Kingston SSDNow V+ Series 64GB SSD Review

The drive comes nicely packaged in a simple anti-static bag just like you’d expect from Kingston memory products. Once taken out of the bag we can see the SSD itself in a stylish grey metal enclosure with a big sticker on the top, The sticker informs us that the drive is made by Kingston Technology (in case there were any confusion) that it’s 64GB in size, is part of the SSDNOW V+ Series and the relevant serial numbers are included. These numbers will be useful for finding out the nitty gritty details on the drive and also aiding in support issues.

One part of the serial number that may catch your eye is the product number itself which is the SNVP325-S2. The important factor of this model number is the S2 part which notifies us that this is the 2nd phase of this series of drives. This in turn means that the drive has improved features over the first generation and includes an improved Toshiba controller, whereas the first gen used the older Samsung technology. The drive being an S2 also features an updated set of firmware.

The drive reveals two screw holes on each side for easy mounting into their case. Depending on the case used you may need to use the optional brackets supplied in various different ways but a lot of chassis manufactured today come inclusive of 3.5” to 2.5” drive bay adapters.

Turning the drive over gives us a look at the material used on the drive, a warranty sticker and more screw holes for easily mounting the drive into a case.

We also get a clear look at the connections that this SSD uses.

As you can see the connections are nothing out of the ordinary with a SATA power connector and SATA II data connector which is backwards compatible with the earlier revision; SATA 1. We can also see a clear space for a jumper that is used for firmware flashing if need be. It is also worth noting that Kingston recommends that the drive is used on a SATA II controller and that the BIOS menu is set to AHCI mode. Obviously this may differ if you decide to use two in a RAID configuration.

The SSD also fits very snug in the enclosure which can be used via the supplied USB cable to clone your existing data including operating system to the SSD directly.

Video Review:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjxbuYjXHM4[/youtube]