V300 Benchmark Brief
Overview of Consumer SSD Offering
HyperX: Designed for enthusiasts and gamers, HyperX® 3K SSD is Kingston’s fastest SSD product.
KC300: Targeted to the business user with additional security and power savings features, KC300 is a
high- performing, business-oriented SSD with security and power saving features.
V300: Ideal for consumers, this entry-level SSD delivers a good mix of price and performance. It’s designed
for HDD replacement, with a balance between performance and entry-level pricing.
Product Builds and Speed Differences – V300
In order to achieve a balance of price and performance, we must maintain the flexibility to source NAND
Flash components from various Tier 1 NAND manufacturers. At times, this will mean that there is a
difference in benchmarked performance, where certain builds outperform our advertised specification
(450MB/s Read / Write) while other drives will meet the advertised specification. Regardless of revision, all
V300 SSDs still demonstrate 10x performance when compared to HDDs.
Product Testing Using ATTO
Our SSD performance specification is based on the ATTO benchmark, which demonstrates the sequential
read and write capabilities of our drives using the LSI SandForce® controller; what is absent from these
numbers and not often captured in benchmarks is the effectiveness of the underlying LSI SandForce
DuraWrite™ technology. The DuraWrite architecture was designed to extend the life of the NAND used within
Kingston® SSDs. It does this by using unique algorithms that reduce the amount of data written to the SSDs
Flash memory cells, thus extending NAND and SSD life. A beneficial byproduct of this reduction is a resulting
increase in performance when compressible data is used. (Learn more about DuraWrite in this video.)
ATT0 MB/s Higher is Be@er 600 530 517 521 510 500 400 Seq Read 300 Seq Write 200 133 134 100 0 V300 120S V300 120A 7200 RPM HDD Figure 1
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V300 Benchmark Brief
Figure 1 shows the results from ATTO using the V300 120GB SSD with both synchronous and asynchronous
NAND Flash. Asynchronous NAND typically operates at a slower MT/s rate than synchronous NAND, but
still enables a very high performing SSD. The HDD used in these tests is a 7200RPM 500GB SATA 6Gb/s.
All drives in the following tests were used as the primary drive in the system running Windows 7 64 bit,
installed on an ASUS 87 chipset desktop motherboard. Both the V300 SSDs were preconditioned with
random writes before testing began. As you can see, both versions of the V300 are exceeding our baseline
450MB/s spec.
Product Testing Using Crystal Disk Mark
A few benchmarks, like Crystal Disk Mark, use fully random incompressible data by default, which as stated
before, will produce a lower read score depending on the build of the V300 we are testing. Benchmarks
like this typically send a pre-defined amount of data to the SSD and measure how long it takes to read
from and write to it. This is fine, but it only gives a snapshot of SSD performance. Sequential read and
write speeds are a key component of SSD performance but so are random 4k performance, boot times,
application/game launching ability, application performance, waking from standby, time to complete
system shut down, initiating system hibernation and opening apps while the SSD is engaged with other
activities. We believe the sum of these features lead to a great user experience not captured in benchmarks
and are the reasons why customers purchase SSDs.
Crystal Crystal Disk Mark igher is igher beIer Disk MMB/s ark HM
B/s H
is beIer 500 500 459 459 450 450 408 400 400 350 350 408 V300 120S 300 300 250 250 Disk Mark MB/s Higher is beIer Crystal V300 120S V300 120A V300 120A 185.2 185.2 141 173 173 7200 RPM HDD 200 200 7200 RPM HD
141 139.4 139 135.9 139.4 139 135.9 Crystal Disk M150 ark MB/s Higher is beIer 125.8 124.8 125.8 94.07 124.8 150 94.78 94.07 94.78 92.24 91.34 85.9 85.9 91.34 25.35 92.24 ark MB/s 408 Higher is b100 eIer 100 25.35 53.17 71.23 71.23 44.12 53.17 44.12 19.34 19.34 50 50 1.35 1.196 0.603 1.35 1.196 0.603 1.202 1.202 0 V300 120S 0 Seq Read Seq Write 512K Read 4k Write 4k 4K D32 Read QD R3ead 2 W4rite Seq Read Seq Write 512K R512K ead Write 512K W4K rite Read 4K V300 Read WQrite 4K 4K QD32 K QD 32 Write 120A V300 120S 173 V300 120S V300 120A 7200 RPM HDD 139.4 139 135.9 20A 7200 Figure
