Kingston DC400 Enterprise SSD Review (800GB/960GB)

4KB RANDOM READ/WRITE

In order to properly test random 4KB performance, we first secure erase to get it in a clean state. Next, the drive is filled by sequentially writing to the RAW NAND capacity twice. We then precondition the drive with 4KB random writes at QD256 until the drive is in a steady state. Finally, we cycle through QD1-256 for 5 minutes each for writes and then reads. All this is scripted to run with no breaks in between. The last hour of preconditioning, the average IOPS, and average latency for each QD is graphed below.

Kingston DC400 960GB Pre 4K Kingston DC400 800GB Pre 4K

Taking a look at our preconditioning data we can see that the average 4K write IOPS are a bit under spec with the 960GB model averaging 9.5 to 10K IOPs and the 800GB model averaging 25K IOPS. The above two graphs are also a very good representation of how you can improve your storage performance by simply over provisioning. Not only do the IOPS increase, performance consistency improves dramatically.

Kingston DC400 960GB 4K RR Kingston DC400 960GB 4K RRLKingston DC400 960GB 4K RW Kingston DC400 960GB 4K RWL

The Kingston DC400 seems to max out at around 78-80K IOPS for read with latency at just over 0.40ms at QD 32. This is under the rating of 99K. At QD1, however, there is a large gap between the 960GB and 800GB models with the 800GB model delivering double the performance and edging out up until QD16.

During 4K writes, the DC400 is the lowest performing drive at 960GB averaging10K IOPS. Once it was over-provisioned to 800GB, however, it delivers performance that is a bit better than the Micron M510DC, but just under the 5100 ECO at 25K IOPS.

6 comments

  1. blank

    There’s that word “plethora” again.

  2. blank

    How do you call MLC flash and sequential reads at 560, and writes at 525, entry level for
    sata 3? And if you overprovision it to 800 it now beats out its competition in other categories besides sequential. This sounds like it’s a lot better than entry level for sata 3?

    • blank

      I’m referring to it as entry-level due to it’s total performance as well as endurance and price-point in product line-ups in the enterprise market. Compared to other read-oriented SATA SSDs the Kingston at the same capacity typically offers the least performance and lowest endurance in comparison to other similar classed <1 DWPD products and it doesn't have power caps on it in case of a power outage liek others do, simply firmware protection instead. Thus, in comparison, this why I am referring to it as an entry level product. Once you move onto 1-3DWPD SATA SSDs you are now dealing with better performing drives that last longer, thus, not entry-level. Yes, while over provisioned to 800GB it was able to match or beat some of the competition, but it is at the expense of usable capacity. If you were to over provision those other SSDs, you would see similar improvements in performance. At that point it is a whole new comparison of price vs performance vs capacity vs endurance…in which case, with all things being equal, the Kingston may be at the lower end of the totem pole once again.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *