SPECworkstation 3.0.2 Storage Benchmark
SPECworstation benchmark is an excellent benchmark to test systems using workstation-type workloads. In this test, we only ran the Storage component, which is fifteen separate tests.
SPECworkstation performance is not a good look for the Kingston NV1 1TB, though again it manages to at least put a little distance between itself and the Crucial P2 in a few of the benchmarks.
Sustained Write Performance
This is not necessarily a benchmark, so much as trying to catch the post-cache write speed of the drive. While I am filling the drive with data to the 85% mark with 10 simultaneous write threads, I monitor the drive for the write performance to dip to the lowest steady point and grab a screenshot.
Post-cache write speed on the Kingston NV1 is not good, competing for the bottom of my performance graph.
Temperatures
We monitored the idle and maximum temperature during testing with HWMonitor to get some idea of the thermal performance and requirements of the drive. Please keep in mind that our test bench is an open frame chassis in a 22C room, but with no direct airflow. As a result, this is not representative of a cramped low airflow case and is instead intended to model temperatures of a drive ‘on its own’.
The Kingston NV1 1TB runs very cool, topping out at 58C. Users should have no problems with temperatures on this drive, even in the most cramped chassis.
Final Words
Today the Kingston NV1 1TB is $80 at Amazon, making it the least expensive 1TB SSD I have personally reviewed. That price point is its saving grace, as it is less expensive than the Crucial P2, the Kingston A2000, and the WD SN550 1TB. The NV1 is an entry level drive in every sense of the word, with an appropriately matching price.
Given the similarity in specs to the Crucial P2, I was pleasantly surprised that the Kingston NV1 1TB SSD was mostly unremarkable in my testing rather than crashing and burning. My biggest qualm with this drive lies in its warranted endurance; 240TBW is simply too little for a 1TB drive in my opinion. With that said, for a basic client SSD in a workload with relatively low disk I/O, and given the price is right the NV1 could be a decent option. At $10 cheaper than the WD SN550 1TB, I would consider the NV1 a valid option when selecting a new SSD when entry-level value is top priority.
It feels like kingston intentionally set the bar as low as possible so that even if they do component swaps down the road, they can still hit their spec’d performance and endurance figures.
And they seem to have set the low bar splendidly.
For reviews of low end products like this, could you put a 2.5″ HDD’s numbers out for comparison. For sustained write some of the traditional hard drives might be faster. They shouldn’t compete on access time or drop resistance, but with more modern hybrid HDD the access time may be comparable on more real world tests. I can see a number of workloads that might be faster on HDD.
Excellent work on this post about Kingston M.2 SSD