives are hard to find and the newer drives are not built for the same high amount of write / erase cycles, we still have to take into account the 3k of cycles is still going to be far more than most users will ever put a drive through in its lifetime.

As a performance SSD, the HyperX 3K did experience a bit of a slow start in the market, but once the consumer was educated that these drives still offer the same high levels of performance, the same solid reliability of a SandForce controller and the same extensive bundle the pace soon picked up. The revision two drives has seen the price per GB get even more affordable and when we take all the variables of speed, capacity, accessories, price and reliability into account, the HyperX 3K is one of the top contenders for my cream of the crop list of drives available at the moment.

If you’re after a drive that ticks all the boxes, then don’t delay, get your hands on one of Kingston’s HyperX 3K drives and let the rest speak for itself. It’s clearly my choice of drive for any enthusiast user.

Pros:

• Affordable price point
• Sought after performance
• Reliable brand
• Strong IOPs performance
• HyperX branding

Cons:

• SandForce controller does result in low performance when handling incompressible data

“Kingston’s HyperX line of drives have been the go-to choice of drives for a large number of users for a good couple of years now and the HyperX 3K has kept Kingston high in the SSD rankings. When you take into account how long we tend to own a drive for before we upgrade, the HyperX 3K will not only keep you wallet happy, but the performance will keep you happy as well”

Thanks to Kingston for providing this review sample.