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Conclusion
It's hard for me as an enthusiast to like an entry-level SSD when there are so many good products in the mainstream and premium categories. The Samsung 850 EVO's price keeps increasing, so the gap between the entry-level products and one of the best consumer SSDs ever made keeps getting wider. The UV400 480GB is a good buy, not because it's a good SSD, but because it is a solid value.
We like the Upgrade Bundle model better than the bare drive and would spend a little more for the accessory package. The bare drive costs just $115, and the bundle adds a little more than $10 to the final price, but I dare you to find all of the accessories for $10 from another source. Shipping alone will cost you that much.
We know the performance of the other UV400 SSDs is lower than what we measured with the 480GB models. In smaller capacities, it would be better to shop for an older SSD with higher quality flash and an 8-channel controller. You will not get exceptional flash-based performance out of the UV400 as a boot drive because of its lackluster performance with random data. You could use the UV400 480GB to supplement another SSD. We've demonstrated in past articles that SSDs slow as you fill them with data. Dividing the data between two SSDs is a good way to keep the fresh out of box-like performance for the operating system drive. It's easy to force Steam to install games on a separate drive. At this price, the UV400 480GB fits a number of abnormal roles.
For mainstream use, the Kingston UV400 480GB is just another entry-level SSD designed to replace hard disk drives. You can count on the drive to deliver a better user experience over a hard drive, and flash-based storage products deliver higher reliability, as well. The performance and user experience is like taking the last bite of a cookie. You get the taste of flash, but not a mouthful like you would get from a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB ($156.99). You would notice a difference between the two drives and the 850 EVO is a superior long-term buy, but it costs more. When value outweighs performance, the UV400 is difficult to beat.
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