Kingston – Tech Raman

Kingston SSDNow UV400 SSD Review – Value for Money SSD

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 04:04:10 +0000

The UV in the Kingston UV series stands for ultra value and they really are. Kingston has designed it to provide high capacity flash-based storage for those on a shoe-string budget. Solid State Drives are gaining in popularity and the prices are coming down too , Kingston has been slowly moving at fast pace in this segment. In fact, according to research firm Forward Insights, Kingston Digital has secured a 16% share of all SSDs shipped in 2016, placing them second only to Samsung who have 21% market share. The UV400 available in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB options has reduced the cost versus performance, making it affordable to mainstream computer users to avail SSD to enjoy the benefits of flash. In fact, the UV400 was first made to cater the RIM countries, meaning Russia, India and Mexico, where buyers are extremely value conscious. When Kingston realized the potential of the UV400 series and its popularity in the RIM, they took it global.

Specifications of UV400:

Capacities: 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, 960GB Controller: Marvell 88SS1074 NAND: Toshiba 15nm planar TLC Interface: SATA Rev. 3.0 (6Gbps) Data Transfer (ATTO):

120GB — up to 550MB/s Read and 350MB/s Write
240GB — up to 550MB/s Read and 490MB/s Write
480GB — up to 550MB/s Read and 500MB/s Write
960GB — up to 540MB/s Read and 500MB/s Write

Maximum Random 4k Read/Write (IOMETER):

120GB — up to 90,000 IOPS and 15,000 IOPS
240GB — up to 90,000 IOPS and 25,000 IOPS
480GB — up to 90,000 IOPS and 35,000 IOPS
960GB — up to 90,000 IOPS and 50,000 IOPS

Power Consumption: 0.672W Idle / 0.693W Avg / 0.59W (MAX) Read / 2.515W (MAX) Write Storage temperature: -40°C~85°C Operating temperature: 0°C~70°C Dimensions: 100.0mm x 69.9mm x 7.0mm Weight: 57g Vibration operating: 2.17G Peak (7–800Hz) Vibration non-operating: 20G Peak (10–2000Hz) Life expectancy: 1 million hours MTBF Warranty/support: Limited 3-year warranty with free technical support

At the core of the UV400 is the Marvell’s 88SS1074 4-channel flash controller. The UV400 has mated the Marvell 88SS1074 controller with super-low-cost Toshiba 15nm 3-bit planar flash in TSOP packages and an LPDDR3 cache package. By opting with the economical TSOP packaged flash, Kingston has made possible the UV400 SSDs are cheaper comparatively, though there is a slight compromise in the speed when compared to the higher bus speed BGA packaged flash. Still, The UV400 is up to 10X faster than mechanical hard drives, it is silent, and uses far less power than a conventional HDD.

Variants:

There are currently six different UV400 models in three capacities. You can purchase each SSD as a bare drive or with an upgrade bundle, which includes the following items.

This is the bare drive.

And this is the UV400 bundle kit.

The bundle kit includes:

USB 3.0 Enclosure
USB 3.0 Cable
SATA Data Cable
SATA Power Cable
Desktop Mounting Bracket
Mounting Screws
7mm to 9mm Z-height Bracket

Prices might vary in times, so you can check in the Amazon links at the bottom of the article. The UV400 comes with a 3-year warranty that Kingston limits by the amount of data you write to the drive. The SSD case is all metal and weighs in at 57g and is held together by four screws.

UV400 – Should you be going for it?

I am not going to bore with the technical aspects of the UV400 with data of the tests thrown in , there are better experts who dig in those info in the internet and if you are sucker for raw data, you can always look into them. For normal buyers who know a bit of what SSD is and contemplating on Kingston UV400 here is my thoughts to make you decide better. Simply put, The UV400 480GB is a good buy, it may not be the best in class SSD but it offers a best in class value for money. And between the 120GB, 240GB and 480GB models, I would suggest you to go with the 480GB since it’s performance is better than the other two and is faster. Also if you have another higher performing SSD in your machine, the UV400 can make for a good supplement as a secondary drive. Ask any hardcore machine builder, he would vouch dividing data between two SSDs to maintain their performance levels of the drives and make them last swifter when you grind it more data. The UV400 is a entry-level SSD that gives you a quantum jump in performance when you move from the hard disk drives. It definitely gives a better user experience compared to the hard disk drives. Of course you cannot compare the UV400 with Samsung 850 EVO 500GB but then UV400 strikes the deal with a better value for performance, if that is a major criteria for you.

