Kingston KC600 512GB SSD Review - 15X faster than a 7200RPM HDD

Today, let's check the Kingston KC600 512GB SSD. It is a 2.5-inch SATA Rev 3.0 solid-state drive priced at PHP 4,500.

Kingston KC600 512GB SSD

Unboxing/Accessories

The simple, easy access packaging

The KC600 SSD came in a pretty simple cardboard package. It was easy enough to get the KC600 out as well. The SSD itself is pretty light at just 40 grams.

It also comes in a matte black finish with Kingston's branding. Installation is easy enough as you only need to connect your SATA cables, initialize it, and voila!

Performance

SATA Rev 3.0 port

I connected the KC600 512GB SSD with my personal desktop computer. As a reference, my PC is a budget-to-mid tier build with an Intel Pentium G4560, 12GB of 2400MHz DDR4 RAM, NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GPU, a Corsair VS450 PSU, and a 1TB 7200RPM Seagate HDD.

I usually use this for my work, gaming, streaming, and photo editing.

The contact pins of the Kingston KC600

Adding the Kingston KC600 is very easy. Since its interface is SATA Rev 3.0 with backward compatibility to SATA Rev 2.0, it as easy as plugging in the connectors then initializing it via Windows.

It uses the least 3D TLC NAND technology which enables it to reach read/write speeds of up to 550/520 MB/s. It also has XTS-AES 256-bit encryption, TCG Opal, and eDrive for data security.

Compared to my 1TB 7200RPM HDD, the KC600 SSD an increase of 450+MB/s and 400+ MB/s read/write speeds. It does show in real-world usage as well. I compared load times of two huge open-world games in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and GTA V.

7200RPM HDD vs Kingston KC600 SSD speed comparison

In my 7200RPM HDD, the Witcher 3 took around 30 seconds to load my save. With the KC600 SSD, it took Witcher 3 to load at just around 12 seconds.

And this is at Novigrad, one of the more populated and bigger cities which means it needs to load more assets in. GTA V also experienced faster load times from 1 minute and 30 seconds to just 30 to 40 seconds tops.

Texture pop-ins were also completely eliminated when I transferred these games to the KC600. The open-world game can be a great test for SSD speeds since it shows how fast it can load assets and textures in. This means fewer stutters for some machines.

Data transfer is a given. It is definitely faster than my 7200RPM HDD at more than 5X the speed. This really helps in loading my Lightroom catalogs and photos for Photoshop as well. Exporting edited photos is a tad faster as well.

Pros - Very light and sturdy, great design, very fast performance, competitive pricing
Cons - Lack of installation guide for newbies

Kingston KC600 512GB SSD specs

Interface: SATA Rev 3.0/2.0

Capacity: 512GB

Sequential Read/Write speed: up to 550/520MB/s

Security: XTS-AES 256-bit encryption, TCG Opal, eDrive

Others: Limited 5-year warranty, free technical support

Dimensions: 100.1 x 69.85 x 7 mm

Weight: 40 g

Price: PHP 4,500

Verdict

If you are coming from an HDD exclusive experience, the Kingston KC600 512GB SSD is a big upgrade especially at just PHP 4,500.

It is really fast for daily productivity tasks and in gaming as well. We can highly recommend the Kingston KC600 if you are looking for an upgrade.

What do you guys think?