The Kingston NV3 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD is a single-sided drive with all components on one side, so it fits in the smaller slots found in thin laptops and mini-PCs. That makes it perfect if you’re finding that double-sided drives just don’t fit. Fortunately, it’s just as fast as its thicker counterparts, reading data at speeds of up to 6,000 MB/s via its PCIe 4.0 interface and measuring just 3.8mm thick while weighing a mere 6.6 grams.
Head over to Amazon to get the Kingston NV3 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD for just $157, down from its usual price of $216. That’s a $59 discount and 27% off.
A quick and easy way to expand your computer’s storage
The single-sided design of this drive determines whether it will physically fit in the M.2 slot. Most small form factor computers have very little space between the motherboard and the outer casing, so they can typically accommodate M.2 cards with components on only one side. If the card had components on both sides of the PCB, they would likely be forced against the upper portion of the enclosure when seated correctly.
A Gen 4×4 NVMe controller provides sequential reads up to 6,000 MB/s and sequential writes up to 4,000 MB/s. Because of these speeds, moving large files such as games from an older SATA-based hard drive or solid state drive to this drive takes only a few seconds. Boot times for Windows are also greatly improved, and in fact you’ll probably still be settling in at your desk by the time Windows has finished loading.
Power consumption was another key goal of the NV3. In a notebook-style computer, reducing the power the drive consumes lowers heat output and increases battery life. Both factors contribute directly to the device’s overall usability and can make or break the user experience, depending on how much time they spend using the notebook away from a wall outlet.
Durability-wise, this drive carries a three-year limited warranty and has been designed to withstand 320 TBW (Terabytes Written). The Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is 2 million hours. To put that endurance figure in context, you would need to write roughly 175GB every day for three years before reaching the limit, which is well past what typical use puts on a drive.
Acronis True Image is included free of charge as a download for users who want to clone their original drive without having to reload the entire OS and every installed program. Once you’re up and running, Kingston SSD Manager allows you to monitor drive health and update the firmware as needed. The Kingston NV3 line also comes in sizes from 500GB up to 4TB if a terabyte isn’t enough room for what you’re storing.
