Kingston Adds New Form Factor to NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

[TheLostSwede]

Kingston Digital, Inc., the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced it has added a new form factor, to join the previous 2280 model, NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2230 SSD for users looking for a high-speed, low power NVMe storage upgrade for compatible laptops and handheld gaming consoles.

The Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe 2230 SSD is a compact single-sided M.2 2230 (22x30mm) design that provides storage expansion up to 2TB2 for systems with limited space. Powered by a Gen 4x4 NVMe controller NV3 2230 delivers read/write speeds of up to 6,000/5,000 MB/s, creating a more responsive system able to handle a wide range of workloads.




"We are happy to expand our offerings with the NV3 2230 SSD allowing users to upgrade not just their devices but their experience, whether for work or play," said Keith Schimmenti, SSD business manager, Kingston. "NV3 2230 delivers speed and reliability making it ideal for creators and gamers ready to see improved performance."

Available in capacities from 500 GB - 2 TB, NV3 2230 provides users storage for an array of applications, files, games and more. NV3 also includes 1-year free Acronis True Image for Kingston software, alongside the Kingston SSD Manager application, enabling users to monitor drive health and disk usage, update drive firmware, and securely erase data.

NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe 2230 SSD Features and Specifications:

• Form factor: M.2 2230
• Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe
• Capacities: 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB
• Sequential read/write:
  • 500 GB - 5,000/3,000 MB/s
  • 1 TB - 6,000/4,000 MB/s
  • 2 TB - 6,000/5,000 MB/s
• NAND: 3D
• Endurance (total bytes written):
  • 500 GB - 160 TB
  • 1 TB - 320 TB
  • 2 TB - 640 TB
• Storage temperature: -40°C~85°C
• Operating temperature: 0°C~70°C
• Dimensions: 22 mm x 30 mm x 2.3 mm
• Weight:
  • 500 GB - 2.6 g
  • 1 TB - 2 TB - 2.8 g
• Vibration non-operating: 20G (20-1000 Hz)
• MTBF: 2,000,000 hours
• Warranty/support: Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support

This SSD is designed for use in desktop and notebook computer workloads and is not intended for Server environments.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Bwaze]

That's all fine and dandy for PCs for chipmunks, but when are we getting cheaper 8 TB SSDs? Larger capacity consumer SSDs?

 

[iameatingjam]

Don't go reminding me I could technically put another ssd in my laptops wwan slot, though it needs to be small, 2230 or something? And also B+M key. I have a bad habit of connecting storage anywhere I can...

Must... fight the urge....

That's all fine and dandy for PCs for chipmunks, but when are we getting cheaper 8 TB SSDs? Larger capacity consumer SSDs?

Perhaps the form factor is the problem? Just not a whole lotta room on those m.2s. I bet it would be easier in a sata enclosure, if those were even still a thing really. Then again... there's some pretty damn tiny micro-sd cards that are huge in capacity. But I guess some of the components needed are in the reader and whatnot... Or maybe its the controllers? Or just the fact that... nand is expensive and having more of it doesn't really make it that much cheaper after a certain point.

EDIT: sn850x 8tb isn't bad per GB, though still more than most people would be willing to spend on an ssd I bet. And also, the ram stops scaling past 2TB, at least according to the TPU specs.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Don't go reminding me I could technically put another ssd in my laptops wwan slot, though it needs to be small, 2230 or something? And also B+M key. I have a bad habit of connecting storage anywhere I can...

Must... fight the urge....


Perhaps the form factor is the problem? Just not a whole lotta room on those m.2s. I bet it would be easier in a sata enclosure, if those were even still a thing really. Then again... there's some pretty damn tiny micro-sd cards that are huge in capacity. But I guess some of the components needed are in the reader and whatnot... Or maybe its the controllers? Or just the fact that... nand is expensive and having more of it doesn't really make it that much cheaper after a certain point.

EDIT: sn850x 8tb isn't bad per GB, though still more than most people would be willing to spend on an ssd I bet. And also, the ram stops scaling past 2TB, at least according to the TPU specs.

