Test Setup:

The Kingston SSDNow V Series 128GB solid state drive was tested using a system with the following specifications:

» Intel Core i7-920 quad-core processor
» Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Motherboard
» 6GB G.Skill 1600MHz triple channel memory kit
» Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB hard drive (system drive)
» ASUS Dark Knight GeForce GTS 250 1GB video card
» Nesteq Silent 700W modular power supply
» Windows 7 RC operating system

The testing portion of the review will have the Kingston SSDNow V Series 128GB solid state drive matched up against two traditional hard drives that have actually served time in my HTPC. While I would welcome the incredible speeds that are generally expected with SSDs, I am more interested in gauging the baseline performance, as well as checking out energy efficiency and heat generation. Saving a handful of cash and getting slightly lower transfer rates buy going with a value oriented drive will be just fine with me if it can at least outperform an existing drive.

The two other drives that the Kingston SSD will do battle with include:

» 200GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 SATA 150 drive
» 750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 300 drive

The 750GB drive listed here is different than the one indicated as the system drive in the list of components used. One 750GB drive was used to launch all tests and run the operating system, while a second (empty) drive was used for gathering test results.

The 200GB drive is presently my HTPC's only drive. I don't need tons of space since the large media files are all on the network in a RAID 5 NAS, so a 128GB SSD should be more than enough. As long as it proves it has the ability to record and encode video and offer performance at least on par with a traditional hard drive it should do just fine. The 200GB drive has done nicely in terms of performance, despite being a SATA 150 unit, but now that I have spent time silencing the CPU cooler, video card, and case fans, the hard drive is generally the only thing I can hear during normal use.

Testing:

The tests to be executed on the three drives include benchmarks from four pre-packaged applications, an analysis of the time it takes Windows 7 to boot with each drive, some power consumption testing, and some thermal testing.

» HD Tune Pro 3.50
» SiSoft Sandra Professional 2009.9.15.122
» CrystalDiskMark 2.2
» Everest Ultimate Edition 5.02.1756
» Windows 7 Boot Time
» Power Consumption Testing
» Thermal Testing