Kingston unveils A2000 NVMe PCIe SSD

Today, Kingston announces a new NVMe solid state drive, called "A2000," and unfortunately, it isn’t too exciting. Don’t get me wrong, it is plenty fast, but hardly the fastest.

Here’s the thing, folks, PCIe 4.0 drives will soon be flooding the market, and this new model from Kingston still uses the older PCIe 3.0. With that said, most computers do not support PCIe 4.0, so consumers largely can’t take full advantage of an SSD using that new standard anyway.

"A2000 is an affordable storage solution with impressive read / write speeds up to 2,200 / 2,000MB/s respectively, thus delivering 3x the performance of a SATA SSD. It is ideal for entry-level users and DIY system builders who appreciate responsiveness and ultra-fast loading times," says Kingston.

The company further says, "A2000 is a self-encrypting drive that supports end-to-end data protection using 256-bit AES Hardware-based encryption that allows the usage of independent software vendors with TCG Opal 2.0 security management solutions including Symantec, McAfee, WinMagic and others. The drive also has built-in eDrive support, a security storage specification for use with BitLocker."

Kingston shares the following features and specifications.

• NVMe PCIe performance at a fraction of the cost: A2000 is an affordable solution with impressive read/write speeds up to 2,200/2,000MB/
• Full-security suite: Protect and secure your data with Kingston’s self-encrypting drive.
• Optimal systems: Ideal for Ultrabooks and small form factor PC (SFF PC) systems.
• Multiple capacities: Upgrade your PC with up to 1TB
• Form Factor: M.2 2280
• Interface: NVMe™ PCIe Gen 3.0 x 4 Lanes
• Capacities2: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB
• NAND: 3D
• Encrypted: AES 256-bit Hardware-based Encryption
• Sequential Read/Write:
  • 250GB -- up to 2,000/1,100MB/s
  • 500GB -- up to 2,200/2,000MB/s
  • 1TB -- up to 2,200/2,000MB/s
• Random 4K Read/Write:
  • 250GB -- up to 150,000/180,000 IOPS
  • 500GB -- up to 180,000/200,000 IOPS
  • 1TB -- up to 250,000/220,000 IOPS
• Total Bytes Written (TBW):
  • 250GB -- 150TBW
  • 500GB -- 350TBW
  • 1TB -- 600TBW
• Power Consumption: .0032W Idle / .08W Avg / 1.7W (MAX) Read / 4.5W (MAX) Write
• Storage Temperature: -40°C~85°C
• Operating Temperature: 0°C~70°C
• Dimensions: 80mm x 22mm x 3.5mm
• Weight:
  • 250GB -- 6.6g
  • 500GB -- 6.8g
  • 1TB -- 6.6g
• Vibration Operating: 2.17G Peak (7-800Hz)
• Vibration Non-operating: 20G Peak (20-1000Hz)
• MTBF: 2,000,000
• Warranty/Support: Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support

If you have no plans on upgrading to a motherboard with PCIe 4.0, then the Kingston A2000 could be worth your attention. Enthusiasts wanting the latest and greatest, however, should hold off for a PCIe 4.0 drive.

The A2000 will soon become available in three capacities -- 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB for $39, $59, and $99 respectively. It can be ordered from Amazon by clicking on the prices above.