The Kingston SSDNow mS200 is an mSATA type SSD. This is targeted at people and companies that build systems, OEMs and storage enthusiasts. This device is smaller than a 2.5†drive. The manufacturer says that the read/write speeds are 550MB/s and 530MB/s. This SSD is completely mSATA compliant. It uses NAND based flash memory, supports SRT, S.M.A.R.T and TRIM. This devices is available in 30GB, 60GB, 120GB , 240GB and 480GB variants. For the purpose of this review, we used the 240GB version.
The device is basically a simple and plain SSD aimed at OEMs and users who want to upgrade to SSD with a high performance SSD that is available for a reasonable price, the specs are also high endurance. The device comes with a 3-year warranty (2-year for the 30GB) and has a street price ranging from $45.00 to $460.00, based on the capacity that you opt for.
Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA specifications:
- Capacities: 30GB, 60GB, 120GB, 240GB, 480GB
- Memory: NAND flash memory based
- Controller: LSI SandForce 2281
- NAND: Tohiba
- Interface: SATA Rev. 3.0 (6Gb/s), SATA Rev. 2.0 (3Gb/s), SATA Rev. 1.0 (1.5Gb/s)
- Form Factor: mSATA
- Power Consumption
- 1.2 (TYP) read / 1.8W (TYP) write
- Idle: 0.4W
- Dimensions: 50.88mm x 30mm
- Weight: 6.86 grams
- Warranty: 3-year (30GB – 2-year warranty)
The Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA Â is about 40 percent smaller and 12 times lighter than the standard HDD or in other words about 1/3 the size of a standard business card. Makes it a nice and compact option if you decide to upgrade the HDD in your system to this SSD.On the device itself is a large sticker that covers the components. The sticker has part number, serial number, and storage size. Flipping the device over reveals two NAND packages and the LSI SandForce 2281 controller. The overall look and feel is very professional and the SSD is very sturdy and durable in terms of design and build.
From a performance perspective, the Kingston mS200 had a few strong points in its favor. It did pretty well with the 840 EVO, which was one of the top performers in the consumer real-world benchmark tests. The mS200 didn’t achieve its claimed sequential read/write speeds of 550MB/s and 530MB/s; it hit a 326MB/s read and 196MB/s in our test. The Kingston mS200 did very well on the 4K write performance and it had the lowest average write latency, but it stood behind in 4K read performance.
Overall the main advantage for the Kingston SSDNow mS200 is its low price, coming in with street prices below the Intel SSD 525 and Samsung EVO mSATA.
Advantages
- Low price for the capacity
- Very useful and easy to upgrade an ultra-thin laptop or tablet of desktop board with mSATA support
Issues
- Not as good as the other drives in our synthetic mixed workloads
- The claimed sequential performance was not achieved in tests
Conclusion
The Kingston SSDNow mS200 is an mSATA SSD that posts good performance, new higher capacities and aggressive price points making for a good upgrade choice for budget-centric buyers who want more out of their mSATA port. But from a pure performance point of view, the benchmark tests rate it somewhere in the mid-range performers’ band. Our recommendation, wait a while before buying this, there maybe a better option at this price point soon! Tell us what you think!