It's a cartel. They've intentionally let SSD capacity stagnate so HDDs wouldn't become utterly irrelevant. Most SSDs are manufactured by companies with a stake in the HDD business. They can fit 2 TB on a microSD card, getting even 32 TB crammed onto a M.2-2280 drive shouldn't be a challenge at all by now.

https://shop.sandisk.com/products/memory-cards/microsd-cards/sandisk-extreme-pro-uhs-i-microsd?sku=SDSQXCD-2T00-GN6MA

 

[MentalAcetylide]

It's a cartel. They've intentionally let SSD capacity stagnate so HDDs wouldn't become utterly irrelevant. Most SSDs are manufactured by companies with a stake in the HDD business. They can fit 2 TB on a microSD card, getting even 32 TB crammed onto a M.2-2280 drive shouldn't be a challenge at all by now.

https://shop.sandisk.com/products/memory-cards/microsd-cards/sandisk-extreme-pro-uhs-i-microsd?sku=SDSQXCD-2T00-GN6MA

heh, they want you to "buy more" little pieces, rather than "buy less" bigger pieces?

Tbh, I think its more of an issue with how many of those large 32 TB units they would be able to sell. The only ones I could think of that would use them are data centers. I don't think I'll ever use 32 TB over the course of 5-10 years since I'm not a game hoarder & don't keep a bunch of videos/music stored on my system. I do 3D rendering & still only use around 400Gb with all of the 3D content I've accumulated.

 

[Dr. Dro]

heh, they want you to "buy more" little pieces, rather than "buy less" bigger pieces?

Tbh, I think its more of an issue with how many of those large 32 TB units they would be able to sell. The only ones I could think of that would use them are data centers. I don't think I'll ever use 32 TB over the course of 5-10 years since I'm not a game hoarder & don't keep a bunch of videos/music stored on my system. I do 3D rendering & still only use around 400Gb with all of the 3D content I've accumulated.

Purchasing more smaller drives goes in direct contradiction to how PCs work as of late. Most mainstream desktop motherboards can house one, maybe 2 NVMe drives before PCIe bandwidth starts to become an issue. Larger drives are very much necessary.

SATA isn't even an answer to this, the bus bandwidth is very low (~7x slower than PCIe Gen 3 NVMes), the AHCI protocol is obsolete and quite limited compared to NVMe, that can handle much higher queue depths and simultaneous transfers with much more ease. Since SATA Express was stillborn and motherboards continue to slowly phase it out (most newer boards have a limited amount of SATA ports), U.2 is generally subject to the same limitations of M.2 given they're PCI Express devices as well... it's just not a good situation for purchasing more drives. Larger ones are necessary, and technologically achievable.

Right now, the most flexible that bulk storage gets is buying yourself a dock with an USB 3.0 to SATA bridge and a bunch of drives to hot swap as you go... a quality bridge chip like the JMS579 can saturate the USB bus and get you 5 out of the 6 Gbps of SATA III, take it or leave it...

 

[iameatingjam]

It's a cartel. They've intentionally let SSD capacity stagnate so HDDs wouldn't become utterly irrelevant. Most SSDs are manufactured by companies with a stake in the HDD business. They can fit 2 TB on a microSD card, getting even 32 TB crammed onto a M.2-2280 drive shouldn't be a challenge at all by now.

https://shop.sandisk.com/products/memory-cards/microsd-cards/sandisk-extreme-pro-uhs-i-microsd?sku=SDSQXCD-2T00-GN6MA

Not saying you're wrong, perhaps there is something to that. And maybe I'm in a bubble, but most people I have talked to interested in HDDs, want them for a lot of capacity.... So idk. I feel like if it is a factor, its not the only one, at least.

I mean you can buy an A ssd for cheaper than A hard-drive new (lower fixed costs for ssds), and even low capacities can end up being the same ballpark price between the two, at least in my area (averaged over time, nand seems to be more expensive than usual right now.)

Anyway, on the other hand, HDDs get exponentially cheaper the higher the capacity (well up to the cutting edge type area). And considering they are slow and noisy, I think they appeal more to people who want higher capacities, at least 8TB but often 12, 16, or even 20+. Where small ssds are pretty common in pretty much everything prebuilt, cheap builds, even expensive builds very often only go for 2TB. But again, this is just hear-say, I know you know a lot. And I don't have any data to back my statements up so, yeah, I dunno. But surely hdds would still have a place as the cheaper per GB option for large capacity drives, even if common consumer ssds went up to 8 more commonly, or 12 or 16.... as they would be expensive af.

