After Kingston already introduced its first external model two years ago with the XS2000 Portable SSD (review), another model, the XS1000, now follows as a cheaper alternative. Visually, both SSDs are very similar, but on the technical side, the maximum transfer speed drops from up to 2000 MB/s to 150 MB/s. The XS1000 is available with either 1 TB or 2 TB of storage. Whether the SSD is convincing, as well as the XS2000, will be clarified in the following review with the 1 TB version
Technical data of the Kingston XS1000 External SSD
| Capacity | 1 TB |
| Interface | USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 (10 Gbps, Type-C) |
| Flash type | unknown |
| Cache | SLC cache, no DRAM cache |
| Controller | Silicon Motion SM2320 |
| Max. Read/write speed (MB/s) | 1.050/1.000 |
| Operating temperature | 0 °C – 40 °C |
| Storage temperature | -20 °C – 85 °C |
| Scope of delivery | external SSD, USB-C to USB-A cable (0.30 m) |
| Dimensions | 32.58 x 69.54 x 13.5 mm (L x W x H) |
| Weight | 28,7 g |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Price |
€ 81.65 * |
The Kingston XS1000 is a compact external SSD that offers transfer speeds of up to 1,050 MB/s. Kingston uses the native USB controller Silicon Motion SM2320 without DRAM cache for this, just like in the faster XS2000. We don’t have any information about the NAND used
Scope of delivery
The external SSD comes in a compact white-red box. The XS1000 is pictured on the front. Furthermore, the capacity, the USB-C port and the USB version required for the maximum transfer speed (USB 3.2 Gen 2×1) are mentioned. The page also refers to the 5-year warranty
The scope of delivery is minimalistic and only includes a 30 cm long USB-C to USB-A cable besides the external SSD. The removable rubber sleeve known from the XS2000 or other accessories are not included
Design and build of the Kingston XS1000 External SSD
Kingston uses the familiar XS2000 enclosure for the XS1000. The top and bottom of the external SSD are still made of metal, with plastic in between. Since the metal used is now black instead of silver, the external SSD is completely black. The plastic strip still contains the USB-C port and an LED. The dimensions and weight are also unchanged. With dimensions of 32.58 x 69.54 x 13.5 mm and a weight of 28.7 g, the XS1000 is very compact, lightweight and thus the ideal companion for on the go
Since the rubber cover known from the XS2000 is omitted, which covers the transitions of the housing, the protection against dust and jet water according to IP55 standard is omitted. However, it has to be mentioned here that even the XS2000 with rubber cover is far away from real outdoor or ruggedized SSDs
The workmanship of the Kingston XS1000 can convince in the test. The external SSD leaves a high-quality impression and does not have any flaws like irregular gaps, unclean edges and the like. The included cable seems stable, but is a bit stiff
Test system
- ASUS ROG Strix B560-F Gaming WiFi motherboard
- Intel Core i5-11400F processor
- 32GB G.Skill RipJaws V 3200 RAM
- INNO3D GeForce RTX 3060 Twin X2 graphics card
- Kingston KC3000 1TB SSD
- Crucial P5 2TB SSD
- Crucial MX500 4TB SSD
- Seasonic Focus GX-550 power supply
Performance test of the Kingston XS1000 External SSD
As with internal SSDs, we use the benchmarks and programs AS SSD, CrystalDiskMark, ATTO Disk and HD Tune Pro for our performance test
