Kingston SSDNow V+100 256GB Upgrade Bundle review

Is this cheaper SSD still worth the price premium?

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Kingston SSDNow V+100 256GB Upgrade Bundle
Why don't all SSDs come with the Kingston's great extras?

TechRadar Verdict

Not the best in class, but aggressive pricing, good spec and bundled accessories make the V+100 worth a look.

Pros

  • +

    Decent performance, good bundle, If the Toshiba controller is good enough for Apple...

Cons

  • -

    Beaten by SandForce drives for performance

  • -

    Cheaper than some SSDs, but not actually cheap

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There's no such thing as a cheap solid state drive. But you do at least have the choice between merely pricey and downright punitive. The new Kingston SSDNow V+100 256GB falls into the former camp.

At around £375 for 256GB of capacity, it's funny money compared to a conventional magnetic drive of similar or even much greater capacity.

But it's still over £100 cheaper than the priciest 256GB SATA SSDs, such as the new Samsung SSD 470 Series 256GB.

So, what do you get?

The all important controller chip is a tweaked version of Toshiba's T6UG1XBG. Perhaps not the best on the market, but it does have one thing going for it: an aggressive garbage cleaning utility.

In theory, this means the Kingston SSDNow V+100 256GB should maintain performance over time without the help of the drive-cleaning Windows 7 TRIM command.

That's just one reason why Apple, for example, uses the T6UG1XBG in its MacBook laptops. Mac OS X, you see, doesn't support TRIM.

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