Our testing methods
We tested Kingston's 80GB SSDNow upgrade kit on two systems: a late 2008 aluminum Apple MacBook and our editor's own Core 2 Duo-powered desktop PC.
We're not going to benchmark the X25-M all over again, but this article would be a little empty without at least some performance numbers and, just as importantly, battery life tests. As always, we did our best to deliver clean numbers. All except the battery life tests were run at least three times, and the results were averaged.
To simulate the performance of a used SSD, we filled up the X25-M and subsequently formatted it without a full zero-out before running our tests. Oh, and of course, we updated the X25-M with the latest firmware from Intel (version 8820).
Our systems were configured like so:
| Processor | Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P7350 2.0GHz | Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz |
| System bus | 1066MHz (266MHz quad-pumped) | 1066MHz (266MHz quad-pumped) |
| Motherboard | Apple Mac-F42D89C8 | MSI P965 Platinum |
| Firmware/BIOS revision | MB51.0073.B06 | 1.8 |
| Chipset | Nvidia GeForce 9400M | P965 MCH |
| Chipset drivers | N/A | INF update 8.3.1.1009, Intel Matrix Storage Manager 8.7 |
| Memory size | 2GB (2 DIMMs) | 4GB (4 DIMMs) |
| Memory type | 2x 1GB Hyundai DDR3-1066 SDRAM | 4x 1GB Corsair ValueSelect DDR2-667 SDRAM |
| CAS latency (CL) | 7 | 5 |
| RAS to CAS delay (tRCD) | 7 | 5 |
| RAS precharge (tRP) | 7 | 5 |
| Cycle time (tRAS) | 20 | 15 |
| Command rate | 2T | 2T |
| Audio | Realtek ALC885 | Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce 9400M |
Zotac GeForce 8800 GT Amp! Edition with ForceWare 186.18 drivers |
| Hard drive | Toshiba MK1653GSX (160GB 5,400 RPM SATA) | 2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB SATA in RAID 1 mode |
| OS | Mac OS X 10.5.7 | Windows Vista Home Premium x64 |
| OS updates | Latest updates at time of writing | Service Pack 2, latest updates at time of writing |
The tests and methods we employ are usually publicly available and reproducible. If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.