Results of the performance test
Kingston advertises maximum read and write speeds of up to 1,050 and 1,000 MB/s, respectively. While we can confirm the manufacturer’s claims in CrystalDiskMark with a read speed of 1,064.39 MB/s, we didn’t quite reach this with a write speed of 949.94 MB/s. While the Kingston XS1000 disappoints with 24.16 MB/s in the 4K read test, it achieves a very good result with 73.34 MB/s in the write test. Since the XS2000 already showed similar strengths and weaknesses with very similar components, we suspect a strong influence of the installed controller
The external SSD also achieved a predominantly good result in the AS SSD benchmark. We achieved 948.43 MB/s in sequential read and 850.93 MB/s in sequential write. The 4K test again shows weaknesses in reading and strengths in writing. In the benchmark score, the XS1000 lands in the midfield of the external SSDs we have tested so far with 791 points, the same applies to the copy benchmark
In the ATTO benchmark, we achieved up to 892.659 IOPS in read and up to 921.102 IOPS in write, which again puts the external SSD in the midfield. In the HD Tune, the XS1000 is only beaten by the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 models with a very good 528.5 MB/s. The temperature of the Kingston XS1000 remained rather low throughout the entire test, we reached a maximum of 52 °C
| wdt_ID | SSD | Seq (lesen, MB/s) | Seq (schreiben, MB/s) | 4K (lesen, MB/s) | 4K (schreiben, MB/s) | 4K-64-Thrd (lesen, MB/s) | 4K-64-Thrd (schreiben, MB/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adata SD600Q | 429,62 | 398,29 | 16,53 | 36,12 | 94,23 | 125,54 |
| 7 | Adata SC685 | 502,95 | 465,97 | 14,98 | 36,89 | 83,77 | 59,54 |
| 8 | Orico GV100 | 694,64 | 586,27 | 21,19 | 20,06 | 22,58 | 19,98 |
| 9 | Orico CN300 | 515,73 | 313,82 | 13,73 | 5,71 | 14,53 | 5,60 |
| 10 | HP P700 | 953,34 | 905,55 | 36,14 | 53,01 | 229,64 | 1.155,05 |
| 11 | Teamgroup PD1000 (10 Gbps) | 912,88 | 868,61 | 25,11 | 38,42 | 199,82 | 206,96 |
| 12 | SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 | 970,22 | 892,72 | 15,22 | 37,26 | 202,43 | 820,72 |
| 14 | ADATA SE770G | 953,14 | 909,55 | 22,11 | 73,58 | 360,31 | 350,51 |
| 15 | Kingston XS2000 2 TB | 1.820,61 | 1.585,46 | 14,92 | 48,09 | 166,27 | 813,47 |
| 16 | Corsair EX100U 2 TB | 1.411,21 | 1.405,40 | 25,28 | 64,10 | 209,08 | 355,01 |
| SSD | Seq (lesen, MB/s) | Seq (schreiben, MB/s) | 4K (lesen, MB/s) | 4K (schreiben, MB/s) | 4K-64-Thrd (lesen, MB/s) | 4K-64-Thrd (schreiben, MB/s) |
| wdt_ID | SSD | Lesen | Schreiben | Gesamt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adata SD600Q | 154 | 201 | 439 |
| 7 | Adata SC685 | 149 | 143 | 372 |
| 8 | Orico GV100 | 113 | 99 | 274 |
| 9 | Orico CN300 | 80 | 43 | 159 |
| 10 | HP P700 | 361 | 1.299 | 1.856 |
| 11 | Teamgroup PD1000 (10 Gbps) | 316 | 332 | 817 |
| 12 | SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 | 315 | 947 | 1.423 |
| 14 | ADATA SE770G | 478 | 515 | 1.241 |
| 15 | Kingston XS2000 2 TB | 363 | 1.020 | 1.561 |
| 16 | Corsair EX100U 2 TB | 375 | 560 | 1.135 |
| SSD | Lesen | Schreiben | Gesamt |
| wdt_ID | SSD | ISO (in MB/s) | Programm (in MB/s) | Spiel (in MB/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adata SD600Q | 176,46 | 93,52 | 123,44 |
| 7 | Adata SC685 | 202,95 | 77,41 | 179,99 |
| 8 | Orico GV100 | 667,54 | 345,75 | 568,98 |
| 9 | Orico CN300 | 429,70 | 263,09 | 436,04 |
