Review – Kingston XS1000 External SSD 2TB

With SSDs now being way more affordable as compared to what we have in the past, external SSDs are obviously a much more enticing option for those who need portable storage that offers both speed and capacity. External SSDs offers high transfer speed that easily doubles or even triples the speed of traditional portable hard drive and since it has no moving mechanical parts, it’s much easier for one to bring it around and not having to worry about potential data loss due to mechanical part failure.

The external SSD we’re looking at this time is the XS1000 external SSD which Kingston showcased at Computex 2023. The XS1000 comes available in 1TB or 2TB capacities and it utilizes USB 3.2 Gen 2 which offers transfer speeds of up to 1,050 MB/s.

Specifications

Model	XS2000	XS1000
Interface	USB 3.2 Gen 2×2	USB 3.2 Gen 2
Speed	2,000MB/s read, 2,000MB/s write	Up to 1,050MB/s read, 1,000MB/s write
Capacities	500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB	1TB, 2TB
Dimensions	69.54 x 32.58 x 13.5mm	69.54 x 32.58 x 13.5mm
Weight	28.9g	28.7g
Casing Material	Metal + Plastic	Metal + Plastic
Operating temperature	0°C~40°C	0°C~40°C
Storage temperature	-20°C~85°C	-20°C~85°C
Warranty/Support	Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support	Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support

Overview

The Kingston XS1000 ships in a very lightweight package but it still has the design that many of us are familiar with. Inside the box, you’ll find the XS1000 SSD which has a dimension of 69.5mm x 32.6mm and weighs only 28.7g, along with a USB-A to USB-C cable and USB-C to USB-C cable.

The enclosure is made with a combination of plastic and metal material, where the central plastic frame is sandwiched between two metal enclosures. The USB-C port, accompanied by an LED status indicator, is located at the side of the enclosure. Additionally, there’s a sticker under the enclosure containing certification information and model details.

Crystal Disk Mark – USB 3.2 Gen 2 vs USB 3.1

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For connectivity, since the Kingston XS1000 supports up to USB 3.2 Gen 2 protocol, the rated 1,050 MB/s transfer speed can be achieved as long as it is connected to a USB port that supports the protocol. It’s still backward compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 1 protocol but you will not be getting the full performance as the previous-gen protocol only supports speeds of up to 5Gbit/s, half of what the USB 3.2 Gen 2 protocol has to offer.

AIDA64 Disk Benchmark Linear Write Test

Moving on to the linear write test which better simulates scenarios that involve multiple file transfers in various sizes, as well as to better display the write performance when the drive cache is filled up. From the test result, we can see that although the Kingston XS1000 was able to sustain write performance up to 834 MB/s in the early test, the write performance started dropping just right before the 10% mark. It didn’t recover much after the cache filled up, which resulted in an average performance of 213.8MB/s by the end of the test.

The Kingston XS1000 relies on passive cooling as for how the enclosure is constructed and the materials it’s made of. Throughout the test, the enclosure feels a bit warm after some time into the test but it doesn’t feel too hot to the touch at all. With the heat load not being too much for the enclosure to handle, it will stay mostly fine and it’s very unlikely for you to see any performance hit throughout the usage.

Conclusion

The Kingston XS1000 does live up to its promise of high-speed performance, reaching speeds of 1,050MB/s just as what you can see on the specs sheet. These speeds, however, are constrained by the limitations of the USB 3.2 Gen 2 protocol, which operates at 10Gbit/s. While faster protocols like USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gb/s), USB 4 (40Gb/s), and Thunderbolt 3 (40Gb/s) do exist and you can use Kingston XS1000 with these, it will not run any faster due to how the controller is designed for.

But then again, 1,050MB/s is still pretty fast for an external storage device and I’d say that this external SSD is an exceptional choice for users aiming to transition from traditional external mechanical drives. Its compact size and portability make it convenient to carry, and its durability far surpasses that of spinning drives, ensuring reliable performance on the go.