Introduction

With revenue in the multi-billion-dollars range, Kingston is the largest DRAM and flash memory products vendor in the world. While their strongest suit is in memory modules and USB/flash card storage, they are also a major player in the SSD market.

The Kingston KC1000 SSD uses the M.2 form factor with a PCI-Express x4 3.0 interface for maximum transfer speeds. As the controller, a Phison PS5007 is used, which is paired with MLC flash from Toshiba. Inside the package you receive not only the M.2 SSD, but a PCI-Express card, which enables use of this drive with older systems that lack physical M.2 slots.

Kingston's KC1000 is available in capacities of 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB. This review covers the 240 GB version.

Packaging and Contents

Inside the package, you will find the SSD, the PCIe slot adapter with a low-profile replacement slot cover, some documentation, and an Acronis True Image download coupon.

The Drive

The drive uses the M.2 2280 form factor, which means it is 22 mm wide and 80 mm long. A heatspreader is not installed.


Like most M.2 NVMe SSDs, the Kingston KC1000 uses the PCIe x4 3.0 interface, which provides maximum bandwidth.


You will find the SSD controller and eight flash chips on the PCB. A single DRAM chip is also present to provide the SSD controller with RAM and soak up write bursts.


The Phison PS5007 is an 8-channel PCIe SSD controller.


The eight MLC flash chips are produced by Toshiba; further information is not known.

Test Setup