In today’s fast-paced world, having a reliable and portable storage solution is essential. While a proper backup solution would involve multiple mediums, both online and offline, whatever the medium it has to be reliable. After the recent fiasco with a certain brand’s unresponsiveness when it comes to supporting their customers, the race to find the next reliable backup drive is on.
This is where the Kingston XS1000 External SSD comes in. The latest addition to the Kingston XS family, it inherits the series’ sleek design but offers it in USB 3.2 speed with two capacity options. While we intend to test out the usual performance tests, we’re also concerned about its reliability and warranty status, given that it is the talk of the town for external SSD drives.
Overview
The Kingston XS1000 inherits the XS2000 design but now in full black. The sleek and compact form factor is also effective in protecting the drive within and dissipating heat. Weighing just under 29g, it easily fits anywhere and to be carried with you.
It is made up of a plastic shell surrounded by a ring of metal, which also accommodates the USB Type-C female port and the status LED. It is worth mentioning that the XS1000 comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable, providing a wide range of compatibility from USB 3.2 Gen 2 backward to older protocols. However, users will need their own USB-C to USB-C cable if they want to connect to devices with USB-C ports.
While the drive is challenging to crack open, Kingston did inform us the controller is Silicon Motion’s SMI 2320 with 3D NAND. It is rated to have up to 1,050MB/s read and 1,000MB/s write. The XS1000 does not come with hardware encryption, so users may need to rely on software encryption solutions for added security.
Kingston XS1000 Specification
| Interface | USB 3.2 Gen 2 |
| Speed1 | Up to 1,050MB/s read, 1,000MB/s write |
| Capacities2 | 1TB, 2TB |
| Dimensions | 69.54 x 32.58 x 13.5mm |
| Weight | 28.7g |
| Casing material | Metal + plastic |
| Operating temperature | 0°C~40°C |
| Storage temperature | -20°C~85°C |
| Warranty/support3 | Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support |
| Compatible with | Windows® 11, 10, macOS (v.10.15.x +), Linux (v. 4.4.x +), Chrome OS™ |
Benchmark
Test bench System
| CPU | Intel Core i9-10900K |
| MOBO | MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 |
| RAM | 2 x KINGSTON HYPERX FURY 16GB 3200MHZ DDR4 CL16 |
| Storage | KLEVV CRAS C720 M.2 NVMe SSD 1TB KLEVV CRAS C920 M.2 NVMe SSD 2TB |
| Cooler | Scythe Mugen 5 |
| PSU | CM V750 Gold |
| Casing | CM NR200P |
| Operating System | Windows 11 64Bit |
Please note that the speed may vary depending on host hardware, software, and usage. The listed capacities on the Kingston XS1000 include formatting and other functions, so the actual available capacity for data storage may be less than what is listed.
CrystalDiskMark Speed Test
While Kingston promised a read and write speed of 1050MB/s, our results showed a slightly slower write speed.
Real world File Transfer
Although it’s not explicitly mentioned as a cache drive, the Kingston XS1000 exhibited behavior similar to a cached drive, as the drive slowed down after a while.
Error Test
Hard Disk Sentinel – Random Seek Test
We ran a total of 10 hours of Random Seek Test to check if any errors would occur and halt the drive’s operation, verifying the stability of the Kingston XS1000.
Hard Disk Sentinel – Surface Test
Additionally, we conducted 10 rounds of Surface Test on the Kingston XS1000. This analysis pushed the drive to its limits to detect as many bad blocks as possible, if any (there was none).
Kingston XS1000 Conclusion
the most affordable affordable branded external SSD drive available in Malaysia
In the performance tests, the Kingston XS1000 performed accordingly. Other than a slightly slower read speed detected, the drive behaved as expected in other parameters.
However, what we’re really concerned about is the drive’s stability, as we just recently witnessed the Sandisk fiasco. We tortured the Kingston XS1000 under an intense stress test to verify its stability and caught any bad sectors. The test came out clean, and there was not one bad sector in sight.
Retailing at the range of RM345 for the 1TB variant and RM597 for the 2TB, it indicate it is the most affordable branded external SSD drive available in Malaysia now in this form factor. This, combined with the performance and durability, would conclude that the Kingston XS1000 is highly recommendable for anyone in the market for external storage.
Help support us!
If you are interested in the Kingston XS1000, we would really appreciate if you purchase them via the link below. The affiliate links won’t cost you any extra, but it will be a great help to keep our lights on here at HelloExpress.
- Kingston XS1000 (Lazada): https://s.lazada.com.my/s.6kOPN?cc