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Kingston SH103S3/120G

HyperX 3K 120GB

▲ 532,611 ▼

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

Average Bench: 73.9% (578th of 1058)

Based on 51,513 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]

Poor: 56%Average: 73.9% Great: 87%

Popular builds with this SSD

Good average bench

The Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB averaged 26.0% 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 162MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 38MB/s

Above average consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB is 30.6%. 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 138MB/s
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 187MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 51,513 samples)
Rank 57873.9%
Min Avg Max
299 Read 362 425
134 Write 187 223
179 Mixed 225 260
97.2 SusWrite 138 169
50.7% 228 MB/s
Min Avg Max
19.6 4K Read 30.3 36.7
40.4 4K Write 81.8 108
24.5 4K Mixed 38 48.1
138% 50 MB/s
Min Avg Max
139 DQ Read 204 247
103 DQ Write 173 215
111 DQ Mixed 162 203
129% 180 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
70GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 580ABBF0
SusWrite @10s intervals: 139 133 137 138 125 130 MB/s
87% Excellent
Read 341
Write 189
Mixed 247
SusWrite 134
51% 228 MB/s
4K Read 35.3
4K Write 115
4K Mixed 50.4
179% 67 MB/s
DQ Read 245
DQ Write 192
DQ Mixed 166
138% 201 MB/s
112GB free
Firmware: 521ABBF0
SusWrite @10s intervals: 153 154 157 160 155 153 MB/s
84.9% Excellent
Read 402
Write 233
Mixed 260
SusWrite 155
58% 263 MB/s
4K Read 36.8
4K Write 97.9
4K Mixed 43.2
163% 59.3 MB/s
DQ Read 218
DQ Write 197
DQ Mixed 178
141% 198 MB/s
51,513 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 47,207,092 SSDs tested.

 Prices

MSRP ≈ $101 @ launch in Apr '12
EbayUS $5912 mins
AmazonUS $14022 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 7,110 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings.
Gaming
Gaming 63%
Destroyer
Desktop
Desktop 82%
Aircraft carrier
Workstation
Workstation 49%
Yacht

Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 GAMING (MS-7821) - $242

CPU
Core i5-4670KIntel  $205Bench 78%, 127,584 samples2,643x
Core i7-4770KIntel  $300Bench 78%, 168,671 samples2,124x
Core i7-4790KIntel  $348Bench 83%, 389,955 samples510x
GPU
GTX 1070Nvidia  $400Bench 80%, 1,236,286 samples580x
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia  $290Bench 57%, 1,283,412 samples562x
GTX 970Nvidia  $340Bench 51%, 731,766 samples538x
SSD
HyperX 3K 120GBKingston  $59Bench 74%, 51,513 samples1x
RAM
Vengeance DDR3 1600 C9 2x4GBCorsairBench 48%, 64,987 samples175x
BLS8G3D1609DS1S00. 2x8GBCrucialBench 56%, 46,104 samples146x
Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x8GBHyperXBench 58%, 94,884 samples142x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 55% - Above average Total price: $907

Popular HyperX 3K 120GB compatible motherboards:

How Fast Is Your SSD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute.

Welcome to our freeware PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best upgrades.

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How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchMark.
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string.
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations.
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO.
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency.
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy.
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com.
  • - Identify the strongest components in your PC.
  • - See speed test results from other users.
  • - Compare your components to the current market leaders.
  • - Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build.
  • - Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware.
Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) September 2021 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
1,857

Official site www.kingston.com/...

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

3K loads games and applications faster...

Added 7 years ago.
USA-User
Avatar level
8,110

Excellent (edit your comment) Add link

3 years ago.

TUR-User
Avatar level
4,792

Terrible

1 month 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
1,988

Good

5 years ago.

After 23k hours on power still OK SSD.

SSDrivePro
Avatar level
1,857

Poor

7 years ago.

Cantell
Avatar level
6

Poor

6 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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1058 Drives (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list.

See how consistently different SSDs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 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 i5-11600K $270Nvidia RTX 3060-Ti $400Crucial MX500 250GB $45
Intel Core i5-11400F $260Nvidia RTX 3070 $500Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
Intel Core i7-11700K $380Nvidia GTX 1660S (Super) $240Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $183
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $40Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $74SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $35Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $77SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $72G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $649SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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