Kingston NV1 SSD Review: Affordable NVMe Performance, But With Trade-offs
As SSDs edge closer to becoming the default (and only) storage option for desktop PCs as well as laptops, the market has filled with more affordable models. Even M.2 NVMe SSDs, which started out as exotic and expensive options aimed only at enthusiasts, are now extremely common. In addition to being faster than legacy SATA SSDs, these are tiny, convenient, and save you the mess of extra wires hanging around the inside of your PC cabinet. There is clearly a market for entry-level NVMe SSDs today and Kingston is aiming at exactly that with its new NV series. But does the NV1 offer enough value to justify its entry into the increasingly crowded market? Let’s find out.
Kingston NV1 SSD Price in India
The Kingston NV1 SSD is positioned similarly to the SATA-based A and UV series, targeting those seeking budget-friendly storage. Available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities, it’s interesting to note that lower capacities are not offered even though this is an entry-level model. Retail pricing for SSDs is often inconsistent and can vary wildly. In India, the 500GB and 1TB models are readily available for around Rs. 5,499 and Rs. 9,499, respectively. However, the 2TB version is not as widely distributed and costs around Rs. 24,500, which is less attractive in terms of cost per GB.
The simple cardboard packaging boasts that the NV1 is 35X faster than a spinning hard drive, which is not a high bar for any SSD to achieve. You do get a code to claim a free copy of Acronis True Image HD, but it’s tucked away on the inside of the packaging. This can be easily missed, especially if you aren’t aware of its presence. While the software allows you to clone or image a drive, it lacks features like incremental backups, scheduling, cloud backups, or mobile backups that are found in the retail versions of True Image.
Kingston NV1 SSD Features and Specifications
Kingston doesn’t make extravagant performance claims about the NV1, focusing instead on delivering high capacities at attractive prices. What’s most noteworthy, according to trusted source AnandTech, is that Kingston isn’t specifying the exact controller or flash memory type. To balance costs and inventory, the company might use different components in different batches, providing only the guarantee that advertised performance and endurance figures will be met.
Other companies have been found swapping components after launching SSDs (and publishing reviews) without any communication. While Kingston hasn’t been explicitly vocal about their intention to do the same with the NV1, they have been transparent with the media about this possibility.
This ambiguity makes reviewing the product difficult, as you might receive a vastly different drive if your purchase is made a month or two later. There’s no guarantee that the review unit sent to Gadgets 360 reflects what’s currently available in the market. However, Kingston is a well-established and trusted brand, which is reassuring for many buyers. If you’re not overly concerned about the differences between TLC vs QLC flash and controller bandwidth, and you find the capacity you need at a good price, the NV1 could be a suitable option.
Kingston claims 2100MBps sequential reads and 1700MBps sequential writes for all three capacities. It’s important to note that this SSD uses PCIe 3.0, not the faster PCIe 4.0 standard. The endurance is rated at 120TBW, 240TBW, and 480TBW for the 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities, respectively. The MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) is 1.5 million hours. These figures are significantly lower than what Kingston’s own KC2500, introduced earlier this year, offers. Even the previous entry-level NVMe model, the A2000, boasts considerably better endurance ratings.
It was impossible to identify the specific controller and flash type on the review unit without removing the label covering the actual chips. Kingston hasn’t published this information either. Some third-party reports suggest that lower capacity drives will use TLC flash, while higher ones will use QLC flash, although this could change at any time. We can’t verify the controller’s bandwidth, but it’s safe to assume that there is no DRAM cache. There’s also no mention of encryption on the official spec sheet. We’ll have to rely solely on performance to evaluate this drive.
The Kingston NV1 is a basic SSD and as such doesn’t come with a heat spreader. The circuit board itself is bright blue and aesthetically pleasing, but you won’t see much of it once installed. Since it’s a one-sided M.2 module and is only 2.1mm thick, it can fit into tight spaces like ultra-slim laptops.
Kingston NV1 SSD Performance
The Kingston NV1 was benchmarked on an open rig consisting of an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X CPU, a Gigabyte Aorus X470 Gaming 7 Wifi motherboard, 2x8GB of G.skill DDR4 RAM, a 1TB Samsung SSD 860 Evo boot drive, a Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 590 graphics card, and a Corsair RM650 power supply. All Windows updates and drivers were the most recent versions at the time of this review. Windows reported the drive’s formatted capacity as 465.76GB.
Using CrystalDiskMark 6, we observed sequential read and write speeds of 2,553MBps and 1,959MBps respectively, which are considerably higher than expected based on the official specifications. This could be a built-in buffer to ensure future revisions stay within the advertised performance thresholds. Random reads and writes were measured at 1370.6MBps and 1447.4MBps, which is quite good. This is much faster than today’s premium SATA SSDs, such as the Samsung SSD 870 Evo, but behind the impressive Kingston KC2500.
The Anvil benchmark reported read and write scores of 4,674.33 and 6,827.63, respectively, for a total score of 11,501.96. In a real-world Windows file copy test using an 80GB folder of assorted files, write speed touched 345MBps and stayed steady at about that level for large files. However, it dropped to as low as 15MBps with smaller files.
It’s worth noting that even the latest version of Kingston’s own SSD Manager software, downloaded from their website, didn’t detect this drive. It was unable to show diagnostic information or any security-related options.
Verdict
Several questions remain regarding the long-term viability of the Kingston NV1. I wouldn’t use it as a boot drive for my primary work PC or store my most important data on it without a robust backup plan in place. However, this does not mean it’s not a worthwhile option for everyone. It would be a great inexpensive upgrade for an older PC or laptop that serves non-critical needs. It could also be an excellent secondary or tertiary drive for storing large game installations, as they will benefit from quicker loading times.
The low pricing makes the NV1 appealing, but there are other more affordable models with unambiguous spec sheets, namely the Crucial P1 and WD Blue SN550. Kingston’s own A2000 only costs Rs. 100-200 more. Considering this model is fairly new in the Indian market, better pricing is expected in a few months. It effectively creates a new lower product tier, and with the right pricing, it could carve out a niche for itself.
Overall, the NV1 delivers decent performance, and the endurance should be sufficient for most light-impact home and office PC usage. It’s significantly cheaper than mainstream models like the Kingston KC2500 or Samsung SSD 970 Evo Plus.
Kingston NV1
Prices (MOP):
500GB: Rs. 5,499
1TB: Rs. 9,499
2TB: Rs. 24,500
Pros:
- Good overall performance
- Relatively affordable
Cons:
- Core specifications are subject to change
- Disappointing endurance ratings
- No encryption
- No management software
Ratings (Out of 5)
- Performance: 4
- Value for Money: 3.5
- Overall: 3.5
