KingSpec SSD

Great read speeds, rough write speeds. Buy it for a game library, not your boot drive.

The sequential read hits 3500 MB/s, which is about as good as PCIe 3.0 gets, and it'll make boot times and game loads feel snappy compared to any SATA drive. But the write side is where things get interesting. 1900 MB/s sequential writes are fine, yet the 15K random write IOPS lands in the bottom third of our database. That DRAM-less controller means when you throw a bunch of small file writes at it, like installing a massive game update or moving thousands of photos, it's going to choke harder than a drive with a DRAM cache. For big sequential transfers it's fine. For sustained random workloads, it's a weak spot.

Stacked against the Crucial T710 or Western Digital WD_BLACK SN7100, the KingSpec gets embarrassed on random writes and sustained performance. Those drives are PCIe 4.0 or 5.0, so they're not a fair fight on raw speed, but even their PCIe 3.0 predecessors beat this thing where it counts. The Samsung 9100 PRO is in another universe entirely. If you're on a strict budget and only need a game library drive, the KingSpec works. But if you're booting your OS or doing any kind of content creation, spend the extra $20 to $30 and get something with a DRAM cache.

At $146 to $154 USD, this is a tough sell when you can find drives from Crucial or Western Digital with DRAM caches and better random performance for not much more. The KingSpec makes sense if you find it on sale or you're upgrading an older laptop that only has PCIe 3.0 anyway. But at full price, you're paying mid-tier money for bottom-tier random write performance.

The KingSpec 1TB NVMe is a budget drive that knows exactly what it is, and mostly delivers. You're getting PCIe 3.0 speeds, TLC NAND, and a DRAM-less design at a price that undercuts the big names. The headline 3500 MB/s read speed is solid for Gen3, but the 1900 MB/s write and 15K random write IOPS tell the real story: this is a drive for everyday use and game storage, not sustained heavy lifting.

If you're building a new PC or upgrading a system that supports PCIe 4.0, skip this. You can get a faster drive with a DRAM cache for barely more money. And if you do any video editing, large file transfers, or run a server, the random write performance will drive you nuts. Go get a Crucial T710 or WD_BLACK SN7100 instead.

The KingSpec 1TB NVMe is a classic case of a spec sheet looking better than real-world performance. The 3500 MB/s read speed is legit, and for loading games or booting Windows it'll feel fast. But the DRAM-less design and 15K random write IOPS mean this drive falls apart under mixed workloads. If you're just storing games and don't care about write speeds, it's fine. If you want a drive that handles everything without hiccups, look elsewhere.