Kingston XS1000 External SSD 2TB Review

Big things come in small packages, and that's what the Kingston XS1000 external SSD is all about.

Back at COMPUTEX 2023 at Kingston’s Future Hub showcase, we had our first look at the company’s XS1000 – an extremely compact external SSD that boasts speeds up to 1050MB/s and up to 2TB of storage space. Fast forward to today and it’s finally out. Just look at how compact the thing is. So, without further ado, let’s see what it’s all about.

Kingston XS1000 Technical Specifications

Interface	USB 3.2 Gen 2
Speed	Up to 1,050MB/s read, 1,000MB/s write
Capacities	1TB, 2TB
Weight	28.7g
Dimensions	69.54 x 32.58 x 13.5mm
Casing Materials	Metal + Plastic
Operating temperature	0°C~40°C
Storage temperature	-20°C~85°C
Price and Warranty	Php4,599(1TB),Php7,599(2TB) Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support

 

PACKAGING

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I like how Kingston is now packaging its products as opposed to the hybrid blister packs from before. It adds more security for what’s inside, not to mention it adds up on the presentation value.

Anywho, Kingston ships the XS1000 in quite a compact packaging. Once you open it up, you’ll see the XS1000 encased in carton, together with a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable. You could also do well if you have USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable if your system supports it.

This would have been perfect if it came with a pouch or at least a silicon case for added protection or some sort. Seems to be a good thing to be included in the package. Still, not a biggie, there’s plenty of options out there for storing your portable storage drives.

DESIGN

You’d be forgiven if you mistaken the XS1000 as a USB flash drive given how compact it is. A bit bigger than thumb drives, yeah, but you get the point.

The XS1000 measures 69.54 x 32.58 x 13.5mm. The casing material is plastic and metal. 

Kingston keeps it subtle and classy with its branding minimal at the center. There’s a certification sticker at the back, and the USB Type-C port is at the right side of the external drive. Beside that is an activity led light as well.

Now, it’s important to note that the XS1000 prides itself on its compact form factor over ruggedness. So, with that said, there are no keychain or carabiner loops on it. Gotta keep it safely tucked together with your laptop inside your bag or pocket. And yes, get a pouch, case or sleeve that would fit it if you can. 

PERFORMANCE

The XS1000 boasts speeds of up to 1050MB/s read and 1000MB/s write on USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 interface. We'll be putting it to the test on our system setup on an AORUS X570 Elite motherboard with USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C Header connected to our NZXT H510 Elite case's Type-C port. 

Motherboard	AORUS X570 ELITE
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
GPU	COLORFUL iGame GeForce GTX 1080 Vulcan X OC
RAM	ZADAK 16GB DDR4 @3600MHz
Cooler	Noctua NH-D15
Motherboard	GIGABYTE X570 AORUS Elite
PSU	CORSAIR RM750 80 Plus Gold
Case	NZXT H510 Elite
OS	Windows 10 Pro
Monitor	ASUS VP249QGR 144Hz 24-inch Monitor

 PCMark 10 - Full System Drive Benchmark

PCMark features a full system drive benchmark that utilizes a wide-ranging set of real-world tracer from popular applications and common tasks. 

Crystal Disk Mark

CrystalDiskMark is an open source benchmark software used to measure the transfer speed of different media data storage drives including such as HD, SSD, USB memory, SD card and NAS

AS SSD Benchmark

AS SSD tests the sequential or random read/write performance without using the cache. There's also a compression test and copy benchmark included in the software.

Anvil Storage Utilities Benchmark

Anvil Storage Utilities is a benchmark tool that offers its users a simple way of assessing the read and write performance of SSDs and HDDs.

ATTO Disk Benchmark

ATTO Disk Benchmark is an industry leading benchmark that help measure performance of system storage such as hard drives, solid state drives, RAID arrays, and so forth.

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Benchmark Tool

The Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Benchmark Tool is a convenient tool that measures your computer's hardware performance and at the same time also logs the total loading time between runs. 

CONCLUSION

Having a speedy external drive with a lot of storage space to spare can mean a lot for your work. When speed is a necessity for your workflow, cloud storage may not cut it, not to mention how much a subscription would cost in the long run. With our workflow here where we have to transfer game files to systems, it's imperative having a fast and compact storage device - it saves a lot of time in the overall process, so that's plenty of time saved for other tasks as downtime will be cut down.

This is where Kingstons XS1000 External SSD can really shine. It's one of the most affordable storage solutions in its price range, so that's definitely something to consider if you're looking for an external drive that can meet your needs. Its tiny form factor is excellent to have, especially useful for travel if your work demands it. It's great for our use case, although the bundle could have been a whole lot better if there was a pouch for something this little. Overall, you get a blazing fast compact external drive with great value. That makes it easy enough to recommend it.