What’s the difference between Kingston A400 and KC600?

If you are looking for an Internal SATA 2.5″ 6Gb/s Solid State Drive, then Kingston currently offers two similar products with the A400 and KC600. So, which of these is better?

You can find out in this comparison guide between the two Kingston SSDs.

Quick Summary

The Kingston KC600 SATA 2.5″ Internal SATA SSD is faster than the Kingston KC600 SATA 2.5″ Internal SATA SSD in terms of maximum sequential read and maximum sequential write speeds.

The KC600 is also more durable as you can write twice the amount of data when compared to KC600 according to the Total Bytes Written specifications.

So, if you are having a hard time picking between these two products, we highly recommend getting the Kingston KC600 SSD over the Kingston A400 SSD.

A400 Internal SSD vs. KC600 Internal SATA SSD Comparison Charts

You can check out Seeking Tech’s comparison table between the two SSD models below.

240 GB Kingston A400 SSD vs. 256 GB Kingston KC600 SSD

240 GB Kingston A400 SSD256 GB Kingston KC600 SSD
Weight41 g40 g
Form Factor2.5"2.5"
InterfaceSATA Rev. 3.0 (6 Gb/s)

Backwards compatible with SATA Rev. 2.0 (3 Gb/s)
SATA Rev. 3.0 (6 Gb/s)

Backwards compatible with SATA Rev. 2.0 (3 Gb/s)
NAND3D NAND3D TLC NAND
Maximum Sequential Read Speed500 MB per second550 MB per second
Maximum Sequential Write Speed350 MB per second500 MB per second
Mean Time Between Failures1 million hours1 million hours
Total Bytes Written80 TB150 TB
Operating Vibration2.17 G Peak (7-800Hz)20 G Peak (10-2000Hz)
Power Consumption0.195 W Idle / 0.279 W Avg / 0.642 W (MAX) Read / 1.535 W (MAX) Write0.06 W Idle / 0.2 W Avg / 1.3 W (MAX) Read / 3.2 W (MAX) Write
Operating Temperature0°C to 70°C0°C to 70°C
Storage Temperature-40°C to 85°C-40°C to 85°C
Warranty3-year limited warranty with free technical support5-year limited warranty with free technical support
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480 GB Kingston A400 SSD vs. 512 GB Kingston KC600 SSD

480 GB Kingston A400 SSD512 GB Kingston KC600 SSD
Weight41 g40 g
Form Factor2.5"2.5"
InterfaceSATA Rev. 3.0 (6 Gb/s)

Backwards compatible with SATA Rev. 2.0 (3 Gb/s)
SATA Rev. 3.0 (6 Gb/s)

Backwards compatible with SATA Rev. 2.0 (3 Gb/s)
NAND3D NAND3D TLC NAND
Maximum Sequential Read Speed500 MB per second550 MB per second
Maximum Sequential Write Speed450 MB per second520 MB per second
Mean Time Between Failures1 million hours1 million hours
Total Bytes Written160 TB300 TB
Operating Vibration2.17 G Peak (7-800Hz)20 G Peak (10-2000Hz)
Power Consumption0.195 W Idle / 0.279 W Avg / 0.642 W (MAX) Read / 1.535 W (MAX) Write0.06 W Idle / 0.2 W Avg / 1.3 W (MAX) Read / 3.2 W (MAX) Write
Operating Temperature0°C to 70°C0°C to 70°C
Storage Temperature-40°C to 85°C-40°C to 85°C
Warranty3-year limited warranty with free technical support5-year limited warranty with free technical support
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960 GB Kingston A400 SSD vs. 1024 GB Kingston KC600 SSD

960 GB Kingston A400 SSD1024 GB Kingston KC600 SSD
Weight41.9 g40 g
Form Factor2.5"2.5"
InterfaceSATA Rev. 3.0 (6 Gb/s)

Backwards compatible with SATA Rev. 2.0 (3 Gb/s)
SATA Rev. 3.0 (6 Gb/s)

Backwards compatible with SATA Rev. 2.0 (3 Gb/s)
NAND3D NAND3D TLC NAND
Maximum Sequential Read Speed500 MB per second550 MB per second
Maximum Sequential Write Speed450 MB per second520 MB per second
Mean Time Between Failures1 million hours1 million hours
Total Bytes Written300 TB600 TB
Operating Vibration2.17 G Peak (7-800Hz)20 G Peak (10-2000Hz)
Power Consumption0.195 W Idle / 0.279 W Avg / 0.642 W (MAX) Read / 1.535 W (MAX) Write0.06 W Idle / 0.2 W Avg / 1.3 W (MAX) Read / 3.2 W (MAX) Write
Operating Temperature0°C to 70°C0°C to 70°C
Storage Temperature-40°C to 85°C-40°C to 85°C
Warranty3-year limited warranty with free technical support5-year limited warranty with free technical support
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1920 GB Kingston A400 SSD vs. 2048 GB Kingston KC600 SSD

1920 GB Kingston A400 SSD2048 GB Kingston KC600 SSD
Weight41.9 g40 g
Form Factor2.5"2.5"
InterfaceSATA Rev. 3.0 (6 Gb/s)

Backwards compatible with SATA Rev. 2.0 (3 Gb/s)
SATA Rev. 3.0 (6 Gb/s)

Backwards compatible with SATA Rev. 2.0 (3 Gb/s)
NAND3D NAND3D TLC NAND
Maximum Sequential Read Speed500 MB per second550 MB per second
Maximum Sequential Write Speed450 MB per second520 MB per second
Mean Time Between Failures1 million hours1 million hours
Total Bytes Written600 TB1200 TB
Operating Vibration2.17 G Peak (7-800Hz)20 G Peak (10-2000Hz)
Power Consumption0.195 W Idle / 0.279 W Avg / 0.642 W (MAX) Read / 1.535 W (MAX) Write0.06 W Idle / 0.2 W Avg / 1.3 W (MAX) Read / 3.2 W (MAX) Write
Operating Temperature0°C to 70°C0°C to 70°C
Storage Temperature-40°C to 85°C-40°C to 85°C
Warranty3-year limited warranty with free technical support5-year limited warranty with free technical support
PricingCheck price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned)Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned)

Capacity Options

The Kingston A400 offers five capacity options while the Kingston KC600 is available in five capacities.

