Kingston A1000 480GB NVMe SSD Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing and Availability

At the time of this review, Kingston’s A1000 480GB M.2 NVMe drive can be yours for £153.33 or $189.99 through Amazon. The larger 960GB version will cost you £298.20 while the smaller 240GB will set you back £87.34. That is not a lot for the power of NVMe. It is only about 25 quid more than you’ have to pay for a modern SATA SSD.

Design

We can get through the design part in a jiff. It is an M.2 module and as such, a very simple item. The 2280 M.2 form factor and single-sided design make it compatible with most modern systems. Of course, they’ll have to support PCIe SSDs. The top side is covered with a label which is a half logo and a half drive details.

Performance and Endurance

Kingston’s A1000 doesn’t reach the performance of other NVMe solutions we’ve tested in the past, but that’s a given. The A1000 is built with for 2 PCIe lanes where most use 4 lanes. Still, the drive isn’t meant to compete with them. Instead, it’s meant to offer a better and faster solution when compared with SATA drives. All while keeping a price that stays close to the same. Kingston managed that quite nicely. There is a good performance jump, and you don’t have to pay a lot extra to get it.

Our endurance testing did have a little effect on the drive’s performance, as seen in the drive analysis charts. However, it wasn’t a lot, and the drive still performs well after prolonged usage.

Features

The drive offers 256 bit AES hardware encryption as well as LDPC error checking thanks to the controller. Device Sleep is also supported, but there isn’t a whole lot more here.

Bonus Content

Getting something extra is always nice, and you do with the A1000 SSD. Included is a download key for Acronis True Image HD. With it, you can easily clone your old drive onto your new Kingston A1000.

Pros

• Better than SATA performance
• Compatibility through single-sided M.2 2280 module
• Cloning software included
• Low price for an NVMe solution

Cons

• Not as fast as PCIe x4 NVMe solutions

“Budget doesn’t mean that you have to be slow. Kingston’s A1000 shows how to make a wallet-friendly NVMe drive. A great SATA alternative!”

We would like to thank Kingston for this sample.