| 10 | HP P700 | 382,92 | 152,12 | 293,34 |
| 11 | Teamgroup PD1000 (10 Gbps) | 635,84 | 321,20 | 570,59 |
| 12 | SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 | 362,07 | 183,39 | 307,66 |
| 13 | ADATA SE770G | 391,67 | 267,24 | 328,17 |
| 14 | Kingston XS2000 2 TB | 622,89 | 159,19 | 391,50 |
| 15 | Corsair EX100U 2 TB | 370,79 | 252,65 | 332,82 |
| SSD | ISO (in MB/s) | Programm (in MB/s) | Spiel (in MB/s) |
| wdt_ID | SSD | Seq Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) | Seq Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) | 4K Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) | 4K Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) | Seq (lesen, in MB/s) | Seq (schreiben, in MB/s) | 4K (lesen, in MB/s) | 4K (schreiben, in MB/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Adata SD600Q | 301,04 | 411,00 | 166,00 | 138,90 | 434,30 | 420,30 | 16,74 | 37,25 |
| 6 | Adata SC685 | 508,10 | 456,80 | 98,22 | 78,75 | 477,00 | 448,60 | 20,90 | 39,28 |
| 7 | Orico GV100 | 471,80 | 301,60 | 29,29 | 20,01 | 29,55 | 20,11 | 26,95 | 20,46 |
| 8 | Orico CN300 | 466,80 | 419,60 | 20,01 | 10,84 | 543,00 | 499,40 | 19,18 | 10,28 |
| 9 | HP P700 | 963,10 | 968,70 | 189,80 | 179,20 | 862,60 | 857,70 | 39,71 | 50,18 |
| 10 | Teamgroup PD1000 (10 Gbps) | 959,60 | 903,00 | 203,90 | 187,50 | 876,70 | 816,10 | 31,18 | 64,96 |
| 11 | SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 | 975,10 | 926,00 | 211,60 | 237,90 | 751,10 | 899,90 | 37,65 | 62,90 |
| 12 | ADATA SE770G | 996,40 | 920,80 | 302,30 | 294,90 | 912,40 | 827,10 | 37,37 | 76,93 |
| 13 | Kingston XS2000 2 TB | 2.064,43 | 1.775,36 | 176,80 | 225,50 | 1.764,02 | 1.513,77 | 21,77 | 77,06 |
| 14 | Corsair EX100U 2 TB | 1.674,86 | 1.549,60 | 214,06 | 230,03 | 854,22 | 1.466,82 | 27,21 | 72,38 |
| SSD | Seq Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) | Seq Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) | 4K Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) | 4K Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) | Seq (lesen, in MB/s) | Seq (schreiben, in MB/s) | 4K (lesen, in MB/s) | 4K (schreiben, in MB/s) |
| wdt_ID | SSD | 512 B | 1 KB | 2 KB | 4 KB | 8 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 512 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | 4 MB | 8 MB | 12 MB | 16 MB | 24 MB | 32 MB | 48 MB | 64 MB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Adata SD600Q | 7.132 | 11.659 | 21.961 | 40.756 | 80.908 | 149.680 | 189.046 | 273.737 | 331.446 | 382.691 | 412.825 | 424.524 | 434.192 | 307.725 | 302.728 | 301.170 | 300.021 | 299.272 | 298.819 | 298.588 | 179.621 |
| 10 | Adata SC685 | 4.745 | 9.309 | 19.027 | 37.512 | 69.285 | 101.135 | 198.834 | 281.538 | 352.516 | 390.288 | 409.600 | 443.372 | 466.033 | 484.759 | 491.415 | 487.795 | 489.176 | 491.040 | 490.293 | 490.470 | 493.674 |
| 11 | Orico GV100 | 10.725 | 21.248 | 41.163 | 76.324 | 136.944 | 213.081 | 299.704 | 376.231 | 431.110 | 542.708 | 611.470 | 624.268 | 624.268 | 625.723 | 624.268 | 623.477 | 621.378 | 622.076 | 624.268 | 623.373 | 622.951 |
| 12 | Orico CN300 | 9.703 | 20.480 | 39.325 | 73.252 | 122.099 | 179.774 | 287.266 | 369.013 | 407.888 | 455.658 | 479.349 | 489.176 | 483.667 | 479.349 | 480.421 | 477.282 | 490.293 | 484.593 | 477.218 | 488.205 | 482.580 |
