Kingston is the biggest manufacturer of DRAM and flash memory products in the world, with annual sales in the billions of dollars. Although memory modules and USB/flash card storage are their specialties, Kingston is a significant player in the SSD market, which comprises portable SSDs in addition to internal storage.
Today's review is of the portable Kingston XS1000 SSD. This is the XS2000's little sibling, which debuted in 2021. The XS1000 is designed to support USB 3.2 Gen 2, or 10 Gbps, whereas the XS2000 uses the USB 3.2 2x2 20 Gbps interface. The goal of Kingston is to provide a portable solid-state drive for the general public, the majority of whom lack systems that enable USB 3.2 2x2. Both drives are constructed utilizing a Silicon Motion SM2320 controller, which makes them relatively identical inside. This controller considerably simplifies the design complexity and space requirements by combining the SSD controller and USB bridge chip into a single CPU. The XS1000 does not include a DRAM cache chip; instead, it employs 112-layer 3D TLC NAND storage.
There is a 1 TB model of the Kingston XS1000 in addition to the 2 TB version that we reviewed. All of these devices have a five-year warranty.
The company's USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps portable solid-state drive for the general public is the Kingston XS1000. It makes use of the Silicon Motion SM2320G controller, an integrated circuit that integrates the USB interface and SSD controller. As a result, there is a cost and complexity reduction because just one chip is needed in place of two. Obviously, because components are more tightly integrated, this also means that drives can be smaller. We discovered Toshiba's BiCS5 112-layer 3D TLC NAND in terms of NAND memory. Kingston verified to us that they do not guarantee any specific components, but they do guarantee that the device always meets or exceeds its claimed specifications. These components are on our evaluated drive. Kingston made a wise decision by going with a true, really tiny design, unlike many other suppliers who construct external SSDs by putting a full-sized M.2 NVMe inside the chassis. You get a small, high-performance portable SSD as a result—the majority of rival devices are far larger.
The XS1000's performance figures are perfectly adequate (given its placement). Once more than two threads are running, the read speed can reach 1 GB/s. While writing takes a little longer, it is still very near to 1 GB/s. Some 10 Gbps drives in competition do prove to be quicker, such as the HP P700 and Crucial X8. As may be assumed, the mapping tables of the SSD do not have a DRAM cache to facilitate random writing. That said, it is not a deal breaker because it is a very uncommon task for a portable SSD.
The XS1000 has a sturdy physical design and a stylish appearance due to its all-black color scheme. Although I suppose metal would be even better given the case's competitive pricing, I can see why Kingston chose plastic. You do receive an activity indicator LED, which is useful for a fast check to determine whether an operation has finished yet, unlike other competing drives. The XS1000 handled temperatures without issue; it only got warm.
The Kingston SSD's consistent write rates aren't particularly noteworthy. It fills the entire disk at only 180 MB/s, which is slower than many of its rivals but far faster than the Crucial X8. Look elsewhere if you intend to copy hundreds of megabytes per session without pausing. The XS1000 will run much quicker, reaching approximately 650 MB/s, if your working sets are smaller—up to 100 GB writes, or so—or you have breaks in transfers that give the drive room to breathe. The pseudo-SLC cache size is 120 GB, which is a respectable size.
Currently, the Kingston XS1000 2 TB costs $110, which is a reasonable cost for a portable SSD with 2 TB of USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps storage. The primary rivals include SanDisk Portable Extreme ($120), Crucial X8, Samsung Z7, Corsair EX100U ($110), and SanDisk Portable ($95). A lot of these drives employ the same hardware setup and have comparable external dimensions. If your machine is capable of USB 3.2 2x2 (20 Gbps), spending a little extra money could result in faster transfer rates. Due to its affordable $110 price tag, the Corsair EX100U is undoubtedly appealing in this situation. The HP P900 (review to follow) and the Sabrent Rocket Nano v2, which we recently examined, are two further intriguing alternatives. The recent decrease in the cost of NAND storage is making a 4 TB version increasingly appealing, but I just wish Kingston offered it.
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