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Kingston SH103S3/120G

HyperX 3K 120GB

▲ 602,608 ▼

Controller: LSI SandForce SF2281VB1-SDC. NAND Memory: Intel Synchronous 25nm MLC. Release date: Q2 2012.

Average Bench: 74.1% (520th of 1011)

Based on 24,951 user benchmarks.  Models: KINGSTON SH103S3120G, KINGSTON KINGSTON SH103S3, KINGSTON SH103S3120G, KINGSTON SH103S3

The 120GB Kingston HyperX 3K is nearly two years old, several generations of SSD have passed since its original release. Better 120GB SSDs have more NAND modules than the old HyperX and are able to write faster than the peak 234 Mb/s achieved by the HyperX 3K. The HyperX 3K also has a Sandforce 2281 controller which is unable to write compressed data as well as its more recent competition. All that said the HyperX still has an effective speed of 367 MBps which is respectable and far faster than even the best mechanical drive. With peak 4K read/write speeds of 33/110 MB/s the HyperX 3K also has competent small file performance. To summarize as a current value proposition the HyperX 3K struggles, simply because the likes of Samsung and OCZ have innovated and moved forward in the two years since the HyperX 3K was released. [Feb '14 SSDrivePro]

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Poor: 57%Average: 74.1% Great: 87%

Popular builds with this SSD

Good average bench

The Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB averaged 25.8% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This isn't a great result which indicates that there are much faster alternatives on the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 157MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 38.2MB/s

Above average consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB is 30.9%. This is a relatively narrow range which indicates that the Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB performs reasonably consistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sustained Write Speed 140MB/s
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 190MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 24,951 samples)
Rank 52074.1%
Min Avg Max
299 Read 359 416
138 Write 190 225
186 Mixed 226 259
105 SusWrite 140 166
50.8% 229 MB/s
Min Avg Max
20.1 4K Read 30.4 37.6
46.6 4K Write 83.9 111
25.8 4K Mixed 38.2 48.1
140% 50.9 MB/s
Min Avg Max
63.8 DQ Read 193 246
109 DQ Write 175 215
49.5 DQ Mixed 157 203
125% 175 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
54GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 521ABBF0
SusWrite @10s intervals: 148 161 164 155 168 161 MB/s
85.7% Excellent
Read 371
Write 211
Mixed 257
SusWrite 160
56% 250 MB/s
4K Read 35.7
4K Write 102
4K Mixed 46.8
168% 61.6 MB/s
DQ Read 214
DQ Write 196
DQ Mixed 207
155% 206 MB/s
93GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 541ABBF0
SusWrite @10s intervals: 138 139 132 153 156 154 MB/s
79.8% Very good
Read 304
Write 196
Mixed 236
SusWrite 145
49% 220 MB/s
4K Read 33.7
4K Write 102
4K Mixed 43.9
161% 59.8 MB/s
DQ Read 202
DQ Write 202
DQ Mixed 182
142% 196 MB/s
65GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 526ABBF0
SusWrite @10s intervals: 132 129 130 129 131 125 MB/s
69.5% Good
Read 402
Write 118
Mixed 192
SusWrite 129
46% 210 MB/s
4K Read 26.8
4K Write 83.9
4K Mixed 31.9
126% 47.5 MB/s
DQ Read 177
DQ Write 141
DQ Mixed 120
100% 146 MB/s
31GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 580ABBF0
SusWrite @10s intervals: 88 107 105 95 118 92 MB/s
64.5% Good
Read 365
Write 184
Mixed 172
SusWrite 101
45% 205 MB/s
4K Read 24.1
4K Write 79.6
4K Mixed 31.7
119% 45.1 MB/s
DQ Read 143
DQ Write 177
DQ Mixed 107
95% 142 MB/s
24,951 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 19,104,221 SSDs tested.

 Prices

Approx. $101 @ launch in Apr '12
EbayUS $1205 mins
AmazonUS $12620 mins
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Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money.

