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Kingston SSDNow V+ (gen.2) 128GB SSD Review

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AkG

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IOMETER

IOMETER


IOMeter is heavily weighted towards the server end of things, and since we here at HWC are more End User centric we will be setting and judging the results of IOMeter a little bit differently than most. To test each drive we ran 5 test runs per HDD (1,4,16,64,128 que depth) each test having 8 parts, each part lasting 10 min w/ an additional 20 second ramp up. The 8 subparts were set to run 100% random, 80% read 20% write; testing 512b, 1k, 2k,4k,8k,16k,32k,64k size chunks of data. When each test is finished IOMeter spits out a report, in that reports each of the 8 subtests are given a score in I/Os per second. We then take these 8 numbers add them together and divide by 8. This gives us an average score for that particular que depth that is heavily weighted for single user environments.

IOM.jpg


Unfortunately when it comes to IOMeter, this drive does not perform as well as hoped nor as well as the other synthetic tests would lead you to believe. While tests like Crystal DiskMark can tell you the POTENTIAL power a drive has, IOMeter (when configured like we have it) is actually a much better predictor of real world performance.


IOMeter Controller Stress Test


In our usual IOMeter test we are trying to replicate real world use where reads severely outnumber writes. However, to get a good handle on how powerful the controller is we, we have also run an additional test. This test is made of 1 section at que depth of 1. In this test we ran 100% random. 100%writes of 4k size chunks of information. In the past we found this tests was a great way to check and see if stuttering would occur. Since the introduction of ITGC and / or TRIM the chances of real world stuttering happening in a modern generation SSD are next to nill; rather the main focus has shifted from predicting "stutter" to showing how powerful the controller used is. By running continuous small, random writes we can stress the controller to its maximum, while also removing its cache buffer from the equation (by overloading it) and showing exactly how powerful a given controller is. In the .csv file we then find the Maximum Write Response Time. This in ms is worst example of how long a given operation took to complete. We consider anything higher than 350ms to be a good indicator that the controller is either relying heavily on its cache buffer to hide any limitations it possess or the firmware of the controller is severely limiting it.

stutter.jpg


This truly is disappointing but it does go a long, long way to explaining why IOMeter didn’t like this drive as much as it “should” have (when based on the results from previous synthetic tests). This drive's controller has without a doubt a big problem and it is now obvious why Toshiba opted for that over sized cache: it simply needs it to perform!

We can say that in testing and daily use we never noticed any extended pauses; rather the drive just didn’t have that “snappiness” that other modern generation solid state drives have. As with all things computer related, just because it has a theoretical problem does not mean it is a noticeable problem. So with this in mind we are going to withhold judgment for the time being and consider these results nothing more than the Toshiba controller not liking our IOMeter tests. After all, you the end user do not care HOW a solid state drive does what it does, as long as you never notice it doing going about its business Though to be honest, we do have to wonder how much this issue is going to effect the real world performance of the SSDNow V+.
 
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AkG

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XP Start Up / Adobe CS3 Start Up

XP Start Up


When it comes to hard drive performance there is one area that even the most oblivious user notices: how long it takes to load the Operating System. For our tests the clock starts as soon as the system “beeps!” and stops when our Anti-Virus splash screen disappears. While all the other tests were run with a streamlined XP image this particular image is the test bed's “day to day” OS and it has accumulated a lot of crud over the months from installs and removals. We chose the Anti-Virus splash screen as our finish line as it is the last program to be loaded on start up.

load.jpg


As we said in the Kingston SSDNow V 40GB solid state drive review, that drive is hobbled at a physical level (as it lacks chips to fill up all the pathways) whereas this SSDNow V+ seems to be somewhat hobbled by a controller which is in need of some tweaking. The end result is the same, and while this level of speed is acceptable in a “Value” line it is sub optimal for a “Value Plus” line. Hopefully, a firmware upgrade or three will tweak these early teething pains and tease forth the full power we know is lurking inside. Just remember that even two seconds less would make a world of difference here in our charts but we doubt you would see much of an impact in your everyday life from two seconds.


Adobe CS3 Load Times


Photoshop is a notoriously slow loading program under the best of circumstances, but when you add in a bunch of extra brushes and the such you get a really great torture test which can bring even the best of the best to their knees. Let’s see how our review unit faired in the Adobe crucible!

adobe.jpg


Once again we see results which are awfully, awfully close to being good results for both current and previous generation solid state drives which isn't bad. However, we were expecting a bit more out of this drive considering its price. On the positive side, these numbers are still much, much better than what even the “best of the best” hard drives have to offer.
 
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AkG

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Real World Data Transfers

Real World Data Transfers


No matter how good a synthetic benchmark like IOMeter or PCMark is, it can not really tell you how your hard drive will perform in “real world” situations. All of us here at Hardware Canucks strive to give you the best, most complete picture of a review item’s true capabilities and to this end we will be running timed data transfers to give you a general idea of how its performance relates to real life use. To help replicate worse case scenarios we will transfer a 4.00GB contiguous RAR file and a folder containing 49 subfolders with a total 2108 files varying in length from 20mb to 1kb (1.00 GB total).

