Kingston announces SandForce-based HyperX SSD

In a departure from their mostly mainstream-focused strategy, Kingston has announced it will be using a SandForce controller and 25nm Intel NAND flash to launch its first SATA III (6Gb/s) based SSD targeted at enthusiasts, gamers, and performance users. The drive will be marketed under the HyperX brand, reserved for the company's high-end memory products, and come in 120GB and 240GB capacities when they hit stores by the end of July.

Specifically, the new drives will use the same the SandForce SF-2281 controllers found on the Vertex 3 and are rated for a sequential read and write throughput of 525MB/s and 480MB/s, respectively, with sustained random 4K Read/Write of 20,000 / 60,000 IOPS on the 120GB model and 40,000 / 60,000 IOPS on the 240GB model. Features include TRIM and SMART support, advanced wear-leveling technology, and user configurable over provisioning.

No official pricing has been announced but the company says these HyperX SSD drives will be priced very competitively against OCZ's line-up. Additionally, the drives they'll be backed by a three-year warranty and 24/7 support.

Kingston will offer the new HyperX SSDs either in a stand-alone package or as a part of an upgrade kit, which includes a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter, external USB enclosure, Acronis imaging software, SATA cable and a screwdriver.

Speaking with VR-Zone, Kingston's Flash Memory Director of the Asia-Pacific region, Nathan Su also confirmed they are working on cache drives for the Intel Z68 platform. A 32GB SSD should arrive this upcoming August, in mSATA and SATA flavors, using controllers from J-Micron or Toshiba to rival Intel's 20GB Larson Creek drive.