Kingston 128GB V Series Notebook Upgrade Kit Review :: The Kingston 128GB SSD

• Kingston SSD V Series 128GB SSD drive
• Enclosure
• Mini USB to USB cable
• Driver CD

Box

Rear of box

Box and Plastic

Bundle

Kingston includes their drive in a black box with the Kingston head logo on the front of the box. The Kingston Technology logo is on the right side of the front on top with the name of the drive series "SSDNOW V Series" below that along with the Solid State Drive and 128GB Notebook Upgrade Kit below that that.

The back of the box has the features of the drive in 18 different languages including Korean, English, German, French and many more. Sliding out the drive we find that Kingston has packaged the drive and accessories in a plastic enclosure. The top of the enclosure is where the CD installation drivers, owner's manual is located.

Drive

Back of drive

SATA connectors on drive

Enclosure

Below the CD lies the drive in an anti-static bag. The drive itself is in a gray casing. The top of the drive has the UPC code, the name of the board. The certifications and Serial ATA interface are listed on the sticker along with the Kingston head. The back of the drive has the four screw holes on the drive. The front of the drive has the SATA Data and Power connections.

Bottom of enclosure

Front of enclosure

Cover off

SATA connectors on enclosure

The bundle itself has a USB to mini-USB connector, the Driver CD with Hard Drive Cloning software (in this case the SSD Cloning software), and the enclosure which holds the drive in place. Note if you are using the drive in a desktop computer you can use it without the enclosure as the drive will fit on any 2.5" bay.

Installation of the drive is simple and easy. The bottom of the SSD enclosure has grooved notches which you push to remove the cover from the enclosure. First though, you need to unlock the enclosure by sliding the lock mechanism on the front of the enclosure to the unlocked position. Once the enclosure is open, simply insert the drive into the enclosure.

Drive installed front

Side view installed

Top view drive installed

At this point you need to close up the enclosure and prepare to attach it to your notebook. The included power cord has a mini-USB connection which attaches to your enclosure, and a regular USB connection which connects to your computer. Plug the cable into your computer and power it up. Once the system boots to Windows you need to partition and format it in the Control Panel and your drive is now ready to store your information. SSD drives are much faster at OS installations and data retrieval than any standard HDD.