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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: 74.2% (529th of 1016)

Based on 32,683 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: 56%Average: 74.2% Great: 89%

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 159MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 38.6MB/s

Above average consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB is 33.8%. 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 139MB/s
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 187MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 32,683 samples)
Rank 52974.2%
Min Avg Max
301 Read 367 428
128 Write 187 225
180 Mixed 224 259
102 SusWrite 139 167
50.9% 229 MB/s
Min Avg Max
20.5 4K Read 30.3 37.9
40.4 4K Write 81.5 111
25.1 4K Mixed 38.6 49.3
139% 50.1 MB/s
Min Avg Max
104 DQ Read 199 247
105 DQ Write 172 214
75.3 DQ Mixed 159 204
127% 177 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
73GB free
Firmware: 526ABBF0
SusWrite @10s intervals: 158 172 174 172 172 160 MB/s
79.8% Very good
Read 352
Write 221
Mixed 260
SusWrite 168
56% 250 MB/s
4K Read 32.7
4K Write 85
4K Mixed 43.2
150% 53.6 MB/s
DQ Read 206
DQ Write 193
DQ Mixed 195
147% 198 MB/s
32GB free (System drive)
Firmware: BBF0
SusWrite @10s intervals: 163 158 153 167 170 173 MB/s
74.7% Very good
Read 373
Write 207
Mixed 256
SusWrite 164
56% 250 MB/s
4K Read 30
4K Write 74
4K Mixed 35.8
130% 46.6 MB/s
DQ Read 237
DQ Write 193
DQ Mixed 205
156% 212 MB/s
71GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 580ABBF0
SusWrite @10s intervals: 144 164 164 163 167 164 MB/s
65% Good
Read 382
Write 175
Mixed 248
SusWrite 161
54% 241 MB/s
4K Read 25.4
4K Write 56.5
4K Mixed 38.4
118% 40.1 MB/s
DQ Read 37.6
DQ Write 81.2
DQ Mixed 47.5
40% 55.4 MB/s
32,683 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 21,624,497 SSDs tested.

 Prices

Approx. $101 @ launch in Apr '12
EbayUS $13015 mins
AmazonUS $1607 days
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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 26,544 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings.
Gaming
Gaming 45%
Yacht
Desktop
Desktop 46%
Yacht
Workstation
Workstation 34%
Sail boat

Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 - $96

CPU
FX-8350AMD  $75Bench 49%, 235,023 samples8,181x
FX-6300AMD  $90Bench 42%, 165,767 samples6,263x
FX-8320AMD  $163Bench 44%, 83,767 samples4,094x
GPU
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia  $277Bench 57%, 752,023 samples1,775x
RX 480AMD  $188Bench 52%, 143,271 samples1,668x
GTX 1050-TiNvidia  $155Bench 32%, 460,733 samples1,585x
SSD
HyperX 3K 120GBKingston  $130Bench 74%, 32,683 samples1x
RAM
Savage DDR3 1600 C9 2x4GBHyperXBench 51%, 54,553 samples914x
Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x8GBHyperXBench 59%, 60,122 samples842x
Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x4GBHyperX  $35Bench 51%, 30,786 samples636x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 40% - Average Total price: $578

Popular HyperX 3K 120GB compatible motherboards:

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  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations.
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Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) January 2020 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
6,118

Excellent (edit your comment) Add link

2 years ago.

TUR-User
Avatar level
3,610

Excellent

12 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
1,676

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 $155Nvidia GTX 1660S (Super) $240Crucial MX500 250GB $43
Intel Core i5-9600K $218Nvidia GTX 1650S (Super) $170Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $78
Intel Core i7-9700K $370Nvidia RTX 2060 $340Samsung 850 Pro 512GB $204
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $37Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $73SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $42Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $63SanDisk Extreme 32GB $46
Seagate Barracuda 3TB (2016) $85G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $643SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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