REVIEW: Kingston XS1000 External SSD, fast and portable 191x49

Having good memory storage on any device is essential, after all, files are getting heavier and no one deserves to be unable to install games, apps or even take their favorite photos and videos. You SSDs (Solid-State Drives, something like Solid State Unit in Portuguese) arrived with everything in recent years and now we even have them as an external option, as is the case with XS1000, Kingston. This version we received has 2 TB and is plug and play, i.e. super easy to use. Check out our full review now with all the details 193b3y

Design 145g70

Being discreet is the main factor in the design of this external SSD. Weighing just 28g, the portable storage can be stored in your pants pocket, for example, as it is so small. As for the measurements, it is about 7cm high and just 3cm wide. Regarding its shape, it is a rectangle and is made of metal and plastic in its body.

It's a type of device that doesn't have much to talk about in of design. It is super straight to the point, from its presentation on the box to its everyday use. As it is a portable product and for the most varied uses, this is a huge design achievement and I was very pleased with it.

In the box, we only have two things, the external SSD and a cable with one end USB-C and the other USB-A. The body of the SSD is where we have the USB-C port and its use is the easiest thing in the world, in the plug and play standard, that is, just connect it to the desired device and it's ready to use.

Regarding the issue of the USB-C port, it's great that it has it, however the included cable is USB-C at one end and USB-A at the other, limiting the product's compatibility with smartphones, for example. To do this, you need to use the USB-C/USB-C cable that comes with your smartphone, or buy it if it is a different model.

Another visual detail of the product is on its upper part, with the company logo. Kingston. In addition to the logo, this part also has a slight concavity, just for aesthetic purposes. The material used on its body is plastic and, as it is very small, it provides the necessary security. When used, the only visual information we have on the device is a blue LED that flashes, maintaining the idea of ​​being discreet and functional.

Even though it's not the proposal, I think it could have a strap, for example, so that we could tie it to places and keep it even safer.

Storage capacity 2y25l

It has two versions, one with 1TB and the other with 2TB of storage. To be able to differentiate them, we need to pay attention to the code in their name. The 1TB version follows the name 1000G, while the 2 TB one has the name 2000G. Except for the storage capacity, both have the same specifications, which we will delve into in the next topic.

Hardware and Performance 5n491a

This is certainly the most interesting part of an external SSD and I can already say that the XS1000 He is very competent at what he does. Because it is small and super easy to use, this accessory is perfect for PCs, notebooks and even consoles. Before getting into the tests on the PC, I want to move on to the issue of consoles, where I used the XS1000 the most.

The console I have in my hands is a PlayStation 4 Slim and, for this reason, testing the SSD on it guaranteed a really cool performance jump. O XS1000 SSD It can reach reading speeds of up to 1050MB/s and 1000MB/s when writing. Compared to the HDD included in the PS4, it can reach around 75MB/s in both cases. Therefore, just from the specifications you can see how much more interesting it is to install games on the external SSD.

To show this in practice, I chose some games that I played a lot and saw that they take a long time to boot up. I chose Resident Evil 4, Grand Theft Auto V e Fortnite to be the guinea pigs. I can already say that, overall, the results achieved an improvement of around 50%.

Resident Evil 4 2o5f4j

Em Resident Evil 4, we have a very specific case where the game received a version for PS4 due to its large fan base. Therefore, it is a very well optimized version within the limits of the hardware. Despite this, the only major obstacle to the game is the initial loading or when we need to load another game save slot. That's where the external SSD made all the difference.

If you've played the game, you know that, after the first playthrough, entering and exiting the game to get the best times becomes a common action, and having to face long loading times in this process is not cool.

With the PS4's conventional HD, the average time to load a game save is 50 seconds. With the game installed on the SSD, the speed dropped to 24 seconds, a change that made all the difference when playing the game. Between one death and another, or even in mode mercenaries, everything flowed more smoothly without you having to look at the loading bar for a long time.

GTA V 43849

Even though it's a game from two generations ago, it still requires work and still makes history. The game was consolidated in the PS4 generation thanks to the online mode, but even after 10 years, it takes a long time to load.

On conventional HD, the game's initial loading time took 2 minutes and 12 seconds. If you play the game on PS4, you know that it seems to take a lot longer than that. On the SSD, the time decreased, dropping to 1 minute and 13 seconds, giving a good relief to the process.

