The Kingston XS2000 is a very compact and light external SSD for all USB types with high transmission speed. How does it score in our review?
Adam Munsterman
External SSDs come in all shapes and sizes. The Kingston XS2000 belongs to the select group that offers data transfer speeds of up to approximately 2,000 MB/s. You do need a system that has a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 connection. This type of connection has a maximum theoretical transmission speed of 20 Gbps. A more common connection is USB 3.2 Gen 2 with 10 Gbps and standard is USB 3.2 Gen 1 with 5 Gbps. Roughly speaking, you can divide the USB transfer rate in bits per second by 8 to calculate the number of data bytes transferred and then add some protocol overhead. With a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 USB connection you will then reach about 2000 MB/s of data transport. That is a high data rate ideal for large files such as high-resolution video, photos and the like.
Usability
The XS2000 can be used for all currently supported and available USB connections where the net transfer speed is primarily dependent on the type of USB connection used. Control from USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 is present on Windows 11, 10, 8.1, macOS (v. 10.14.x +), Linux (v. 2.6.x +), and Chrome OS. If it is not supported by the operating system, it will fall back to a lower speed that depends on the USB variant present. USB4 is currently becoming available in dribs and drabs and this portable SSD can be connected to it, because USB4 can also communicate with lower USB versions.
Technical execution
This external SSD comes in a small square box of plastic and aluminum and has the following dimensions: 79.5 x 32.6 x 13.5 mm with a weight of only approximately 30 grams. The storage capacity is available in 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. For those interested in technology, we can inform you that a Silicon Motion SM2320 controller is used internally, which has been specifically developed for data-intensive applications with low energy consumption. The maximum speeds are the same for all capacities, up to 2000 MB/s. The housing is equipped with a removable rubber cover that makes the device shockproof. In addition, it is water and dust resistant with the IP55 rating. A USB-C cable is part of the delivery, a USB-C to USB-A adapter is not included. The Kingston SSD Manager management software can be downloaded online. The XS2000 does not offer hardware-based data encryption, but it does offer a 5-year warranty.
Test results
We see data transfer speeds of approximately 2000 MB/s reading and 1700 MB/s writing respectively. The writing speed is therefore slightly behind. All in all, it is a fast storage medium with recent technology and a long warranty period, making it a long-term investment.
Kingston XS2000 external ssd 2TB
MSRPs: 500 GB €128, 1 TB for €210 and 2 TB for €379
+ very compact and impact resistant
+ high data transfer speed
– write speed is slightly behind
– no hardware based encryption
