Klevv CRAS C930 2TB SSD review: The good, the bad, and the mediocre

The Klevv CRAS C930 may not be the most recognizable name in the SSD space, but it's a company that lives under the SK hynix umbrella. CRAS is Latin for "tomorrow," though given the core technology maybe it should have tried using the Latin word for "yesterday." Still, the CRAS C930 is more than it first appears and isn't exactly your everyday generic SSD, a fact further underlined by its uncommon hardware combination. But it does look the part.

The C930 uses an oft-maligned InnoGrit controller, but we think more care was put into this drive than many others. It does not perform poorly and the optional heatsink is a nice touch for desktop and PS5 users. We’re not sure if it’s the best choice for a laptop, but it will certainly work there, too. Essencore, the company behind the Klevv line, also offers Acronis True Image support. So while not on the level of Solidigm, it’s also not a fly-by-night enterprise, and the C930 is unique in its own way.

What keeps it from being generic is that Klevv has the option of using SK hynix flash, which is not seen as commonly as Micron NAND. This is especially true with the 176-layer variant that’s usually found on the Solidigm P44 Pro. The CRAS C930 uses this flash and comes with specific firmware on the controller to support it. The flash is only comparable to Micron’s offerings, but it’s nice to know what you’re getting in a drive, and we think the C930 may be more reliable than many similar counterparts as a result.

Klevv CRAS C930 Specifications

The Klevv CRAS C930 is nominally available at 1TB and 2TB, perhaps the two most popular capacities for drives in its space. At the time of writing, the drive was available for $79.99 and $143.99, but the 2TB drive seems to have disappeared from Amazon's listings now. That's unfortunate, as it's a better gigabyte per dollar factor at 2TB, putting the CRAS C930, or C930 for short, near competitors like the Inland Gaming Performance Plus, Nextorage NEM-PA, Addlink A93, Teamgroup A440, and Silicon Power XS70, to list equivalent drives that come with a heatsink.

Note that the heatsink for the A440 and C930 is an optional, separate piece, which may set those two apart. It's part of the 1TB package on Amazon, and we presume on the 2TB as well — our review sample included the heatsink. But it doesn't come pre-attached, which makes things easier if you already have a superior heatsink you plan on using.

The C930’s performance specifications aren’t anything new, with the drive reaching up to 7,400 / 6,800 MB/s for sequential reads and writes and up to 1000K / 1000K random read and write IOPS. That's pretty standard now for PCIe 4.0 drives, but at least it's near the top of what you'll see on such drives. The C930 is also supported by a 5-year warranty for up to 750 TB of writes per TB capacity. This is more than the standard 600 TB, but this factor doesn’t translate to more value. Klevv does state 256-bit AES encryption support, but if you see this on a drive it is important not to conflate it with TCG OPAL support.

Klevv CRAS C930 2TB — Software and Accessories 

We recommend free software, if needed, to manage your SSD. CrystalDiskInfo and CrystalDiskMark are the standard choices for checking SSD health and performance. For cloning and imaging, many free options like Clonezilla exist, and you may also have access to an OEM copy of Acronis True Image from other drive purchases. Klevv’s datasheet for the C930 states that it does come with a key for Acronis True Image HD 2018, so that's at least one potentially useful extra. This software is available as the KLEVV SSD Data Migration Software on the Essencore website.

What Klevv doesn't offer is any sort of SSD toolbox for monitoring and updating drive firmware. Presumably, if newer firmware becomes available, it will simply be a standalone download on the support section of the website. At present, the only item we see listed in the download center is for an older Neo N500 drive.

Klevv CRAS C930 2TB — A Closer Look

Image 1 of 6

The C930’s heatsink is a separate piece, which as noted above can be nice. Laptop users may want to use the drive without the heatsink and some desktop owners may prefer to use their own solution to match a build. Many motherboards come with M.2 heatsinks, and the C930’s heatsink could be saved for use elsewhere. The heatsink is easy to apply and is PS5-compliant — meaning, it will fit under the PS5's normal M.2 slot cover.

The label lists both Klevv and Essencore for this drive. Klevv is a premium line of memory products for Essencore. While Essencore is based in Hong Kong, the Klevv lines of products are manufactured in South Korea. In fact, the SK Group, which also owns SK hynix, formed Essencore as a separate entity for this purpose. This hypothetically allows for better control and may be why the C930 is listed as using “strictly-selected 3D TLC NAND” for its flash. So, this is not a no-name brand, although you would be forgiven for thinking so at first glance.

Image 1 of 2

The drive uses InnoGrit’s IG5236 controller, which can be paired with TLC from Kioxia, Micron, YMTC, or SK hynix. Most commonly the flash will be Micron’s venerable 176-Layer TLC, which has been a good performer. In this case, the drive instead uses SK hynix’s 176-Layer, or V7, TLC. This makes sense given the parent company. SK hynix flash isn’t paired with this controller very often and is known to have some performance oddities, which we'll explore on the next page. This flash is the standard 512Gb per die, like the equivalent Micron.

The IG5236 controller is ostensibly equivalent to the Phison E18 or SMI SM2264, but it does tend to be the least expensive of the bunch. It has some performance quirks and also has not always had the best reputation. It had issues with a specific generation of YMTC TLC in the past, and some other firmware mishaps as well. This has put off some users from purchasing drives using the controller, but the fact is that many popular drives could use it interchangeably with the controllers listed above, or even the Maxio MAP1602 in some cases.

MORE: Best SSDs

MORE: Best External SSDs and Hard Drives

MORE: How We Test HDDs And SSDs

MORE: All SSD Content