Fortnite 1s191r

Despite being an online game, the battle royale from Epic Games has become very heavy on PlayStation 4 in recent seasons. This also affected the speed at which we were able to access the game lobby. With the conventional HD, the average time was 42 seconds, reaching around 20 seconds when installed on the SSD, once again bringing a 50% improvement in game loading speed.

Tests on PC 1o2j6a

On PC, you can use the external SSD in the same way as on consoles, but not just that. As we know, the PC gives us many possibilities and here it would be no different. In addition to the standard format of an additional “disk” on the PC for installing apps and games, you can also use your machine just as a file manager.

However, this is where very important information comes in to ensure the best performance of the XS1000. Its maximum reading speed is 1050MB/s and 1000MB/s writing, as long as the scenario is prepared for it. It is compatible with the latest USB standard, 3.2 Gen 2, with a transfer speed of 10 Gbps — equivalent to 1250 MB/s.

In the case of the PS4, it uses the default USB 3.2 Gen 1×1 (also known as USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.0), with a transfer rate of 625 MB/s. The same happens on my notebook, that is, in both cases, it was not possible to reach the maximum performance of the SSD, and even though the speed is far from bad, it just doesn't reach its peak. That said, let's go to the test, done using the software CrystalDiskMark.

Although the results are not surprising, it is clear that this was caused by bottlenecks in the USB 3.1 connection on the test devices. Even so, the speed presented was capable of transferring a folder with more than 50GB in just a few minutes, showing that, as long as the USB is generation 3.0, the files and speeds will be at a super acceptable speed.

In the image, we see that the reading speed was around 400MB / s, something that proved to be true, since at the time of transfer, it reached approximately 300MB and stuck at it until the end of the transfer. In of writing speed, which would be the opposite process, that is, returning these files to the PC, the performance was very similar.

Just for comparison purposes, check out a test using the same program, but with the SSD included in my notebook, NVMe standard, with a capacity of up to 2400MB/s reading and 1750MB/s writing. The results did not always remain at their maximum, but it even ed a little in the writing. Check out:

Conclusion 60664y

The External SSD XS1000 da Kingston It is a very competitive bet for Kingston. Firstly because it is mega portable and easy to carry anywhere and in any situation. Secondly, it has, in theory, excellent writing and reading speed. On my equipment, unfortunately I wasn't able to achieve such a good speed experience.

However, it is possible to find several test videos on YouTube that show it exceeding 750MB/s when transferring data, in addition to the benchmarks also delivering the expected results. As we can see, this is due to the fact that my notebook does not have the latest USB protocol, even though it is very fast.

Even with this small obstacle, what was done with this device is quite irable and I highly recommend it. Now, if you have devices that only USB 2.0 — such as older PCs and simpler cell phone models — the speed is very limited (480 Mbps, or 60 MB/s), not justifying your choice over cheaper storage. In any other case, as long as your USB is blue, data transfers are guaranteed to be minimally fast, in addition to high compatibility with the main devices on the market, such as Smart TVs, smartphones, PCs and video game consoles.

Price and availability 1s705x

O XS1000 SSD da Kingston has been available in Brazil since September in two versions. Both share the same specifications in of speed, only changing how much storage they , with one version being 1TB and the other being 2TB. The prices look like this:

• 1000TB XS1: R$449,90 in cash at Kabum
• 1000TB XS2: R$719,99 in cash at Kabum

Technical specifications 292m5w

Córdoba	SXS1000/SXS2000G
Interface	USB 3.2 Gen 2; USB-C; UVB-A
Speed	Up to 1050MB/s read, 1000MB/s write
Features	1TB, 2TB
Dimensions	69,54 x 32,58 x 13,5 mm
Weight	28,7g
frame material	metal and plastic
Operating Temperature	0 ° C to 40 ° C
Storage Temperature	-20 ° C to 85 ° C
Warranty/	5-year limited warranty with free technical
Compatible with	Windows® 11, 10, macOS (v.10.15.x+), Linux (v.4.4.x+), Chrome OS™
Price	1000TB XS1: R$449,90 in cash at Kabum 1000TB XS2: R$719,99 in cash at Kabum

What do you think of Kingston's external SSD? Would you invest in it? Comment below and take advantage of the momentum to check out our other articles and reviews, like the one about the new Galaxy S23FE.

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reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 16 / 11 / 23.