]]>

HyperX CloudX Pro Review : A safe pick for your Xbox and PC gaming indulgence

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 10:34:37 +0000

Headset

Driver: Dynamic, 53mm with neodymium magnets
Type: Circumaural, Closed back
Frequency Response: 15Hz–25,000 Hz
Impedance: 60 Ω
Sound pressure level: 98dBSPL/mW at 1kHz
T.H.D.: < 2%
Input power: Rated 150mW, Maximum 300mW
Weight: 309g
Weight w/ mic: 322g
Cable length and type: Headset (1.3m) + PC extension cable (2m)
Connection: Headset – 3.5mm plug (4 pole) + PC extension cable – 3.5mm stereo and mic plugs

Microphone

Element: Electret condenser microphone
Polar pattern: Uni-directional, Noise-canceling
Frequency Response: 50Hz-18,000 Hz
Sensitivity: -39dBV (0dB=1V/Pa,1kHz)

The CloudX comes in a neat, sturdy package blazing the Xbox green. Inside the box and in a secured foam padding you find this hard case. Just a look at the inside packaging and the hard case assures you of the quality you can expect from this headset. After all, the first impression matters. Unzip the hard case, everything is placed neatly. What comes inside the shell?

Headset
Interchangeable ear cups
2M PC extension cable
Detachable MIC

I generally prefer the leatherette ear cups but a second cloth ear cup cover is a good addition for those who would like them. To change, you simply pull around the edges of the cup gently to remove them, to put the other set of cup make sure it fits into the groove and placed correctly. At first time, you might struggle a bit, but once you know how to go about the business, its a piece of cake. When not in use, the MIC can be tucked in the shell case via a hook and loop strap. The design DNA is strikingly similar to the Cloud Core but with a dash of oxidized silver frame and in place of the all-black affair of the core. Also the band gets a white threading replacing the red job in the Core. The matte finish matches the Xbox One Elite controller perfectly. The build quality is top notch. The frame is sturdy, the band comfortable and the over all look is very self-assuring. The wires are braided and are very durable. The braided wire also has in-line mic mute and volume controls, which are easy to access and use. For PC gamers who want split inputs for headphones and microphone, there’s no worries. HyperX includes an adapter in the box to do just this. It’s 2m long, too, which will be pleasing to hear since few PC gamers sit as close to their box as you would to an Xbox controller.The main cable is non removable. The aluminum frame is light, but also touch and the headset is extremely comfortable to wear for long hours of gaming and doesn’t weigh down. The ‘gooseneck’ flexible MIC can be positioned the way you want to. The microphone works good for gaming, the game chats and online calls quality is pretty good. Even otherwise to listen music it fares decently well with good base. It is not a surrround sound headset but then the pricing is lesser than those supported headsets too. Over all, on stereo mode it delivers good audio with good mids, lows and highs. HyperX CloudX wins over with the design which gives you a sense of reliability as well as not over the board ludicrous looking. The subtle looks has a strong presence and it also delivers good audio and makes for a good Xbox companion as well for your PC gaming.]]>

Kingston Wireless Mobilelite G3 Review

Lakshmi Rajan — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 23:14:22 +0000

