Kingston launches KC2500 M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 SSD

There are some really great things happening in the solid state storage market lately. For instance, OWC just launched a 4TB M.2 drive, while Silicon Power released a very thin external SSD. KINGMAX even announced a super-fast NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 SSD. What a time to be alive!

Today, Kingston unveils a solid state drive that isn’t revolutionary, but it is still quite cool. Called “KC2500,” it is an M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 SSD. Best of all, it is quite affordable, with pricing starting below $74.

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“KC2500 NVMe PCIe SSD delivers powerful performance using the latest Gen 3.0 x 4 controller and 96-layer 3D TLC NAND. With speeds¹ up to 3,500MB/s read and up to 2,900MB/s write, KC2500 combines outstanding performance and endurance that improves workflow for desktop, workstation and power users,” says Kingston.

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The company also says, “The self-encrypting SSD supports a full-security suite for end-to-end data protection using AES-XTS 256-bit hardware-based encryption. It allows the usage of independent software vendors with TCG Opal 2.0 security management solutions such as Symantec, McAfee, WinMagic and others. KC2500 has built-in Microsoft eDrive support, a security storage specification for use with BitLocker.”

Kingston shares specifications below.

• Form Factor: M.2 2280
• Interface: NVMe PCIe Gen 3.0 x 4 Lanes
• Capacities: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
• Controller: SMI 2262EN
• NAND: 96-layer 3D TLC
• Encrypted: AES-XTS 256 bit
• Sequential Read/Write:
  • 250GB – up to 3,500/1,200MB/s
  • 500GB – up to 3,500/2,500MB/s
  • 1TB – up to 3,500/2,900MB/s
  • 2TB – up to 3,500/2,900MB/s
• Random 4K Read/Write:
  • 250GB – up to 375,000/300,000 IOPS
  • 500GB – up to 375,000/300,000 IOPS
  • 1TB – up to 375,000/300,000 IOPS
  • 2TB – up to 375,000/300,000 IOPS
• Total Bytes Written (TBW):
  • 250GB – 150TBW
  • 500GB – 300TBW
  • 1TB – 600TBW
  • 2TB – 1.2PBW
• Power Consumption: .003W Idle / .2W Avg / 2.1W (MAX) Read / 7W (MAX) Write
• Storage Temperature: -40°C~85°C
• Operating Temperature: 0°C~70°C
• Dimensions: 80mm x 22mm x 3.5mm
• Weight:
  • 250GB – 8g
  • 500GB – 10g
  • 1TB – 10g
  • 2TB – 11g
• Vibration Operating: 2.17G Peak (7-800Hz)
• Vibration Non-operating: 20G Peak (20-1000Hz)
• MTBF: 2,000,000
• Warranty/Support⁴: Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support

The 250GB KC2500 NVMe PCIe SSD can be purchased here for $73.99, while the 500GB variant can be had here for $134.99. The 1TB version is available here for $234.99. Unfortunately, pricing and availability for the 2TB model are not yet available.