Testing will include transfer to and transferring from the devices, timing each process individually to provide an approximate Read and Write performance. To then stress the dive even more we will then make a copy of the large file to another portion of the same drive and then repeat the process with the small one. This will test the drive to its limits as it will be reading and writing simultaneously. Here is what we found.

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Storage/VPlus/copy_sm.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Storage/VPlus/copy_lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Storage/VPlus/copy_self.jpg" border="0" alt="" />​

With the exception of large file transfers the performance numbers this drive posts are simply "OK" for an SSD and we were hoping for something a little more.
 
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AkG

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Value

Value


The term “Value” is such an amorphous term that it truly has different meanings for different people. For some a hard drive is only as good as its performance potential, for others it is how quiet or durable it is; for others still it’s how effective it is for its cost. We here at HWC try to provide as many answers as possible for the term “Value”. Hopefully by this point in the review people looking at performance potential will have a fairly good idea of what its Value is. For the “best bang for the buck” crowd we have included a chart below showing how much a give drive costs per GB . No consideration has been made for performance, “durability” or any other extraneous factors; this is just raw performance vs. monetary cost. All prices are based on the lowest price found in our Price Comparison engine at the time of their initial review for the "Original" chart and are the lowest price found in our Price Comparison engine at the time of this review for the "Updated" chart.


value_up.jpg


There is not getting around the fact that the SSDNow V+ 128GB represents a great value for a Solid State drive. Also worth noting is that while the particular SSDNow V+ we have ships with numerous value added accessories which should help further mitigate its price point (the cheapest we have seen the non bundled version go for is $319), they have not been taken into account in this very cold hearted, calculating evaluation we call “value”. Even if you do not take any of the accessories into consideration, or the customer service orientated company that is backstopping this drive (which is a crucial factor in making any decision) we think it is still one of the best values currently on the market. It really does have that much potential.
 
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AkG

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Conclusion

Conclusion


From the moment we opened up the SSDNow V+ 128GB’s packaging and found a load of goodies waiting for us, we had a special place in our hearts for this drive. Kingston really knows how to treat their customers right and makes them feel like they got their money’s worth from their faith and monetary investment in a Kingston product. There is no getting around the fact that the accessories which ship with this drive are second to none and the other big players in this market really need to take note. We also like the fact that Kingston understands not everyone is going to want all the extra’s and will just consider them money not well spent and thus offers a bare-bones “drive only” version.

Once the first synthetic benchmarks were run, our hopes were still sky high. The synthetic read speeds might have been a little on the low side (relatively speaking) but they were still extremely good. Unfortunately, we were stopped dead in our tracks once we saw the IOMeter results. While not overly poor, when compared to even some lower-end products the V+ suffered in the charts and the somewhat lackluster performance carried over into the real world performance tests as well. Whether this is an issue with the controller which can be fixed with a firmware update or something else altogether is open for debate but we’re hoping things can be improved.

In our opinion however, since this drive is marketed more towards the first time buyer rather than the enthusiast "SSD Veteran" the lowered performance we experienced really is a non issue since it will be imperceptible in the vast majority of cases. Yes, the firmware may need tweaking to reach its full potential but we are sure that much like the Indilinx drives on the market you will see a few firmware updates coming down the pipeline for the SSDNow V+ as time goes by. This is the reality for ALL solid state drive and is "the cost of doing business" with a brand new controller (or cutting edge technology in general) as no matter how good your R&D engineers are, nobody can get everything right on the first try. Since first time customers will never notice this issue, and in fact even enthusiasts with past SSD experience will have a tough time noticing it we can in all good conscience cut Toshiba a lot of slack. Much like we did Indilinx.

We really do think this drive does have the potential to grow into one heck of a great performer but we really hope that the growing pains we discovered are only going to be around for the short term. Much like when Indilinx arrived on the scene, early adopters of the SSDNow V+ are going to be able to witness firsthand the growth and development of this drive. However, this may all be thrown out the window if Toshiba can’t keep up with constant firmware releases.

However, we are reviewing this drive now but even if we base this conclusion solely on existing performance, the SSDNow V+ 128GB still ends up looking like a star. This isn’t because Kingston’s drive will burn up the charts with balls-to-the-wall performance but rather its current price is simply stunning. Basically, you can get near high-end performance for much less than you would expect which is why this drive wins our Dam Good Value Award.

Pros:
- Great packaging
- “out of the box” TRIM support
- Kingston customer support
- Great Potential
- Simply amazing accessories
- Good Price

Cons:
- Easy to confuse this version with the previous Samsung one (short term issue only)
- Never lives up to its potential
- Still has early firmware

DGV.gif

 
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