Futurelooks invites Kingston’s Canadian Product Evangelist, Mr. Mike Smith, back to the studio to talk about all the new products coming out this time of year. On the agenda this week is a look at Kingston’s HyperX RED Limited Edition modules, their brand new HyperX 3K SSD which will be hitting the shelves soon at a new lower price point, and we’ll also be looking at some USB drive innovations including their DT Micro product and a word on USB flash drive security. Check out the video for the full meal deal or catch it on YouTube.
Kingston HyperX Red Limited Edition DDR3 Modules
Launched at CES 2012 this year, the new HyperX Red modules are a bit of a retro throwback to their original HyperX spreader design, but with some updates to make it look a bit more contemporary. Coming in 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 kits in both 1333MHz and 1600MHz speeds (CAS9), these kits give enthusiasts a bit more choice than the regular HyperX blue. The modules do look sharp, which is why they are quickly running out at retailers. Since they are a limited edition run, you have to run out and get them if you still can. Pricing should be similar to the HyperX blue edition of these modules.
Kingston HyperX 3K Solid State Drives
We’ve covered the HyperX SSD heavily over the last little while and even today, it is still one of the best SSDs on the market based on the Sandforce SF-2281 controller. What makes it great is not only the performance, but the useful bundle which makes setup a snap. Kingston continues to drive into the enthusiast segment with a new HyperX 3K edition of their HyperX series of SSDs. The basic difference between the two is the type of NAND Flash used onboard. While the HyperX SSD (Blue) gives us 5K NAND onboard, the HyperX 3K SSD (Black) uses, and this is a shocker, 3K NAND onboard.
The reason why this may or may not be an issue for you depends on your usage. The 5K NAND is definitely more durable and is rated for a lot more read/write cycles. The 3K NAND is still plenty durable, but if you were to run it 24/7 for a few years, the HyperX Blue is probably going to be a better choice. We think the 3K version will be best suited to notebooks and gaming systems that don’t always get used 100% every hour of every day and will save you a substantial chunk of change in the process. The best part is that you’re not going to give up any performance as both the HyperX Blue and Black offer similar performance and use the exact Sandforce SF-2281 controller.
The new HyperX 3K launched earlier this week and will come in capacities of 120GB, 240GB, and 480GB in bundle and non-bundle configurations. Pricing ranges from $170 – $750 (for the 480GB bundle) but might see some adjustments as stores start to get their stock in.
Also covered in the program was the new V+200 business class drive that recently won our Editors’ Choice Award. You can find the review here to see why it won this rare honor.
Kingston DT Micro USB Flash Drives
Also announced at CES 2012 this year were these little DT Micro USB drives. These are meant to compliment the latest Ultrabook and slim notebooks from both the PC and MAC side. They come in 8GB and 16GB sizes and are priced very competitively with the rest of the market at these same sizes with USB 2.0 support. The selling points of this drive include its slim profile, making it safe to leave them plugged right in, even in your laptop bag. As we showed off in the video, if you ever stuck your notebook in a bag with a full sized drive hanging off, chances are, you’d be looking at a broken USB port after.
Also talked about in the program was Kingston’s secure USB Drive product lines which included their Data Traveller Vault series that is both durable and highly secured using FIPS levels of encryption. A higher end version of the drive in an 8GB size is priced around $100 a piece, but comes with the ability to be managed using software that allows remote management of the drive in case of theft or loss (sold separately). If you know anyone who works in an organization that DOESN’T use these drives, send them to our video and watch the last third. It’s a real eye opener!
Hope you enjoyed our latest video. Stay tuned for more coming up really soon. If you’re looking for more, check out our YouTube Channel with over 363 videos so far to choose from.
Help Us Improve Our Video Interviews By Leaving a Comment Below!