| 13 | HP P700 | 8.704 | 17.830 | 30.415 | 52.461 | 84.484 | 161.276 | 293.857 | 408.816 | 462.409 | 612.829 | 738.197 | 842.913 | 905.565 | 945.195 | 963.285 | 966.468 | 974.947 | 974.732 | 977.313 | 974.160 | 977.313 |
| 14 | Teamgroup PD1000 (10 Gbps) | 13.755 | 28.672 | 58.733 | 116.260 | 216.627 | 386.858 | 614.221 | 821.690 | 894.008 | 919.560 | 934.849 | 930.221 | 934.849 | 932.530 | 932.530 | 931.619 | 934.230 | 933.864 | 932.067 | 930.300 | 934.230 |
| 15 | SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 | 5.069 | 10.088 | 19.819 | 38.912 | 76.583 | 158.003 | 222.564 | 369.900 | 491.471 | 608.650 | 720.192 | 824.978 | 884.257 | 909.950 | 934.849 | 940.664 | 937.181 | 945.252 | 945.195 | 941.455 | 947.419 |
| 16 | ADATA SE770G | 18.849 | 37.027 | 63.681 | 150.601 | 234.967 | 409.820 | 632.007 | 813.554 | 887.434 | 912.847 | 925.639 | 952.639 | 952.639 | 927.925 | 925.639 | 931.619 | 925.639 | 929.385 | 932.067 | 932.510 | 923.067 |
| 17 | Kingston XS2000 2 TB | 4.967 | 10.189 | 20.681 | 45.850 | 87.153 | 158.003 | 304.074 | 583.107 | 609.328 | 895.418 | 1.161.499 | 1.391.887 | 1.606.596 | 1.673.537 | 1.689.908 | 1.696.225 | 1.723.289 | 1.730.150 | 1.731.841 | 1.736.441 | 1.736.419 |
| 18 | Corsair EX100U 2 TB | 8.639 | 17.152 | 32.175 | 65.536 | 133.218 | 232.351 | 302.587 | 599.409 | 1.051.146 | 1.276.766 | 1.332.185 | 1.368.238 | 1.402.274 | 1.454.576 | 1.480.579 | 1.485.397 | 1.491.308 | 1.500.031 | 1.513.239 | 1.517.174 | 1.505.857 |
| SSD | 512 B | 1 KB | 2 KB | 4 KB | 8 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 512 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | 4 MB | 8 MB | 12 MB | 16 MB | 24 MB | 32 MB | 48 MB | 64 MB |
| wdt_ID | SSD | 512 B | 1 KB | 2 KB | 4 KB | 8 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 512 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | 4 MB | 8 MB | 12 MB | 16 MB | 24 MB | 32 MB | 48 MB | 64 MB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Adata SD600Q | 9.576 | 16.811 | 32.095 | 44.720 | 81.920 | 159.843 | 197.874 | 271.073 | 336.082 | 382.691 | 410.401 | 416.928 | 421.114 | 421.962 | 423.239 | 424.238 | 424.309 | 424.954 | 425.116 | 425.294 | 427.147 |
| 10 | Adata SC685 | 4.484 | 9.170 | 18.481 | 36.772 | 65.775 | 91.910 | 151.114 | 231.303 | 302.706 | 332.529 | 379.918 | 423.667 | 446.202 | 461.824 | 473.014 | 474.943 | 476.160 | 479.645 | 481.498 | 481.532 | 485.856 |
| 11 | Orico GV100 | 11.392 | 22.216 | 42.794 | 78.610 | 136.944 | 209.518 | 296.023 | 372.587 | 475.205 | 603.979 | 678.802 | 725.501 | 723.723 | 729.083 | 732.096 | 730.231 | 732.096 | 733.750 | 735.439 | 733.308 | 735.439 |
| 12 | Orico CN300 | 10.189 | 21.142 | 41.265 | 76.773 | 136.265 | 215.022 | 309.841 | 393.216 | 462.409 | 509.807 | 532.874 | 532.874 | 539.267 | 544.125 | 534.495 | 529.806 | 545.354 | 534.925 | 546.588 | 530.974 | 533.315 |
| 13 | HP P700 | 8.003 | 14.664 | 27.950 | 42.794 | 81.039 | 161.276 | 206.931 | 293.857 | 421.715 | 546.400 | 653.127 | 752.622 | 809.666 | 830.871 | 857.410 | 865.075 | 865.920 | 867.159 | 870.239 | 866.956 | 868.074 |
| 14 | Teamgroup PD1000 (10 Gbps) | 13.151 | 26.491 | 53.115 | 111.885 | 241.081 | 429.179 | 628.555 | 902.925 | 953.227 | 975.786 | 991.756 | 989.319 | 989.319 | 991.756 | 994.205 | 993.384 | 994.205 | 993.387 | 994.205 | 994.790 | 994.205 |
| 15 | SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 | 1.568 | 8.720 | 17.920 | 38.718 | 79.847 | 148.011 | 190.608 | 282.699 | 396.128 | 603.979 | 718.440 | 664.444 | 842.913 | 863.777 | 882.182 | 884.204 | 873.975 | 873.473 | 863.777 | 875.333 | 896.920 |