R91.34 PM H2 DD 94.78 92.24 V300 185.9 139.4 139 135.9 25.35 53.17 71.23 44.12 7200 R
PM HDD 94.78 92.24 91.34 85.9 bulk of
Typical
users don’t19.34 spend
the
copying incompressible data like MP3,
135.9 1.35 on the computer
1.202 their time
1.196 0.603 139.4 25.35 53.17 71.23 .12 92.24 85.9 files to and91.34 19.34 MPEG
and Zip
from1.35 their SSD. The
data we deal with day in and day out is a mix of random,
1.202 1.196 512K Read 512K 0.603 Write 4K Read 4k Write 4K QD32 Read 4K QD 32 Write 7 rite 25.35 71.23 sequential,
compressible,
incompressible
and everything in between. Figure 2 shows Crystal Disk Mark
19.34 1.202 1.196 d 512K 0.603 Write 4K R
ead 4k W1.35 rite 4K QD32 Read 4K QD 32 Write 124.8 07 4K Read Scores for the test drives; and notice the effect of fully random incompressible data. The sequential scores
4k Write 4K QD32 Read 4K QD 32 Write 2
V300 Benchmark Brief
of both versions of the V300 drop from the speeds seen in ATTO but Pay close attention to the 4K Random
scores; 4K random read/write measures how fast a drive is able to access small files that are randomly
scattered across it. A drive with higher 4K numbers will able to multi-task better, making for a more
responsive operating system that can run more background programs (e.g. virus shield, firewall, torrents,
instant messengers etc.) without any slowdowns or stuttering. For an operating system boot drive, 4K
random read speeds are the most important, followed by 4K random write speed. Random incompressible
data is worse case for any SSD yet both versions of the V300 are at least 7000 percent faster in 4k random
writes and at least 3000 percent faster in 4k random reads.
Product Testing Using Anvil
Another popular synthetic benchmark is Anvil. We used a mixed workload with 46 percent compressible
data, to represent a typical user’s mixed workload, so the SandForce DuraWrite feature is working here.
Notice the 4K Que Depth (QD) of 4. Que depth is the amount of outstanding read and or writes requests
waiting to access the system drive. A que depth of 0-5 covers the vast majority of a typical desktop/
notebook usage models. Once again, the V300 using asynchronous NAND tops the HDD by over 8,000
percent and 20,000 percent in random QD4 reads and writes. When data is at all compressible, write
performance will go up.
500 450 Anvil 46% Compressible Mixed Workload MB/s Higher is BePer 436.12 400 350 V300 12
300 247.91 250 218.8 Anvil 46% Compressible Mixed Workload 200 MB/s Higher is BePer Compressible Mixed Workload 150 119.49 MB/s Higher is BePer Mixed Workload 100 BePer Seq 4MB Read Seq 4 MBWrite 103.14 4K READ V300 120S 204.92 V300 120S 173.3 V300 120A 0.81 V300 120S 4K Write V300 120A 204.92 Figure
V300 120A 7200 RPM 3HDD 173.3 101.92 204.92 50.71 7200 RPM HDD 173.3 40.63 50.71 0.81 0.81 0.49 40.63 0.49 4K QD4 READ 0.81 4K QD4 Write 4K Write 103.14 23.83 101.92 19.02 0.32 1.92 50.71 0.81 2 4K READ 40.63 0.81 4K Write 0.49 4K QD4 READ 0.81 4K QD4 Write rite 101.92 23.83 19.02 0.32 50 0 103.14 118.48 116.39 4K QD4 READ 4K QD4 Write V300 12
204.92 173.3 50.71 40.63 0.49 4K QD4 READ 7200 RP
0.81 4K QD4 Write 7200 RPM HDD 3
V300 Benchmark Brief
Anvil Storage Utilities will also provide a total drive score derived from totaling both sequential
and random read/write scores. In Figure 4, you can see both V300s surpass the HDD by more than
1,000 percent.
Anvil Total Drive Score Higher is be5er 3328.38 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2804.22 247.33 V300 120S V300 120A 7200 RPM HDD Figure 4
PRODUCT TESTING USING PCMARK VANTAGE AND PCMARK 8
To stress and measure the performance of Kingston drives in a different way, we use trace-based
benchmarks that simulate a workload by playing back the I/O trace captured while the test was originally
run using various applications. One of these trace-based tests is the PCMark Vantage storage benchmark.
The storage benchmark focuses on applications that include music, video, pictures, games and security.
The test suite measures how long it takes the drive to complete each task and provides an overall storage
bandwidth in Bytes per second. It is important because it creates a more realistic snapshot of how the SSD
would perform in real world scenarios common to the everyday user.
The comparison below demonstrates how the V300 dominates the HDD in everyday tasks. The
performance delta is over 1,100 percent.
