Kingston SSDNow V+ 200 120GB Solid State Drive Review

Introduction

Since launching the HyperX SSD several months ago, Kingston has taken a liking to SandForce's SF-2281 controller. With the HyperX and HyperX 3K SSDs available at the high-end for enthusiasts, Kingston is now working the controller into their mainstream and business class SKUs as well.

Today we're looking at the new V+200, a mainstream product line that balances performance and cost for a wide spread user type. In the past the V and V+ products were based on JMicron and later Toshiba controllers, but times are changing and those legacy controllers weren't able to keep pace with products offered by SandForce in performance or price.

If you can't beat them, you must join them and that is exactly what Kingston has done. SandForce controllers take up a wide range of the market. At the high-end you can find drives with the 2281 and Toggle Mode flash. In the upper middle you will find the 2281 paired with IMFT synchronous flash and at the lower end the 2281 is still the bread winner, but paired with IMFT asynchronous flash.

The Kingston V+200 SVP200S3B/120G falls into the last category and is designed to offer business consumers good SSD performance at a low cost price point, but with an upgrade bundle that allows for easy installation.

Let's take a look at the specs.