Few weeks back Kingston send me a package and it read as Kingston Mobilelite Wireless G3, their third generation wireless drive in the Mobilelite lineup. I been using it since then extensively and finally here are my thoughts on the product. Why do you need a wireless drive? What else G3 has to offer? We shall find out in this review. Our mobile devices like mobiles and tablets have become major source of content consumption, we have stacked up gigabytes of movies and songs, we clicks thousands of pictures and endlessly copy them between devices and we also share contents between various devices. In such scenario, a wireless drive can come in handy for accessing, transferring contents easily and also product like Mobilelite can stream content from your storage to other wifi connected devices. Plus, it also can serve as a battery back up. The Kingston Mobilelite Wireless G3 is available in two variants – the G3 I got here and another is a G3 Pro. The difference being, the pro variant has a 64GB internal storage while the plain G3 lacks a built-in storage but both has an option for SD card support or can connect to external hard drives. The G3 Pro also has a beefier 6700mAh battery compared to the 5,400mAh of the other one. Out of the box, you get the G3 device, a microSD card adapter, a USB to Micro-USB cable and a quick start guide. The G3 is compact and measures 115mm x 80mm x 24mm and weighs 192 grams. The top has a glossy finish while the sides and bottom have a matte finish. The bottom has a very tiny footings. The front side houses the power button with a recessed reset button to its right. a microUSB charging port is located at the other end. Above it is a subtle branding in grey color. On the right side, we find the SD card slot and USB port. The USB port is a standard USB 2.0 port, while the SD card slot will accept SD and Micro SD cards up to the SDXC standard. An ethernet port is placed at the left side. The top face has three LED indicators. The lights indicate the presence of an internet connection, WiFi signal, and power. The Battery LED/Power also indicates how much battery time is left while the MobileLite Wireless G3 is powered on. Green indicates 51% – 100%; orange indicates 25% – 50%; and red indicates less than 25% battery charge remaining.

The App and User Interface:

To get it started, you need to download the Kingston Mobilelite wireless app which is available both on Android and iOS, I used the Android app. You would find two Kingston mobilelite app on Google Play store, download the one that mentions Mobilelite wireless (with the red background icon) Once installed you have to connect to the MobileLite Wireless G3’s WiFi network which can be identified with ‘MLWG3″ and available in two network 2.4GHz (b/g/n) and 5GHz (ac) wireless networks, then open the app and it auto-connects to the network. The homepage you can access the file explorer, that allows you to dig into your connected device as well as external storage if attached like SD cards or external hard drives and backup / restore option. At the bottom you will find set of icons lined up: Home, Music, Videos, Backup, and Settings.

Uses of Kingston Mobilelite G3:

Mobilelite G3 for backup / storage expansion

One of the mainstay use case of the G3 for me is the backup functionality. As a reviewer, I keep moving between phones and have lots of content resting in my devices. I take lots of pictures too. I usually backup my photos and other contents like music and video on my WD MyPassport 1TB drive. I could connect the external hard disk to the G3 and access it wirelessly on my phone and move the contents to and fro. There is also a oneclick button for backup to dump all my contents into the storage. If you have limited storage space in your mobile or tablet, G3 can expand your storage when connected.

Mobilelite G3 for streaming contents and storage expansion

The G3 should allow to stream content directly from the storage to the connected device on the Mobilelite G3 network within the app or send to a 3rd party app. I mean it should but that is not the case in my test. Video playback was not smooth if it is a fullHD content and a HD or less resolution fared better. Accessing pictures should not be an issue if those were phone camera clicks and again DSLR size pictures take a few seconds to pop on the screen. Streaming music was relatively smoother. This is when accessing the files from the external hard disk, digging from an SD card was much smoother.

Mobilelite G3 as a powerbank

The G3 has a 5400mAh Lithium-Ion battery and it can act as a power bank. So when you are travelling and running out of battery on your phone and not finding a power source, you can draw some power from the G3. The spec sheet states power out put of 3.7V 2.0A output maximum but my test showed a 5V / 0.5A output. This might not be the primary use case of the G3 but a secondary backup in case of an emergency. Any time, I would suggest a dedicated powerbank when you are on a move.

Mobilelite G3 to setup a hotspot

If you are at public place like say hotel and you were worried about your privacy, you can connect the internet LAN cable to the ethernet port of the G3 and setup a hotspot with your own password and connect multiple devices to your network.

Mobilelite G3 as a WiFi extender

If the WiFi signal from your router has trouble reaching every corner of your home, then the G3 bridge your device and router acting as a WiFi extender. Of course you need to enable the WiFi bridging in the settings tab to enable it. Extra tip: To enable WiFi bridging between the G3 and your home WiFi network, go to settings > WLW Setup > Wireless network setup

Mobilelite G3 as SD Card Reader

Finally, the G3 can be your SD card reader when you connect it to a PC via it’s micro USB port, it acts as an SD card reader allowing access to the contents of the SD card while charging it’s battery at the same time.

