Kingston Digital, Inc., the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced it is shipping the NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD for users looking for high capacity 4x4 NVMe PCIe performance in a compact form factor.

The Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is a robust next-gen storage solution powered by a Gen 4x4 NVMe controller. The Kingston NV3 delivers read/write speeds of up to 6,000/5,000 MB/s, ensuring a faster system capable of handling a variety of workloads, from editing to gaming. The drive optimizes system performance and delivers value without compromise. Its compact single-sided M.2 2280 (22x80mm) design allows for storage expansion up to 4TB2,5 while saving space for other components. As a cost-effective storage solution, the NV3 is ideal for creators and gamers looking to enhance their PC performance.[Editor's note: Our in-depth review of the Kingston NV3 is now live]

Kingston's NV2 NVMe SSD has been a popular budget choice that has offered some of the best price/performance ratio in its segment of the market. Now, Kingston has quietly added its replacement, the NV3 to its website and that entails a wide range of upgrades over the NV2. The Kingston NV2 came in a range of different variations with multiple different controllers and NAND types and so far the company hasn't revealed which controller or what NAND the NV3 will feature. However, the company lists 3D NAND with a sequential read speeds of 6,000 MB/s for the 1 TB and up SKUs which is a huge improvement over the NV2 which topped out at 3,500 MB/s. Write speeds top out at 5,000 MB/s, but this is limited to the 2 and 4 TB SKUs, but it's nearly twice that of the 2 TB NV2 SKU. The 1 TB SKU is also seeing almost a doubling in terms of write speeds over the NV2. The 500 GB SKU is seeing more modest performance improvements, but it's still getting a decent performance uplift.

Initially, Kingston will launch 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB SKUs, with the 4 TB SKU following in Q4 this year. Endurance remains the same as for the NV2, with the NV3 starting out at 160 TBW for the 500 GB SKU, which then doubles for each increase in size and tops out at 1280 TBW for the 4 TB SKU. Kingston has as yet to officially announce the drive, but some online retailers claim to be able to ship the NV3 in four to five days time, suggesting that the launch is imminent. Pricing appears to start at US$50 for the 500 GB SKU, which increases to US$70 for the 1 TB SKU, with the 2 TB SKU jumping to US$139 from the same retailer. This places the NV3 slightly higher than the current retail price of the NV2, which is hardly a surprise, considering it delivers better performance. All SKUs come with a three year warranty.