Overall and Final Verdict
Now that we have seen the inside and outside of the Savage and put it through our benchmark suite lets take a step back and see what we have when it is all said and done. As far as the performance is concerned in most situations the Savage pulled ahead of the other drives using the same Phison controller due to its Toshiba A19 NAND. There were a few cases where this didn’t happen but I think that the smaller capacity of the Savage sample didn’t do it any favors here. A larger capacity with larger capacity NAND would most likely see an improvement. That said Kingston’s own numbers seem to favor the 960GB and then the 240GB as the fastest variations of the Savage. Against the rest of the drives tested there were a few situations like in Passmark where the OCZ drives perform better, but overall the Savage was the fastest SATA drive tested.
That said I really think there are two things that set the Savage apart from the competition. Kingston’s reputation and reliability for one. But the main thing is the Savages’ awesome styling. Kingston was careful to make sure this drive stood out when next to the competition. While the red and black theme works well for my most recent build, I hope they also consider bringing out other color options, similar to their Fury RAM lineup for people who would like to show off an SSD that matches their specific build. Speaking of more options one thing that I didn’t even originally consider is the additional capacity options that the Savage is available in. The ignite for example is only available in two sizes but here we have four. This opens up smaller capacity options for people who don’t need the additional size or can’t afford it.
There are a few downsides to the drive though. For starters I would personally prefer to see a 5 year warranty or at least a model with one. While I haven’t had very many issues with SSDs there are some people who only seem to hear the downsides and I think a better warranty might help with that. The main issue I have with the drive though is in its current pricing. You can pick the standard 240GB Savage up right now for just under $140 and the same capacity Striker drive is just under $110. Don’t get me wrong, the Savage clearly offers more in styling and even in performance in most cases but is that worth $30 more? I think if I was on the market for a new drive right now I would have to spend a little extra time thinking on that one. Without a doubt I love the Savage, but $30 might get you a noticeable improvement on a better video card or CPU. The gap is currently even larger at the higher capacities. Hopefully as the Savage’s get out on the market the price falls a little closer in line. I know I would be willing to pay more for the styling and better NAND, but would prefer it to not be too much.
Amazon Link: HERE