Still wondering what other factors might be at play. Maybe its just.... different demographics are demanding different things. If its true that say 4 and 8tb ssds don't sell that well, there wouldn't be much business sense in going further. But I don't know that to be true. And the consumer market isn't growing much right now anyway, enterprise is where things are happening. Maybe thats another reason in itself, consumer de-prioritization.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Don't think anyone would say no if 8 TB SSDs didn't cost $800... which they do because of clearly artificial market segmentation IMO

 

[mechtech]

Don't think anyone would say no if 8 TB SSDs didn't cost $800... which they do because of clearly artificial market segmentation IMO

Indeed

If motherboards had 8 m.2 slots I’d just buy four 2TB drive’s instead.

When an 8TB drive is $100 less than four of the equivalent 2TB drives maybe I will consider one then.

 

[iameatingjam]

Indeed

If motherboards had 8 m.2 slots I’d just buy four 2TB drive’s instead.

When an 8TB drive is $100 less than four of the equivalent 2TB drives maybe I will consider one then.

At least in my area at this moment in time, the sn850x 8tb is the cheapest option per GB out of all the capacities, $70 cad cheaper than 4x2TB. Doesn't quite meet your threshold, but its still ~$50 USD in savings. I was looking at the non-heatsink model, but actually if you do need a heatsink, looks like here's there's even more savings (the more you buy the more you save!). Not saying its the like this with every model in every location during all times, but when I looked up 8tb ssds, it was the first one to pop up.

Wasn't that long ago that the 2TB was on sale for $130 cad. Ah good times....

 

[Tyler-98-W68]

I picked up a 4TB SN850X I think it was 2 years ago for 299 Cad$ that won't ever happen again, from time to time you can get the "budget" 4TB drives at that price

 

[Bwaze]

It’s funny how we just got used to complete stagnation in capacity for half a decade, and prices actually going up instead of down. After more than three decades of owning various computers this just boggles my mind. Has someone higher up decided PCs are just not worth the bother any more, and companies focus on either phones / tablets for consumers, or server gear for enterprise? Seeing how all the AIBs are jumping ship into server, how storage companies focus purely on enterprise sure looks that way.

 

[Dr. Dro]

It’s funny how we just got used to complete stagnation in capacity for half a decade, and prices actually going up instead of down. After more than three decades of owning various computers this just boggles my mind. Has someone higher up decided PCs are just not worth the bother any more, and companies focus on either phones / tablets for consumers, or server gear for enterprise? Seeing how all the AIBs are jumping ship into server, how storage companies focus purely on enterprise sure looks that way.

Capacity on those types of devices has stagnated as well. My ~7 year old iPhone XS Max has 256 GB of storage, and it was not the highest capacity available at the time. Virtually all low end and lower midrange phones today are coming with 64 to 128 GB of storage, in 2025. 1 TB phones are much less common than they should be, and pretty much all of them are built to order or premium SKU for already premium models, exclusive to the iPhone Pro and Galaxy Ultra range.

High-end handsets like the iPhone 16 Plus, Galaxy S25+ or the new ultrathin S25 Edge are still restricted to 256 and 512 GB versions, which are equivalent to the middle and maximum options for the iPhone XS all those years back. We have the technology to build denser NAND just fine, it's that... the industry is not interested in doing so. Mobile world sees little push due to carriers imposing data caps, PC world sees competition from within the industry itself. It's a nasty situation.

 

[Bwaze]

Explanations for the stagnation an rising prices are also hilarious.

Why is the maximum size of a consumer SSD drive the same for the last half of decade?

Because they are more or less made on the same node for a very long time!

So why are the prices going up if they are made on old nodes?

No, the prices for cutting edge nodes are going up - and since there is no newer node, even the old ones must go up - they are the cutting edge!


It seems that we have finally met our "640K ought to be enough for anybody!" limit of maximum capacity anyone should ever need. Good for us!