You can check out the available options for both products below:

Kingston A400 SATA 2.5″ Internal SSD:

  • 120 GB
  • 240 GB
  • 480 GB
  • 960 GB
  • 1920 GB

Kingston KC600 SATA 2.5″ Internal SATA SSD:

  • 256 GB
  • 512 GB
  • 1024 GB
  • 2048 GB

Weight

When you compared to similar capacity options, the Kingston A400 is slightly heavier than the Kingston KC600.

You can find the full weight specifications for each size below:

  • 120 GB Kingston A400: 39 g
  • 240 GB Kingston A400: 41 g
  • 480 GB Kingston A400: 41 g
  • 960 GB Kingston A400: 41.9 g
  • 1920 GB Kingston A400: 41.9 g
  • 256 GB Kingston KC600: 40 g
  • 512 GB Kingston KC600: 40 g
  • 1024 GB Kingston KC600: 40 g
  • 2048 GB Kingston KC600: 40 g

Form Factor

The two Kingston internal solid state drives use 2.5″ as the form factor.

Interface

The SSDs utilize SATA Rev. 3.0 (6 Gb/s) as the main interface.

Both are also backwards compatible with SATA Rev. 2.0 (3 Gb/s).

NAND

The Kingston A400 Internal Solid State Drive uses 3D NAND technology while the Kingston A400 Internal Solid State Drive uses the newer 3D TLC NAND technology.

Maximum Sequential Read Speed

The maximum sequential read speed is consistent across different capacities for both products. The KC600 can top out at 10 percent more than the A400.

You can take a look at the maximum sequential read speeds below:

  • 120 GB Kingston A400: 500 MB per second
  • 240 GB Kingston A400: 500 MB per second
  • 480 GB Kingston A400: 500 MB per second
  • 960 GB Kingston A400: 500 MB per second
  • 1920 GB Kingston A400: 500 MB per second
  • 256 GB Kingston KC600: 550 MB per second
  • 512 GB Kingston KC600: 550 MB per second
  • 1024 GB Kingston KC600: 550 MB per second
  • 2048 GB Kingston KC600: 550 MB per second

Maximum Sequential Write Speed

The maximum sequential write speed is different on both products depending on the capacity options.

When comparing the similar capacities, the KC600 is faster than the A400 in all instances.

You can check out the maximum sequential write speed specs below:

  • 120 GB Kingston A400: 320 MB per second
  • 240 GB Kingston A400: 350 MB per second
  • 480 GB Kingston A400: 450 MB per second
  • 960 GB Kingston A400: 450 MB per second
  • 1920 GB Kingston A400: 450 MB per second
  • 256 GB Kingston KC600: 500 MB per second
  • 512 GB Kingston KC600: 520 MB per second
  • 1024 GB Kingston KC600: 520 MB per second
  • 2048 GB Kingston KC600: 520 MB per second

Mean Time Between Failures

Mean Time Between Failures (or MTBF) is the estimate of how long a solid state drive is expected to function between two hardware failures.

In this case, the Kingston A400 SATA 2.5″ Internal SSD and Kingston KC600 SATA 2.5″ Internal SATA SSD have identical MTBF at 1 million hours.

Total Bytes Written

Total Bytes Written (or TBW) is how much data can be written on a solid state drive during the lifespan of the device.

When comparing similar capacities, the Kingston KC600 doubles, or nearly doubles, the Kingston A400 in all cases.

You can find the TBW specs for all capacity options below:

  • 120 GB Kingston A400: 40 TB
  • 240 GB Kingston A400: 80 TB
  • 480 GB Kingston A400: 160 TB
  • 960 GB Kingston A400: 300 TB
  • 1920 GB Kingston A400: 600 TB
  • 256 GB Kingston KC600: 150 TB
  • 512 GB Kingston KC600: 300 TB
  • 1024 GB Kingston KC600: 600 TB
  • 2048 GB Kingston KC600: 1200 TB

Operating Vibration

The two solid state drives in this comparison guide have the identical operating vibration of a 2.17 G Peak (7-800Hz).

Non-Operating Vibration

Both Kingston SSDs also have the same non-operating vibration of a 20 G Peak (10-2000Hz).

Power Consumption

The KC600 has a lower idle power consumption than the A400.

However, the KC600 use a lot more power during operation.

You can check out the power consumption specs below:

Kingston A400 Internal SSD:

  • 0.195 W Idle / 0.279 W Avg / 0.642 W (MAX) Read / 1.535 W (MAX) Write

Kingston KC600 Internal SSD:

  • 0.06 W Idle / 0.2 W Avg / 1.3 W (MAX) Read / 3.2 W (MAX) Write

Operating Temperature

Both devices have a recommended operating temperature range of 0°C to 70°C.

Storage Temperature

The two solid state drives also have the same recommend storage temperature range of -40°C to 85°C.

Warranty

The Kingston A400 SATA 2.5″ Internal SSD comes with a 3-year limited warranty while the Kingston KC600 SATA 2.5″ Internal SATA SSD includes a 5-year warranty.

Both drives also includes free technical support.

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