It didn't take us long to check the
contents of the package that contained the Kingston SSDNow mS100, as it
consisted of a tiny clamshell case, a tiny 'Getting started' leaflet with print
that defied our eyesight and the bare OEM SSD drive.
Kingston
SSDNow mS100 64GB
The word 'tiny' also describes the SSD, as
this mSATA model measures a mere 51 x 30mm, which is one eighth the size of a
regular 2.5" SSD.
The mSATA form factor is the reason that we
were excited to get our hands on the mS100, despite the paucity of the package,
as we were using a Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 motherboard for testing, which happens to
have an mSATA slot.
Kingston doesn't supply any software with
this drive, so you're obliged to use Intel RST, which means that everything we
said about installing the Intel 310 also applies to this model.
Kingston's support page for the mS100 gives
no indication how you might go about updating the firmware, so we might have to
cross that bridge at another time. The controller in this drive is a Phison
PS3105-S5, which is an obscure piece of hardware. Phison controllers have cropped
up in certain Patriot SSD drives in the past so this isn't the first time we
have seen these chips in action, but nonetheless they aren't exactly common.
Kingston
doesn't supply any software with this drive, so you're obliged to use Intel
RST, which means that everything we said about installing the Intel 310 also
applies to this model.
Clipping the mS100 into place on the
motherboard is very satisfying as it does away with the need for mounting
screws or an extra SATA cable. You could easily imagine using the mS100 in a
suitable laptop and it would be ideal for a small-form-factor PC.
You pay a modest premium for the small form
of the mS100, with the 32GB model selling for $64 and this 64GB version costing
$121, which makes the Kingston more expensive than the Corsair, Crucial and
SanDisk drives in this group.
The Kingston performed its duties well
enough, although we cannot make any great claims about the performance. The
controller chip should do a decent job and the communication path between the
SSD and the motherboard could hardly be any shorter, so we have to conclude
that the Intel software may play a part in the relatively low performance.
Testing
the Kingston drive delivered a reasonable set of figures, but when we used the
mS100 in its chosen role as a cache drive the results were not impressive.
The combination of Phison chip, Intel
software and mSATA connector is an unusual setup and the result is rather less
performance than we would have hoped to see.
Testing the Kingston drive delivered a
reasonable set of figures, but when we used the mS100 in its chosen role as a
cache drive the results were not impressive.
There's no denying that you pay a
relatively high price for the tiny form factor of this drive, but it seems to
be let down by the performance of the Intel RST software.
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Details
·
Price: $121
·
Manufacturer: Kingston
·
Website: www.kingston.com
·
Required spec: mSATA connector , Windows 7
Ratings
·
Quality: 7
·
Value: 6
·
Overall: 6
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