Kingston KC600

The Kingston KC600 adds AES 256-bit hardware self-encryption to a solid midrange SATA performance profile, targeting business and security-conscious buyers who need data protection built into the drive itself rather than relying solely on software encryption.

At up to 550 MB/s read and 520 MB/s write, this drive sits near the top of what the SATA interface allows, with consistent sustained performance backed by genuine DRAM caching rather than a DRAMless design. Hardware-based AES 256-bit self-encryption is a genuine differentiator over many budget SATA drives, protecting data at the hardware level in a way that's transparent to the operating system and doesn't depend on separate encryption software. Against the Kingston A400, covered elsewhere on this site, that drive skips hardware encryption and DRAM caching at a substantially lower price. Against the Samsung 870 EVO, also covered elsewhere on this site, both deliver similarly strong SATA performance, with this Kingston drive specifically adding built-in hardware encryption.