Introduction and Internals

Today we take a look at the new Kingston HyperX Max 3.0 external SSD. This drive connects via USB 3.0 and performs quite well. Once cracked open, we discovered the internals are identical to that of the Kingston SSDNow V+ second generation series of (internal) SSD’s, sporting the Toshiba HG2 series controller.
Introduction:

Today we’ll take a look at the Kingston HyperX Max 3.0 USB External SSD. Announced yesterday, this unit is meant for those who desire speedy external storage at capacities and speeds higher than those obtainable from simple thumb drives.

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Kingston informed us the final product may have a slightly different shade of blue, as to better match the companies HyperX line of performance memory. That said, the finish, lettering, and build quality was top notch. The two halves of the enclosure fit so well that the seams were barely noticeable, making it seem as if it were one solid cylinder of extruded aluminum. The access / power LED is located near the USB 3.0 port, on top face of the drive enclosure, and lights green when in use.

Internals:

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Cracking open the housing we discover it is actually to halves, and is of cast aluminum construction.
We also note a standard 2.5″ SATA SSD coupled to a USB 3.0 interface board.

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Here we see the Toshiba HG2 controller (center), driving 128GB of 43nm Toshiba flash memory (right).
A Micron 128MB DDR module performs caching duties (left).

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A Genesys Logic GL3310 SATA to USB 3.0 bridge controllerhandles the interfacing.

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Everything laid out, ifixit style.



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