The Kingston XS1000 1TB and 2TB External SSDs cost Rs. 7,800 and Rs. 12,700. For the price, this is the most value-for-money external SSD you can buy. The Kingston XS1000 will suit most needs for most people, whether its storing documents, media, bootable OS or games. It is compatible with almost anything you throw at it.
What’s iLL
+ Small size, pocket friendly and light
+ Latest-gen transfer speeds
+ Great for everyday computing tasks and photographers
+ Versatile: can be used with multiple kinds of devices
+ Best Pricing in Segment
+ 5-year warranty
What’s Not
– Slow transfer speeds for very large files (above 4GB)
– Not suitable for organizations and corporates due to lack of hardware encryption
Introduction
Download speeds are rising by the day. Megapixels keep getting added to lenses with every new launch. Hardware that can run 4K-resolution games smoothly is becoming more accessible. AI language models and machine learning are becoming the norm. With such advancements being made in the digital world, it is only obvious that storage space is still prime real estate. Think about it. Some twenty years ago, the iPod Classic came with 500GB of storage. Today, a flagship phone’s base model comes with 128GB, while the higher storage version demands a sizeable premium.
Design, Build Quality and Features
With the context set, let us introduce to you the Kingston XS1000 External SSD. It is a nifty little device, smaller than a credit card (0.5 x 1.3 x 2.7 inches), almost like a key chain, and light as a feather (barely 25 grams). There is an LED indicator light that flashes when the drive is in use. It comes in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities, supports the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, and is compatible with Windows, Mac, or Linux systems. It connects seamlessly to a camera, just like any other external hard drive. It even works with mobile phones and gaming consoles.
Kingston wanted to offer a high-storage, small-sized SSD that is affordable to the masses, and it shows. They are able to deliver this strikingly small size by using a Silicon Motion SM2320 controller that combines the USB bridge chip and the SSD controller in a single unit. This not only reduces the size but also significantly makes the engineering less complex. The XS1000 also lacks 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption and water/dust protection. These design decisions have made the XS1000 affordable. Not all users require encryption and an IP rating, so why should they bear the extra cost?
Performance
Let’s talk about the performance of the Kingston XS1000 now. The device comes with a thick USB C to USB A cable. In order to utilize the speed of the XS1000, you need to make sure that your system supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps). Of course, our system supports this interface. If you still doubt us, here are the specifications of our test bench:
CPU: Intel Core i9 13900K
Memory: Kingston Fury Renegade 64GB (16×4) @ 6000 Mhz (XMP 2.0)
Motherboard: MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX Wi-Fi
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition
The performance of SSDs is very sensitive to file size. Running a handful of tests on CrystalDiskMark revealed some interesting aspects of the Kingston XS1000 2TB. In the 512KB Sequential Write run, the XS1000 yielded 1044 MB/s. For reference, the maximum speed supported by USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface is 1050 MB/s for both read and write. The XS1000 has effectively crossed that of that, which proves that this drive is no slouch. For the read run, we attained 959 MB/s.
When we ran the test for larger files (64 GB), we got much lower read and write speeds: 851 MB/s and 508 MB/s. That is roughly 20% slower than the performance for smaller files. If your USB port supports USB 3.2 Gen 1, then your speeds will be capped at 500 MB/s.
Conclusion
The Kingston XS1000 is a value-for-money external SSD that will do its job in most everyday situations. It performs excellently for small and midsized files, but its performance significantly decreases when file size increases. If you’re a professional who works with large files, say a video editor, you should look at other options. If you just need a device that can be your day-to-day storage companion, you cannot go wrong with the Kingston XS1000. Corporates will likely stay away from the XS1000 due to lack of hardware or software encryption. No IP rating means the external drive is not suitable to outdoor usage. But how many of us do actually use an external drive outdoors? How many of us do actually need encryption? That is why you for everyday computing needs, the Kingston XS1000 external SSD is perfect. Its size is so small, and its weight is so less that you’ll hardly notice it when carrying it around.
