Kingston 80GB SSDNow M Series Drive Review :: Test Setup And Software

• Intel DX58S0 X-58 Motherboard
• Intel i975 Quad Core CPU 3.3GHz
• Thermaltake Spin-Q CPU Cooler
• Kingston KHX16000D3K3/3GX DDR3 3GB Kit
• EVGA GeForce GTX280
• Sony Optiarc 22X DVD/RW
• WD VelociRaptor 300 GB, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 15,000 RPM
• WD Raptor 36GB SATA 3 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 10,000 RPM
• Intel X25-M/Kingston SSDNow M Series 80GB SATA 2.5" internal SSD
• Kingston Traveler 120 8GB Flash Drive
• Thermaltake Toughpower XT 850W Power Supply

I decided to just keep the testing to as real world as possible and even though there are tests like HD-TACH, they are inconclusive and inaccurate and therefore in my opinion susceptible to error. I decided to go a different route and just do things that we normally do in our experiences with using your drive, like installation of the OS, Boot Times, files transfer times and software installation. I feel these are better methods of testing than just using synthetic testing. A combination of both usually works for me as it offers a more balanced scoring platform. It really is hard to get away from the pack and come up with a different testing method than the ones being used, but we did our best to be a least a little bit from everybody else. We also used the fastest SATA drives available the Raptor and VelociRaptor from Western Digital as these are the best competition in this type of testing environment.

We used a stop watch at a selected section of the OS and the software installation to get the times on these installs, and began timing of system boots when the power switch was pushed. Another thing to note if testing at home, HD-TACH 3.0.40 does not work in Vista or Windows 7unless you use Windows XP 32-Bit Compatibility mode, and getting version 3.0.10 seems to be a bit of a hassle. We used HD Tune for our read, and our write tests. I am sure entirely new testing methods will be developed as time goes by for SSD drives, but for now I will stick to as much real world testing as possible. The pictures below show our new memory and Hard Drive test bench, and it looks pretty cool doesn't it? You can also see in the graphs below the various temperatures of the drives, the SSD drive did not come up in any test so I had to measure its temps with an external gauge. The SSD drives seemed to just remain in the ambient temperature of the room it's located in. The Raptor ran very hot and the VelociRaptor was not far behind, so the SSD does have cooling the others cannot compete with.