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU GPU SSD HDD RAM MBD
Typical HyperX 3K 120GB Builds (Compare 24,571 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings.
Gaming
Gaming 45%
Yacht
Desktop
Desktop 46%
Yacht
Workstation
Workstation 35%
Sail boat

Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 - $96

CPU
FX-8350AMD  $130Bench 49%, 219,227 samples7,534x
FX-6300AMD  $68Bench 42%, 156,858 samples5,834x
FX-8320AMD  $163Bench 44%, 84,278 samples3,810x
GPU
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia  $285Bench 56%, 700,687 samples1,664x
RX 480AMD  $140Bench 50%, 146,689 samples1,542x
GTX 1050-TiNvidia  $155Bench 31%, 449,329 samples1,450x
SSD
HyperX 3K 120GBKingston  $120Bench 74%, 24,951 samples1x
RAM
Savage DDR3 1600 C9 2x4GBHyperXBench 51%, 53,065 samples850x
Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x8GBHyperXBench 59%, 51,779 samples780x
Vengeance DDR3 1600 C9 2x4GBCorsairBench 49%, 49,203 samples600x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 41% - Average Total price: $631

Popular HyperX 3K 120GB compatible motherboards:

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Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) November 2019 SSD Rankings.

Welcome to our 2.5" and M.2 SSD comparison. We calculate effective speed for both SATA and NVMe drives based on real world performance then adjust by current prices per GB to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top SSDs. [SSDrivePro]

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Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

 Comments

SSDrivePro
Avatar level
1,352

Official site www.kingston.com/...

Controller: LSI SandForce SF2281VB1-SDC. NAND Memory: Intel Synchronous 25nm MLC

3K loads games and applications faster...

Added 5 years ago.
USA-User
Avatar level
5,826

Excellent (edit your comment) Add link

22 months ago.

TUR-User
Avatar level
3,476

Excellent

9 months ago.

2012 i bought hyperx 120 gb and only 1 gb free space left. it was full with application then looked results and tough 860 pro better then kingston. kingston hyber x 120 gb read speed 555 Mb (2012 model) and 860 pro (2019 model) 560 mb read speed honestly i replaced only ssd drive and kingston definetly faster then samsung even it has 1 gb free space, when i click applications it load faster then samsung.. windows starts, opening firefox, photoshop or intellij vs 7 years old kingston ssd definetly faster then samsung 860 pro ssd disc.

HRV-User
Avatar level
1,626

Good

3 years ago.

After 23k hours on power still OK SSD.

SSDrivePro
Avatar level
1,352

Poor

5 years ago.

Cantell
Avatar level
6

Poor

4 years ago.

18 months in it's still running, and seq read speeds remain decent (mid 400's) but seq write speeds have dropped to around 175 avge. It's got 9K power on hours, so fairly heavy use. It's an underwhelming drive that'll get you a year and a half of OKish speeds, then it's relegated to your girlfriends friends laptop for $20 :)

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 Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Devices FAQ
What is sustained sequential write speed?
What’s the difference between SLC, MLC and TLC?
What is 3D XPoint and how fast is it?
What’s the difference between SATA, PCIe and NVMe?
What’s the difference between NAND and V-NAND?
What is sequential write speed?
What is sequential read speed?
What is incompressible data?
What is queue depth?
Solid State Drives
What is the SSD value for money rating?
What is 4K 64 thread write speed?
Can CPU power saving states (C1,C2,C3) impact SSD speed?
What is the effective SSD speed index?
How is the AS SSD write score calculated?
How is the AS SSD read score calculated?
How is the AS SSD total score calculated?
ALL FAQs »

 Best User Rated
The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-9400F $148Nvidia GTX 1660 $210Crucial MX500 250GB $45
Intel Core i5-9600K $210Nvidia GTX 1660S (Super) $234Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $150
Intel Core i7-9700K $349Nvidia GTX 1660-Ti $260Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $49
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $44Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $65SanDisk Extreme 64GB $88
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $40G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $612SanDisk Extreme 32GB $48
Seagate Barracuda 3TB (2016) $75Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $68SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $14
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