Conclusion

The Mobilelite G3 works neatly whatever it is supposed to do. It worked like a charm with my WD MyPassport 1TB hard drive and it also recognized my various cards like the 4GB SanDisk class 4 SD card to the mightier 128GB Lexar High-Performance MicroSDXC. Everything worked well. The streaming and backup were no-brainer and works smooth. The backup battery as a powerbank is a bonus when your primary powerbank is not available. Personally for me it simplified my backup process from contents from various Smartphones I am trying out. So should you buy one? If you are a sort of person who want a bit of ease in your tech setup and have constant need to access contents from your cards or external drives and do streaming or simply for back up purposes, this would simplify your life. I would not say it is a must-have device but can ease up things a bit if you have one.

]]>

Kingston HyperX Cloud Core Review : Living up to its legacy

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 13:27:08 +0000

If you are into gaming, investing in a good headset makes a big difference in enjoying the gaming experience. Even the Smartphone gaming titles these days come with some serious audio and it is worthwhile to own a headset that not only delivers good audio for music but also for playing games, even if you are a casual gamer. This is where Kingston’s HyperX product lineup pitches in. HyperX is famed for their gaming peripherals especially the headsets. Their HyperX Cloud and Cloud 2 has been well received by professional gamers and with Cloud Core they attempt at wooing the casual gamers. The Cloud Core is compatible with XBox, Playstaion, Wii U, PC, Mac and Smartphones and tablets making it a versatile headset. In this HyperX Cloud Core review, I share my experience of using it for the last couple of weeks. The Cloud Core follows the same design language we have seen in the HyperX cloud series. It looks premium and has a great build quality. It uses aluminum frame for durability and is also lightweight for hours of usage. The finish of the metal is commendable. The leatherette-padded headphone is comfortable and the red stitches on the edges gives a characteristic look. There are no pressure points and it does not weigh down on your head when in use. The head band is adjustable and it slides smooth and sticks on its position. The HyperX branding is embroidered on the headband… the ear pads also flaunts the logo in the red color giving it a cool, gaming accents. The earpads are larger and is made of memory foam. It soaks in the air comfortably and doesn’t heats up or sweats on a prolonged use. The cables are braided and looks like it will last longer… The microphone is detachable, which is good because you don’t want it for all gaming as well as when just listening music or watching movies. The microphone port can be closed with a lid when not in use. The stalk is thinner and flexible and the bud is at the end. Once tugged into its slot (it took a few attempt initially to get the right position) the microphone sits pretty well and offers good flexibility. Out of the box, you also get a cable extender with two split ends. The cable extender is for connecting to your computer and about the two ends – one for microphone and the other one for the audio input.

Performance

While the Cloud Core scores comfortably high on design and build quality , let’s see how it fares on the performance scale. The Original Cloud Core and the Cloud 2 have raised the bar for the HyperX and the good news is the Core lives up to the legacy. It houses a 53mm drivers beneath and it delivers a powerful and detailed stereo sound output. It is rich in bass but at the same time offers clarity in various range. It has much oomph at the low-end, while also being sprightly at the high-end. It is an all-rounder when it comes to gaming, movies and listening music. Though for the nuances of the pro-level gaming, a serious game would very well do with a Cloud 2, for casual gamer, this works well. It ingrains the same audio specs of the original Cloud. The closed earpads keeps the external noises out pretty well. The audio quality is amongst the best I have seen in this price range. Even when playing games on Smartphones, the audio experience via the Cloud Core is very immersive. Even when the volume is cranked up, it doesn’t get annoying. I played hours of Dead Trigger and Over Kill, the cinematic sound effect you get treated make it difficult later when you shift to your regular in-ear plugs of the Smartphones. The microphone offers less hisses and comes in great when communicating in a multiplayer game though a bit of deeper bass would have been nicer if you are using it to record voice overs for Youtube uploads.

