Review – Kingston XS1000 External SSD

External SSDs are becoming more common nowadays, thanks to the reduction in the cost of NAND chips. They are so reasonably priced that I would recommend anyone to upgrade their current external HDD to it. Besides being faster, the most important aspect is that an SSD is more durable than a mechanical drive.

Today, what we have in our studio is the Kingston XS1000 external SSD. It is a compact USB 3.2 Gen 2 external SSD that supports up to 1,050 MB/s read speeds with a selection of 1TB or 2TB capacities.

What’s in the box?

The Kingston XS1000 comes in a small package that weighs almost nothing. That is because the SSD itself is only 28.7 grams.

What you get inside the package is the XS1000 SSD and a USB-A to USB-C cable. Personally, I would like to see Kingston providing a 2-in-1 cable that also supports USB-C to USB-C connector.

Design

At 69.5mm x 32.6mm, the XS1000 is compact and easy to carry around.

The enclosure is made of plastic and metal – the middle plastic frame is sandwiched in between two pieces of metal enclosures.

The USB-C port is located at the side with an LED status indicator.

Underneath the enclosure is a sticker with all the certification stickers and model number details.

Benchmark Test

Crystal Disk Mark USB 3.2 Gen 2 vs USB 3.1

Since the XS1000 supports up to USB 3.2 Gen 2 protocol, you will have to make sure the computer supports the aforementioned protocol to make full use of the speed.

If you plug into the older USB 3.1 port, this is the maximum speed you will be getting instead.

File Copy Test – Read From SSD

File Copy Test – Write To SSD

File Copy Test – Duplicate Files On SSD

Conclusion

The Kingston XS1000 lives up to its high-speed claims. Even though SSDs are supposedly way faster than just 1000MB/s, that is due to the limitations of the USB 3.2 Gen 2 protocol at 10Gb/s. Faster protocols exist such as the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gb/s), USB 4 (40Gb/s) and Thunderbolt 3 (40Gb/s), however, that would incur quite a hefty cost to the controller that would ultimately affect the price of this product.

Nonetheless, this is an excellent external SSD for those who are looking to upgrade from their existing external mechanical drives. It is small and easy to carry around. Most importantly, it is way more durable than the spinning drives as you carry them around in your bag.

Where to buy? (affiliate link)

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