Kingston NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD 1TB

Overview

Kingston's NV3 is a 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD built on a Gen4x4 PCIe 4.0 controller, rated up to 6,000 MB/s read and bundled with Acronis cloning software plus a 5 year warranty.

Kingston pitches the NV3 line on lower power draw and reduced heat compared to earlier Gen4 drives, and the single sided M.2 2280 design is meant to keep it fitting into tight laptop bays where a double sided drive might not. The wider NV3 lineup runs from 500GB up to 4TB, though this specific listing is the 1TB capacity.

• PCIe 4.0 Gen4x4 NVMe controller
• Up to 6,000 MB/s read / 4,000 MB/s write
• Single-sided M.2 2280 (22x80mm) form factor
• Acronis cloning software plus 5 year warranty

Who it's for

It suits anyone upgrading a laptop or small form factor PC to Gen4 NVMe speeds who wants a straightforward boot or storage drive plus a cloning tool to move their existing setup over. It is a weaker fit for workloads like large sustained video exports where write speed matters more than a burst read number.

Pros and cons

Performance notes

The Gen4x4 controller is what gives it the bandwidth for up to 6,000 MB/s read and 4,000 MB/s write, but that ceiling only applies on a motherboard slot that itself supports Gen4 x4; on an older Gen3 board it will run at Gen3 speeds instead. The single sided layout also keeps it slimmer and cooler than some double sided Gen4 drives, which matters most in a laptop with limited airflow.

Specifications

Closest rivals on specs

SanDisk Optimus 5100 NVMe SSD 1TB

• Data Transfer Rate 6000 vs 7100 MB/s (-15%)

Crucial P310 NVMe Gen4 SSD 1TB

• Data Transfer Rate 6000 vs 7100 MB/s (-15%)
• Item Weight 0.01 vs 0.03 pounds (-67%)

WD_Black SN7100 NVMe SSD 1TB

• Data Transfer Rate 6000 vs 7250 MB/s (-17%)