14 DAY TRIAL // Late last year, we were offered the opportunity to review one of Kingston's latest solutions targeting an expanding SSD market, more precisely the 40GB SSDNow V-series drive. Built on Intel's technology, the drive offered a mix of affordability and high-end read performance, in a package that was aimed at the desktop market. On that note, Intel has recently put these drives on sale under its own brand.
According to reports on the Internet, the drives are already available in the US and Europe, allowing users to take advantage of its specifications and features. Although the drives are the same as the one we had a chance to review, a while back, we should note some of its main highlights. The V-series 40GB SSD takes advantage of a 2.5-inch design and offers the performance delivered by the MLC NAND memory coupled with a SATA 3.0Gbps interface.
The specifications of this Flash-based storage solution includes read and write speeds of up to 170MB/s and 35MB/s, respectively. As we saw in our review, of the Kingston-branded model, there are some scenarios where these levels can be topped, providing users with a considerable boost of performance, compared to traditional hard drives. However, with only 40GB of storage and considering its low write speeds, these drives are better at certain applications rather than being used as a general-purpose storage solution.
Intel is already selling these drives in the States and the European market, with a three-year warranty and a price tag similar to that of Kingston's offering. While you can pick up the Kingston branded model for US$129.99, the Intel-branded version is available for the same value. In Europe, the Intel 40GB model is available for as low as 98 Euro, which is a pretty good deal, if you are looking for a drive that can speed up your computer's boot performance.