Kingston, OCZ, QUMO, Samsung and SmartBuy models: Specs| Hashrate

A 60GB or 120GB solid state drive is not a bad option for a computer or laptop. However, if large amounts of data are used, then even 240 GB may not be enough. And in the same laptop it is far from always possible to install a second SSD, so you have to pay attention to more capacious models.

Therefore, for this review, four drives were selected from the range of our regular partner, Regard. And one potential participant was submitted by Kingston.

So, here is a review of Kingston SSDNow KC300, OCZ Agility 3, QUMO QMS480GU, Samsung PM841 and SmartBuy Adrenaline 2.

Test participants

Introducing our new members:

• Kingston SSDNow KC300 480 (SKC300S37A / 480G). The approximate price in Moscow retail is about 14,000 rubles;
• QUMO 480 GB (QMS480GU). The approximate price in Moscow retail is about 12,200 rubles;
• OCZ Agility 3 480 (айт (AGT3-25SAT3-480G)
  … The approximate price in Moscow retail is about 11,000 rubles;
• Samsung PM841 512 GB (MZ-7TD512HAGM). The approximate price in Moscow retail is about 11,800 rubles;
• SmartBuy Adrenaline 2 480 GB (SB480GB-ADRN2-25SAT3; not available on the official website). The approximate price in Moscow retail is about 10,700 rubles.

Kingston KC300 480 Гбайт (SKC300S37A/480G)

The Kingston company has long been known to the domestic user. First of all – with sets of RAM modules: both simple and intended for enthusiasts. But in addition to RAM, its range includes a wide range of different storage devices: from memory cards to flash drives. The company did not bypass its attention and SSD, starting their release under its own brand, one of the first on the market.

The Kingston SSDNow KC300 family of drives is not positioned as the fastest – this place is taken by the Kingston HyperX family. But at the same time, the KC300 is declared as the most advanced technically:

“The KC300 has enterprise grade SMART attributes that track wear range data, SSD life remaining, write increases, and total bytes written to analyze your load and monitor drive health. Its data integrity features include DuraWrite and RAISE ™ technologies for long-term retention of your data and long drive life. ” But it also states that “Kingston’s KC300 SSD Now is one of the most energy efficient SSDs on the market.”

And in fact, the SMART drive is very extensive, not every SSD has a similar set of parameters:

The drive was provided to us for testing by Kingston itself. It arrived unpacked and unpacked – only the device itself.

All information about the drive (manufacturer’s service codes, serial number, WWIN, firmware version flashed at the factory) can be found on a label on the front of the drive. On the reverse side there is only a seal, violation of which will lead to the loss of the warranty for the drive.

Due to the fact that only the device itself came to us, we can judge its configuration only indirectly – using the example of a less capacious 180 GB modification, which we tested some time ago. The package bundle should be very rich:

• Instruction and CD with software;
• An adapter for installing a drive into a slot designed for the usual 3.5 “HDD and a set of mounting screws;
• Sealing frame for installing the drive into a slot designed for drives with a housing thickness of 9 mm;
• SATA cable with latches and power adapter from Molex to SATA-Power;
• External plastic box for connecting a drive to a USB port (1.1 / 2.0 are supported, backward compatible with 3.0).

Regarding the technical component of the drive, Kingston indicates only the controller used – LSI SandForce SF-2281. The used flash memory is said only that it belongs to the MLC NAND class, and also indicates a resource that, depending on the size of the drive, ranges from 2,800 to 3,800 rewriting cycles, which is a very good indicator. But neither the technical process, nor the manufacturer, nor the interface and the operating mode of the memory are indicated.

However, the lack of information about the memory used is understandable: among users, Kingston has long been known for its experiments using various types of memory. For example, the HyperX line at one time, without any special announcements and announcements, moved from the 25 nm Micron memory to the faster 19 nm Toshiba memory. Other examples are known as well.

