Kingston is now shipping its first solid-state drives to use the SATA 3.0 6Gb/s interface, the HyperX SSD. The HyperX SSD drives are available in either 120GB and 240GB capacity and use the SandForce SF-2281 controller. Sequential read/write throughput can reach 555MB/s and 510MB/s, respectively. Maximum 4KB random performance is 95,000 IOPS read and 70,000 IOPS write on the 120GB model.
The drives are targeted at enthusiasts, gamers and performance users. In addition to the SATA 3.0 interface, the drives allow for user configurable over provisioning, which increases the drive’s speed at the cost of reduced overall capacity. They also have support for TRIM drive wear leveling and S.M.A.R.T error monitoring for improved reliability.
The HyperX SSD drives will be sold as stand-alone units with a desktop mounting plate, or as a bundle that also includes Acronis migration software, an external drive bay, a multi-head screwdriver and a SATA data cable.
The Kingston HyperX SSDs are now available from a variety of retailers. Suggested retail pricing for the 120GB drive is $270 for the stand-alone drive and $285 for the bundle. The 240GB drive is available for $520, or $540 for the bundle.
