Kingston A400 vs UV400: Which one to Choose and Why?

Got a lower budget but have an intention to upgrade your PC/Laptop with SSD? If yes, Kingston is one of the notable brands that you can surely rely on. The majority of buyers prefer the Kingston Solid-State Drives due to their lower price and good performance. In this article, I have compared two of the most popular products from Kingston i.e. A400 and UV400.

The UV400 SSDNow is a little bit more expensive option as compared to the A400. However, if we look at the performance, UV400 tends to do better because of its fast cache especially.

So, I am here to take your confusion away and help you pick the one which is best for you.

Moreover, it’s tough to decide reliable SSD model of the same brand. First of all, we will see what the company has to say about its products. After that, we will see the real-time performance results and then come to a proper decision.

So, without any further delays, let’s get started.

Kingston A400 vs Kingston UV400 (Which one is the Best Choice?)

1. Storage Space

Kingston UV400 SSDs were launched in 2016, whereas the Kingston A400 SSDs’ launch year was 2017. Previously the Kingston A400 SSDs were available with 120GB, 240GB, 480GB variants but later on the brand launched 960GB in the year 2018 and a 1.92TB SSD variant in the year 2019. Considering the storage capacities Kingston A400 model includes more variants of SSDs compared to the Kingston UV400. 

Kingston A400 SSD Variants: 120GB/240GB/480GB/960GB/1.92TB

Kingston UV400 SSD Variants: 120GB/240GB/480GB/960GB

2. Sequential Read/Write Speed (Theoretical)

There is no such big difference in the theoretical read/write speed of both these SSDs. Have a look at the below-stated table for a better understanding. You can see the sequential R/W speed for both the Kingston SSDs are comparatively the same. Moreover, the speed differs (Increase/Decrease) depending on the Operating System and the Processor.  

Read/Write Speed of Kingston A400 SSD

Read/Write Speed of Kingston UV400 SSD

3. Benchmark Scores

Above were the speed specifications of both these SSDs which are given by the company. But, in order to get accurate results and see if these SSDs can reach up to the mark, we should definitely do the benchmarking tests as well. The tests were done using CrystalDiskMark 8 on an Intel i5 8th Gen PC. The RAM utilized is 8GB 3200MHz DDR4.

Kingston A400 Benchmark Scores

Kingston UV400 Benchmark Scores

With these actual benchmarking scores, we can clearly see that the sequential read/write speed is better in the UV400. However, the A400 is lacking in it.

If we talk about the random read and write speeds, both the SSDs have almost similar performance. Despite not having a DRAM buffer in A400, the SSD is doing great in terms of random read and write But, the UV400 is clearly a winner in the terms of read/write speed.

Note: The results may vary as per your system’s configurations, storage variant, and total space filled.

4. SSD Endurance Terabytes Written TBW

Before purchasing an SSD, you must go through the product specifications. TeraBytes Written (TBW) of a Solid-State Drive indicates the durability “Life Span” In short, more TBW more durability.

Hence, make sure to consider the TBW information before investing in any SSD. Increasing Price and SSD Storage will lead to having more TeraBytes Written. Have a look at the below-stated table for both SSDs.

Kingston A400 TBW (Tera-bytes Written)

Kingston UV400 TBW (Tera-bytes Written)

Considering the TBW (Tera-Bytes Written) Kingston UV400 is better than the Kingston A400 SSDs but the price factor impacts the difference. Explore the current price list for both the Kingston Solid-State Drives.

5. Price Difference

Let’s see how costly is the UV400 as compared to the A400. Now, when you are aware of the features and speed parameters, the price remains the only main factor affecting your decision. So, let’s see.

Note: The prices of any product may vary depending on the time of purchase, your location, and various other things. Also, the form factor (M.2 or SATA 2.5″) can also impact the price of the same product.

As mentioned earlier Kingston UV400 are the earlier models of SSDs launched in 2016. Later on, the brand launched a new model A400 with different storage variants, which are available at affordable prices. Hence, the demand for the Kingston A400 increased compared to Kingston UV400 SSDs.

6. NAND, Flash, Controller, etc

1. Bus Type/Form Factor

The Kingston A400 works on SATA Rev. 3.0 (6Gb/s) interface and is available in two different form factors, M.2 SATA (2280) and SATA 2.5″.

The Kingston UV400 is available only in the SATA 2.5″ Form Factor. It also works with the SATA Rev. 3.0 (6Gb/s) interface. However, both the SSDs are backward compatible with SATA-2. It means you can connect and use this SSD on a SATA-2 port as well. But the speed will be limited to 300 MB/s.

2. Controller

Kingston A400 SSDs include Phison PS3111-S11 controller with Single-core, 2-ch, 8-CE/ch configuration. Whereas, the Kingston UV400 SSDs include Marvell 88SS1074 Controller.

3. NAND Type

Both A400 and UV400 SSDs are working with the TLC NAND. While the A400 consists of a 3D TLC NAND. The NAND manufacturer of A400’s NAND is Toshiba. 32+ layers of TLC NAND are used in A400 however the numbers for UV400 are not available.

4. Cache Type

Having a fast and good cache is an important thing in your SSD and that is where both SSDs are lacking.

The A400 comes with no DRAM at all. In fact, its controller is focused on low-end drives where no DRAM is required and utilized.

But, the UV400 has a DDR3 DRAM cache which is fast enough to optimize this SATA drive. And this was the reason why the UV400 was performing better when it comes to real-world data reading and writing.

What is the warranty period for these SSDs?

Buyers can obtain 3 years Warranty Period for both Kingston A400 and Kingston UV400 SATA SSDs.

Read Full Review of Kingston A400

Read Full Review of Kingston UV400

Software for SSD Routine Health Check-up

What Software is compatible with Kingston SSDs? The Kingston SSD Manager is the compatible Software for Kingston Solid-State Drives. It helps users to monitor Drive health, status, and disk usage. You can for the latest firmware updates and perform secure erase without losing valuable data.

Moreover, it guides users to fix Minor Bugs, Check System temperature, Drive Details, Disk tests, S.M.A.R.T Diagnostic, and so on.

Download: Kingston SSD Manager

My Views of both Kingston SSDs (Which one should you buy?)

I know this one is a tough decision to make. The Kingston A400 is affordable in price but a little bit slower than the UV400. Also, the TBW limits are slightly more in the UV400.

But, let me give you my opinion. Since. A400 is a DRAM-Less SSD and the UV400 has a DDR3 DRAM buffer, you should definitely pick UV400 to stay on the safer side.

However, A400 is doing great in this domain and I am using it as well on a laptop. It’s doing great but read/write speeds are slower than various other rival drives. So, in my opinion, Kingston UV400 is a good choice even though its prices are a little bit higher.

Conclusion

If this article helped you choose the right SSD for your laptop or desktop, its purpose is fulfilled. But, if you have any queries in mind, get in touch with me.

Thanks for reading!