PCMark Vantage Storage Suite Higher is be5er 50000 47566 33618 33618 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 2679 2679 V300 120S V300 120A 7200 RPM HDD Figure 5
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V300 Benchmark Brief
PCMark 8 Storage Bandwidth MB/s Higher is Be7er 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 172.37 108.87 7.08 V300 120S V300 120A 7200 RPM HDD Figure 6
Recently, we implemented the PCMark 8 testing suite. The new workload uses traces from World of
Warcraft, Battlefield, Adobe Photoshop, In Design, After Effects, Illustrator and Microsoft Office applications.
This test suite also measures how long it takes the drive to complete tasks and provides storage bandwidth
per task in Megabytes per second. As expected, the V300 120GB using Asynchronous NAND still outscores
the HDD by more than 1,400 percent.
Product Testing Using Real World Scenarios
The final testing segment involves actual user input using downloadable applications that allow you
to edit, import, copy, play and create content. It simulates working with music, video, pictures and
incorporates web browsing, game playing and file copying. In each test, the V300s, both Synchronous
and Asynchronous, are significantly faster than the HDD. Similarly, they are very close to each other in
performance in all tests with the exception of the file copy. The data used in the file copy test is composed
of large, incompressible files and will demonstrate the worst-case scenario for the SSD, yet the SSD is still
60-percent faster than the HDD.
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V300 Benchmark Brief
ApplicaIon esIng: imed in lower seconds, lower is beQer ApplicaIon TesIng: TTimed in s Teconds, is beQer 700 700 620 620 600 600 500 500 ApplicaIon TesIng: Timed in seconds, lower is beQer 400 400 pplicaIon TesIng: Timed in seconds, lower is beQer 357 357 V3
300 ng: Timed in seconds, l300 ower is beQer 200 200 100 100 13 620 178 187 99 99 13 15 357 15 178 187 620 620 63 65 105 63 65 167 105 32 36 71 32 36 V3
249 249 72
167 71 V300 120S OS B
oot Itunes I
mport Picasa I
mport Crysis L
aunch OS Boot Itunes Import Picasa Import Crysis Launch File 1C20A opy File Copy V300 120S V300 249 Picasa: 8.81GB (1307 files) Picasa: 8.81GB (1307 files) V300 120S V300 120A 7200 RPM HDD import: P3, album art, giapless playback info 20.4GB (3009 files) 187 Itunes import: MItunes P3, album art, M
gapless playback nfo 20.4GB (3009 files) 249 178 167 File C
opy: 1
7.7GB (
MKV fi
les) File Copy: 17.7GB (MKV files) V300 120A 7200 RPM HDD 187 249 178 99 105 Figure
167 7
71 7200 RPM HDD 63 65 105 32 36 167 15 71 and Smart Data
A Word63 on Durawrite,
Flash Endurance,
65 105 32 36 is more to SSD performance
benchmarks can demonstrate.
All Flash-based hardware
71 Import than synthetic
63 65 There
S Boot Itunes Import Picasa Crysis Launch File Copy 36 32 (USB drives, tablets, music players, etc.) has a finite life. Think of your storage device as having a gas gauge
Itunes Import Picasa Import Crysis Launch File Copy 0 357 0 gapless playback info 20.4GB files) tied(3009 to writes.
Every write performed to the storage device will use up some endurance and the device
Crysis Launch Copy will eventually wear
out. SSD enduranceFile is typically
measured in TBW (total bytes written) and goes
from hundreds of terabytes to petabytes, depending on drive capacity. DuraWrite technology effectively
reduces these writes and extends the life of your SSD.
Picasa Import 0.4GB (3009 files) To demonstrate the effectiveness of DuraWrite, review the screen capture of the SMART data below. The
data is from a PC used for gaming, video production, photo editing and typical Internet activity. In most
cases, typical user data is at least partly compressible. Attribute 241 shows that the PC has sent 443 GBs
of data to the SSD. This means that we would expect the SSD to have written at least 443GB to the NAND
if not more. Attribute 233 displays the actual amount of writes to the SSD and demonstrates the SSD
only wrote 285GB to the SSD, proving that for this specific workload, there is a fair amount of data that is
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V300 Benchmark Brief
compressible. Anyone using a Kingston V300, KC300 or HyperX SSD can look at the same data with the
Kingston SSD toolbox or any SMART reader.
Final Thoughts
All Kingston SSDs go through a rigorous qualification process. The process begins with qualifying the
NAND Flash components used, to ensure a high-quality product, and continues through each step of the
manufacturing process before the drive leaves the warehouse.
We realize not all V300s will score the same across all benchmarks but we maintain all V300 SSDs meet the
performance targets mentioned above and this is proven with test data. Benchmarks are a great way to
quickly get an idea of performance but at the end of the day, your personal workload is better than any
synthetic benchmark available.
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All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. MKF-586
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