Verdict

Simply put, the HyperX Cloud Core is an awesome headset at its price range. It has a great, durable build quality, clean finish and the audio quality is excellent. It makes a perfect all-rounder headset compatible with all platforms and comes good for movies and music listening. I highly recommend it and it won’t disappoint you.]]>

Kingston DataTraveler Workspace – A Windows to Go USB drive

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 14:34:46 +0000

What’s this? A USB3.0 flash drive? Hold on to your horse, this is more than a mere storage accessory. The Kingston DataTraveler Workspace is a bootable storage device designed to be used with Windows To Go, a feature of Windows 8 Enterprise which lets users create a portable version of the OS, that can be used directly from a USB drive. With BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) being encouraged and increasingly prevalent in many enterprise, it gives employees the freedom to work on the computing device of their choice or shift between various PC / laptop without having to worry about contents. Additionally, it is safe and secure to work from any workstation.

Design and build

A bit over-sized when compared to the current generation of flash drives but the Kingston DataTraveler Workspace looks very much the same in physical appearance. The bronze color with accentuated silver lining and the chunky plastic and metallic construction has a nondescript look and doesn’t warrant a second curious look. It’s rugged and sturdy and you could be pretty be safe about occasional falls. A cap secures the USB plug from being damaged or dirties and when in use it can also be fitted onto the rear, so you don’t have to worry about misplacing it. There is also a lanyard loop for the drive, letting you attach it to a lanyard or keychain. Measuring 0.65 by 0.9 by 2.9 inches (HWD), as I mentioned a bit over-sized it can obscure the adjacent USB port when in use. The one at our review desk had a 32GB capacity. The drive is a USB 3.0 interface that is backwards compatible with USB 2.0.

Features

So what differentiates DataTraveler Workspace from a regular flash drive? To begin with it is a portable and bootable operating system and when in use it reads as a fixed NTFS drive. In technical words, it is a compact solid-state drive (SSD) equipped with an integrated Sandforce SSD Controller and support for TRIM and S.M.A.R.T commands. To enhance the security, the drive has support for BitLocker encryption and Trusted Boot anti-amlware an boot protection software. The drives includes Windows To Go of the 64-bit version of Windows 8 Enterprise keeping in mind the corporate requirements. The drive can be run on any machine running Windows 7 or Windows 8. To run Windows To Go, ideally a machine should have a 1GHz or more processing power, a minimum 2GB of RAM and DirectX 9-capable graphics. Kingston states that the DataTraveler Workspace offers a sequential speeds of up to 250 MB/s for both read and write. It also mentions sustained random 4k read and write speeds 3,750 and 9,8oo IOPS respectively. A score of 22,250 using PCMARK Vantage HDD suite is also listed. Out of the 32GB capacity of DataTraveler Workspace, 17.5GB is available for storage. You can also have your own installation of other essential softwares that would fit into the space. For more, you can do with extra high-capacity flash drive or portable external hard disk. An interesting, mention worthy feature is if the DataTraveler Workspace gets accidentally removed, you get 60 seconds to replug it without disrupting your work or loosing any data. So by mistake if your hand graze the drive and it gets removed or your hyper-active kid pulls the drive out, no tensions.

In use

Using the Kingston DataTraveler Workspace is no rocket science but a simple plug and play. Of course, you need to know to initiate boot sequence on the machine you are working. Once on boot mode and selected, the included Windows To Go copy is ready to use. There is no additional setup required as the quick setup process takes care of the process. The drive has a symbiotic relationship with the device you use. It uses the hardware power of the PC/laptop you are working except for the target hard drive of the machine. You would be making use of the core-processing power, RAM and graphics capabilities of the machine without letting the files in the drive or the host machine to be accessed by each other. So you can be assured of securing your files or even risk of getting infected from the host PC. This is what would attract the Kingston DataTraveler Workspace as an ideal choice for BOYD corporate requirements.

Conclusion

Portable and straightforward with it’s simple plug and play usability, the Kingston DataTraveler Workspace is a great choice for BYOD which can convert any PC to a secured environment to work on the go, anywhere.]]>