Kingston celebrates its 10th Anniversary with the release of special edition products and one of them is the new Kingston XS1000R SSD. The Kingston XS1000R is the newest addition to the XS1000 line which already comes in black. The XS1000 series is a budget alternative to the XS2000 which we reviewed earlier in the year. Let’s see how much of a value proposition does the new XS1000R have over its big brother and the market.
Kingston XS1000R – A Closer Look
The Kingston XS1000R, despite being a special edition variant, doesn’t offer anything unique to the packaging except for the 2024 Red Dot Award: Product Design badge. The packaging is quite similar to the XS2000 with the major defining aspects being the label itself to tell them apart.
The Kingston XS1000R Portable SSD only comes with a USB 3.2 Type-C to Type-A cable and a USB Type-A to Type-C adapter. Kingston has opted for a safer cable with the other end being USB Type-A to accommodate even older devices, unlike the XS2000 which comes with a Type-C to Type-C cable.
Since the XS1000R is a “budget” portable SSD, it doesn’t come with a rubber protector, unlike the XS2000. Instead, the rubber sleeve is now an accessory that can be purchased separately, compatible with the XS1000, XS1000R, and XS2000 portable SSDs.
Red is not a particularly appealing color for tech devices nowadays but Kingston has managed to pull it off with the majestic, vibrant red colorway of the XS1000R. The XS1000R comes in either 1TB or 2TB storage capacities. Both storage capacities are rated at 10,050MB/s read, and 1,000MBs write, around half of the rated speeds found on its bigger brother, the XS2000.
The Kingston XS1000R measures 69.54mm x 32.58mm x 13.5mm, exactly as big as the XS2000 SSD. It’s still one of the smallest SSDs available in the market, following the ADATA SC610 portable SSD.
Kingston XS1000R SSD Specifications
| Interface | USB 3.2 Gen 2 |
| Speed1 | Up to 1,050MB/s read, 1,000MB/s write |
| NAND | 3D |
| Capacities2 | 1TB, 2TB |
| Dimensions | 69.54 x 32.58 x 13.5mm |
| Weight | 28.7g |
| Casing Material | Metal + Plastic |
| Includes | 12” USB Type-C (drive) to USB Type-A (host) cable USB Type-A to USB Type-C adapter |
| Operating temperature | 0°C~40°C |
| Storage temperature | -20°C~85°C |
| Warranty/Support5 | Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support |
| Compatible with6 | Windows 11, 10, macOS (v.10.15.x +), Linux (v. 4.4.x +), Chrome OS, Android, iOS/iPadOS (v.13+) |
Benchmark Setup and Test Methodology
Gadget Pilipinas’ testing philosophy is to provide detail-oriented results as accurately as possible so that our readers can replicate our tests given that these conditions are met. Different benchmarking apps and sequences are used depending on the component or device being tested.
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X |
| COOLER | ASUS ROG RYUJIN II 360mm V2 – Noctua NT-H2 Thermal Paste |
| MOTHERBOARD | ASUS ROG Crosshair X670-E HERO |
| MEMORY | Kingston Fury Beast RGB 32GB(2x16GB) 6000 MHz DDR5 |
| GPUs | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition |
| STORAGE | Kingston Renegade 2TB PCI-E Gen4 NVMe SSDD |
| POWER SUPPLY | FSP HYDRO GT PRO 1000W Gold ATX 3.0 |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows 11 Pro Build 22H2 |
We use CapFrameX 1.7.2 Beta as our primary FPS capture and analysis tool for all our gaming benchmarks. The latest build version of Windows 11 Pro and WHQL-certified drivers are used for our benchmarks. Readings such as temperatures and power draws are recorded using HWINFO64, and other relevant software for cross-checking.
For more information read our Benchmark Methodology article.
Kingston XS1000R 2TB External SSD Benchmarks
We pit the Kingston XS1000R 2TB External SSD against various portable SSD types. We decided not to include thumb drive benchmarks as we don’t have a 512GB or higher capacity to compare with. The Kingston XS1000R is tested against an Orico USB-C 10gbps enclosure paired with a Sabrent Rocket 512GB Gen3 SSD, TeamGroup PD400 512GB Gen3 SSD Portable, Kingston 2TB XS2000 Gen4 Portable SSD, ADATA 1TB SC610 Portable SSD, and two 2280 NVMe Gen4 SSDs for reference.
We are currently expanding our SSD benchmark suite with the addition of 3DMark, Procyon, and SSD Slowmark Benchmarks. You may see incomplete DATA compared to our throughput, IOPS, and Access time benchmarks as we are still expanding our database.
THROUGHPUT Performance
Developed by Noriyuki Miyazaki, CrytalDiskMark is a free benchmark tool that is being used by thousands of experts. This tool measures SSD’s sequential read and write speeds. That means how fast files can be read from and written to the drive, usually measured in MB/s.
IOPS Performance
IOPS or Input/Output Operations Per Second is a measure of how many inputs or outputs an SSD can perform in a short period. IOPS is a useful parameter to measure how fast it can process small amounts of workload that are similar to real-world usages, such as loading a webpage and launching apps.
ACCESS TIME
Access time or latency is just as crucial as sequential, random, and IOPS for an SSD. It wraps up all the values from the previous performance and shows the SSD’s responsiveness, whether it be small or heavy workloads.
AS SSD’s Copy benchmark simulates copying various file types namely, ISOs, Games, and applications. Different file types result in different transfer speeds.
Kingston XS1000R 2TB SSD Temperatures
The Kingston XS1000R has the same dimensions but about half the speed of the Kingston XS2000 variant. Yet, the Kingston XS1000R peaked at 55°C while the faster XS2000 was cooler at only 46°C peak. Again on specs, the XS1000R is only 0.2g lighter so the temperature difference is most likely due to the controller or NAND flash used in the SSD. That said, 55°C isn’t bad in any way, especially considering its performance as seen in the benchmarks.
Performance Summary and Conclusion
The Kingston XS1000R 2TB SSD is priced at Php 6,999 while the 1TB model is priced at Php 4,680. For reference, the faster XS2000 is priced at Php 5,9525, and Php 9,889 for the 1TB and 2TB models, respectively. In terms of price-per-GB, the Kingston XS1000R has the better value as its pricing is basically the same for internal SSDs of the same capacity.
However, when speed is taken into account, the XS2000 sits on top as you only need to add Php 1,900 more to double the read and write speeds to 2,000MB/s coming from 1,000MB/s. When you compare the XS2000 over the XS1000R, the faster XS2000 is a no-brainer purchase especially if you have the budget and have the need for speed. That said, it isn’t what the XS1000R is positioned at – it’s a value SSD that highlights its compact form factor without compromising read and write performance.
1,000MB/s is the common speed for NVMe SSD enclosures and is larger than the 22x80mm size of a typical NVMe drive due to the housing and heatsink. Where the XS1000R shines is its thumb drive-like form factor that keeps up with DIY solutions and other compact SSDs with the advantage of speed, portability, and versatility thanks to the included adapter. Frankly, at this size, Kingston could’ve just integrated a USB Type-A or Type-C connector to maximize portability and reliance on the cable.
So, if you fit the criteria of needing a fast and compact portable SSD then the Kingston XS1000R is one of the best value SSDs you could get. If you find its 1,000MB/s speed lacking, then the faster XS2000 is also worth the consideration.
Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.
