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Acer FA100 vs Kingston KC600: Comparison
What is the difference between Acer FA100 and Kingston KC600?
The gap that matters here is sequential read: Acer FA100 3300 MB/s against Kingston KC600 550 MB/s, which puts Acer FA100 83% ahead. Measured rather than claimed: in Speed Score the Acer FA100 returns 6.4 against 5.1, a 20% lead. There is a split on bus interface as well, PCIe 3.0 x4 on the Acer FA100 versus SATA III on the Kingston KC600. Dram cache is not the same on both, DRAM-less on the Acer FA100 versus DRAM on the Kingston KC600. They differ on form factor too, M.2 2280 on the Acer FA100 versus 2.5-inch on the Kingston KC600. There is a split on controller as well, IG5216 on the Acer FA100 versus Silicon Motion SM2259 on the Kingston KC600. Controller vendor is not the same on both, InnoGrit on the Acer FA100 versus Silicon Motion on the Kingston KC600.
Which should you buy, Acer FA100 or Kingston KC600?
Buy the Acer FA100 for everyday laptops and desktops with a PCIe 3.0 M.2 slot. It is equally the pick for budget upgrades needing 2000 GB of NVMe storage in a standard M.2 2280 slot. It is not the one for anyone wanting PCIe 4.0 speeds, since this drive tops out at 3300 MB/s reads. Take the Kingston KC600 for business and security-conscious buyers who want hardware-based encryption built into their SATA storage. This drive's AES 256-bit encryption is a genuine differentiator for that priority. It is the wrong buy for buyers on the tightest possible SATA budget. The Kingston A400, covered elsewhere on this site, offers a substantially lower entry price without encryption.
Where the two are identical
Where they agree, they agree completely, nand type and drive type included, so the decision does not turn on any of those.
Specs and benchmarks
Speed Score
- Acer FA100
- 6.4/10Best
- Kingston KC600
- 5.1/10-20%
How fast this drive is, rated from its read and write speeds, cache and NAND type. 10 is the fastest.
Brand
- Acer FA100
- Acer
- Kingston KC600
- Kingston
Model Number
- Acer FA100
- Acer FA100 (Micron B27B)
- Kingston KC600
- KC600
Series
- Acer FA100
- FA100
- Kingston KC600
- KC600
Drive Type
- Acer FA100
- Internal
- Kingston KC600
- Internal
Bus Interface
- Acer FA100
- PCIe 3.0 x4
- Kingston KC600
- SATA III
Form Factor
- Acer FA100
- M.2 2280
- Kingston KC600
- 2.5-inch
Sequential Read
- Acer FA100
- 3300 MB/s
- Kingston KC600
- 550 MB/s-83%
Controller
- Acer FA100
- IG5216
- Kingston KC600
- Silicon Motion SM2259
Controller Vendor
- Acer FA100
- InnoGrit
- Kingston KC600
- Silicon Motion
DRAM Cache
- Acer FA100
- DRAM-less (HMB)
- Kingston KC600
- DRAM
NAND Type
- Acer FA100
- TLC
- Kingston KC600
- TLC
Which one should you pick?
Choose Acer FA100 if you want the higher speed score (6.4 vs 5.1) and the higher sequential read (3300 MB/s vs 550 MB/s).
Choose Kingston KC600 if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.