So what is hidden under the cover of the copy that came to us? Let’s make an autopsy (fortunately, we have such an opportunity). But it is worth noting that Kingston paid attention to curious users very worthily: the fastening screws used are not simple, which can be dealt with with a simple Phillips screwdriver, and not polyhedra, like Samsung’s.

Kingston uses Torx head screws, but as we can see, there is also a special protrusion in the center of the slot. Everything would be fine, but the search is further complicated by the size of the slot itself – it is very problematic to find a key or a bit of this size even in a specialized store: sellers just shrug their shoulders. No, there are no special problems with the usual Torx, but the version of Security required in our case turned out to be much more complicated. I had to show a little perseverance and the desired Torx Tamper Resistant T6 was found.

Under the lid of the drive, a blue board was found, which housed 16 MLC NAND memory chips manufactured by Toshiba, produced according to the 19 nm technological process and operating in Toggle Mode 2.0.

The role of the controller was taken over by the familiar LSI SandForce SF-2281. In this configuration, all eight channels are involved, and each of the channels is implemented eightfold interleaving.

Such a bundle should show a good level of performance.

The drive is supported by the proprietary program Kingston SSD Toolbox

Its capabilities are very modest: the model name, serial number are displayed, SMART viewing is available, statistics of power-ups and recorded / read data are present. There is a firmware update, but there is no way to manually send a TRIM command to the drive.

OCZ Agility 3 480 (айт (AGT3-25SAT3-480G)

Agility 3 is an old drive family by market standards: sales began in 2011 and at the moment the model has been given the “EOL” (“discontinued”) status. Moreover, a lot of time has passed since the termination of production (recall, the sweeps began back in 2012). However, the scale of production of these drives is such that Agility 3 is still widely represented in stores (for example, Yandex.Market issues several dozen offers in Moscow). Therefore, for now, the model is quite relevant.

OCZ uses three types of packaging for its drives: a plastic blister and two cardboard packaging options. The first is used for budget models, the second – for solutions in the middle and high price segments. The Agility 3 model was aimed at the budget sector, and therefore comes in a plastic blister.

Note also that there were as many as eleven models in this family, but this variety was achieved only due to the capabilities of the SandForce SF-2281 controller, on which the Agility 3 is based.

What is the typical size of SSD drives? In simplified terms, it is 64, 128, 256, 512 GB. For a number of their functionalities, SandForce controllers reserve part of the volume, and as a result, the user receives 60, 120, 240, 480 GB. These are the meanings that have become familiar. But about a year and a half ago, LSI made it possible to disable RAISE functionality in the next firmware update, which some manufacturers took advantage of. In addition, SandForce controllers also allow such flash memory configurations, when in the end we get the final storage capacity of 90, 180 and 360 GB.

OCZ took advantage of all these possibilities, making the Agility 3 one of the most numerous families in terms of the number of modifications.

Another trick for the user will be the fact that in addition to Agility 3, there was also the Agility 3.20 family of drives, which differed in that it used 20 nm memory. And the 3.20 family can also impress with its diversity: it has only one model, with a volume of 120 GB.

Under the “hood” of the Agility 3 480 GB drive we are considering, there is an LSI SandForce SF-2281 controller and 512 GB MLC NAND memory, recruited with Micron MT29F256G08CJAAA microcircuits, manufactured using the 25 nm process technology and operating in asynchronous (ONFi 1.0) mode. Part of the volume is inaccessible to users and is used for the needs of the controller. Of the special properties, we can note the presence of a green backlight knocking out of the drive’s insides and almost invisible in daylight.

The drive is supported by the proprietary program OCZ Toolbox, the capabilities of which we discussed earlier.

Samsung PM841 512 Гбайт (MZ-7TD512HAGM)

Most of the solid state drives produced by Samsung are focused on the so-called OEM segment. And the reviewed Samsung PM841 belongs to this category.

Of course, products of this class are not supplied with any retail packaging and, moreover, with any complete set. Only the drive itself. As a last resort, it will be packed in an anti-static bag, but this is at the discretion of the store.