| 16 | ADATA SE770G | 22.288 | 42.496 | 81.039 | 159.419 | 246.581 | 458.850 | 671.088 | 926.371 | 972.292 | 1.002.553 | 1.015.358 | 1.015.358 | 1.017.764 | 1.015.358 | 1.015.358 | 1.015.247 | 1.015.358 | 1.015.247 | 1.015.358 | 1.016.312 | 1.015.358 |
| 17 | Kingston XS2000 2 TB | 6.209 | 12.512 | 25.221 | 48.425 | 90.329 | 160.482 | 302.587 | 549.136 | 557.104 | 961.779 | 1.012.963 | 1.129.555 | 1.315.860 | 1.436.880 | 1.491.308 | 1.518.735 | 1.524.448 | 1.549.137 | 1.552.397 | 1.558.178 | 1.559.915 |
| 18 | Corsair EX100U 2 TB | 3.270 | 6.477 | 12.924 | 26.557 | 38.526 | 73.643 | 124.452 | 195.358 | 332.309 | 482.250 | 709.805 | 736.356 | 821.096 | 1.096.971 | 1.147.705 | 1.176.502 | 1.214.350 | 1.258.291 | 1.259.326 | 1.283.457 | 1.284.380 |
| SSD | 512 B | 1 KB | 2 KB | 4 KB | 8 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 512 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | 4 MB | 8 MB | 12 MB | 16 MB | 24 MB | 32 MB | 48 MB | 64 MB |
| wdt_ID | SSD | Minimum (in MB/s) | Maximum (in MB/s) | Average (in MB/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adata SD600Q | 274,30 | 293,20 | 279,20 |
| 7 | Adata SC685 | 194,30 | 240,60 | 216,90 |
| 8 | Orico GV100 | 330,60 | 342,50 | 341,00 |
| 9 | Orico CN300 | 352,50 | 375,70 | 370,60 |
| 10 | HP P700 | 290,30 | 335,80 | 303,70 |
| 11 | Teamgroup PD1000 (10 Gbps) | 368,80 | 372,60 | 371,70 |
| 12 | SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 | 190,00 | 305,70 | 271,30 |
| 13 | ADATA SE770G | 400,50 | 437,10 | 419,90 |
| 14 | Kingston XS2000 2 TB | 589,50 | 601,80 | 597,70 |
| 15 | Corsair EX100U 2 TB | 218,60 | 581,30 | 563,10 |
| SSD | Minimum (in MB/s) | Maximum (in MB/s) | Average (in MB/s) |
| wdt_ID | SSD | AS SSD (schreiben) | HD Tune Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adata SD600Q | 1,465 | 0,073 |
| 7 | Adata SC685 | 1,806 | 0,181 |
| 8 | Orico GV100 | 0,117 | 0,063 |
| 9 | Orico CN300 | 0,662 | 0,059 |
| 10 | HP P700 | 0,055 | 0,085 |
| 11 | Teamgroup PD1000 (10 Gbps) | 0,108 | 0,072 |
| 12 | SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 | 0,098 | 0,083 |
| 14 | ADATA SE770G | 0,122 | 0,074 |
| 15 | Kingston XS2000 2 TB | 0,134 | 0,079 |
| 16 | Corsair EX100U 2 TB | 0,057 | 0,125 |
| SSD | AS SSD (schreiben) | HD Tune Pro |
Kingston XS1000 External SSD Review: Conclusion
Overall, Kingston offers an attractive overall package at a very reasonable price with the new XS1000. Like the XS2000, the SSD is very compact and extremely light. It offers fast transfer speeds of up to 1,050 MB/s and also shows a good performance in the benchmarks. Furthermore, the XS1000 is currently the cheapest external SSD with 1 TB of storage and transfer speeds of ~1,000 MB/s at ~65 € (as of 04/09/2023). Despite the low price, Kingston offers a 5-year warranty
Thus, the Kingston XS1000 is suitable for everyone who is looking for a particularly compact, fast, but still inexpensive external SSD. If you want more performance, you should take a look at the optically almost identical and even faster XS2000, which is currently available for ~85 €
Kingston XS1000 External SSD 1 TB
Access times
Transfer rate (Read)
Transfer rate (Write)
Value for money
83/100
Attractive external SSD that convinces with small dimensions and weight as well as good performance at a very reasonable price.
