Kingston SSDNOW - Extremely Low Benchmark

[smokarz]

Hey guys,

I installed a Kingson SSDNow V100 64GB drive in an HTPC last year and just recently ran AS SSD Benchmark and got a score of 57. There's got to be something wrong with this score right? I am expecting scores in the 300-400 range?

Win7 x64 Ultimate
G.Skill 8GB DDR3 1600
Athlon II X4 640
Asus M4A79XTD EVO

 

[psaus]

Kingston posts this FAQ:
http://www.kingston.com/us/support/faq.aspx?questionid=174&afmid=1425

I suspect this falls under that "older drive" situation. You can use secure erase (easily executed using this DL -
http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml
If you're not familiar with how to use it, a good set of instructions are here:
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?74093-How-to-use-HDDErase

But more to the point, this drive should be under warranty and you should not experience this. I'd submit a claim to Kingston. They'll either tell you to upgrade the firmware (possibly a legit fix) or they'll replace the drive.

 

[smokarz]

thanks for the links.

so these drives are defected? and kingston acknowledged this?

 

[psaus]

kingston acknowledged this?

Not exactly.

so these drives are defected?

I would think so, and I have a feeling Kingston would agree if you pressed the issue. But there isn't a guarantee.

Which exact model of the V100 do you have? Might want to see if there's a firmware upgrade first. This could answer all problems...

 

[smokarz]

I have the SV100S2.

Updated to the latest firmware.

AS SSD Benchmark improves from 57 to 81.

Contacted Kingston Support and they agreed to send a replacement.

They said they will ship a Sata III drive as the replacement unit. I assumed I'll be getting the V+200 version?

 

[psaus]

not an ideal situation, but seems they made good on the situation.
Im thinking its more likely a v200, but you could get lucky and get the +.

 

[RetiredChief]

Glad they are replacing, and you should be Happier with the new design.
If memory serves me right, about that time frame Kington produce some SSD that were downright Crappy and only performed about 2x to 4x faster than a HDD - was documented in some reviews (about the score your seeing). At that time frame the V stood for "Value", but Not the word I would use

 

[smokarz]

Just confirmed I'll be getting the new V+200 drive (SVP200S3/60G).

Any review on these new Kingston drives? Reliability?

 

[psaus]

Awesome - I've only had mine at owrk for a short time, but I like it. And this has the SandForce controller in it (vs the Kingston-custom-who-knows-what controller in the v100).
So you should be ok with that one... chalk up the V100 as a learning curve for Kingston, now they've partnered with SandForce and grown up.

 

[smokarz]

Got the replacement SSD. It is indeed an SVP200S3.

Installed Win7 64 and ran AS SSD Benchmark. Got a score of 232.

I then went through the SSD Guide on this forum, re-ran AS SSD Benchmark and got a score of 230. Essentially no change in performance.

This is much better than the OLD SV100S2, but are these kingston drives that SLOW?

My Crucial M4 has a score of close to 400.

What gives?

 

[smokarz]

benchmark pics

 

[RetiredChief]

Quote: "My Crucial M4 has a score of close to 400."

My M4 in i5-2410m Laptop.

 

[smokarz]

You must be running Sata III.

I still have a Sata II board. I know, old tech.