For storage on the go, Kingston have you sorted.

This year’s (2025) XS1000 portable SSD series sees 1TB to 4TB in storage options via SSD packed into a casing that is smaller than  a credit card.

Kingston sent STG Play a 2TB Kingston XS1000R to test out.

Now, let’s mention portable PC gaming, which is on the rise.

With differing manufacturers offering anywhere 2TB down to a laughable 512GB for your onboard storage, it does not take long for that to get chomped up by data heavy games from Steam.

If you have a substantial games library, and like me, want game options on the go, and try to cram as many games on to the portable PC as you can, the Kingston XS1000R series is a must have.

The SSD has a singular USB-C port with USB-A 3.0 to plug in to your device. Thankfully Kingston provide a USB-A to USB-C in the box.

This is especially necessary if you are going to use on a later model Apple laptop.

Having that extra 2TB on the go is excellent, but can you play games directly from it?

Yep, the Kingston XS1000R doesn’t miss a beat, with 1050 Mbps read and 1000 Mbps write.

Secure and reliable, the palm sized SSD does not miss a beat.

An Apple MacBook Pro was able to write at around 147 Mbps, read at 78 Mbps. An OneXPlayer Pro 2 was around the same for read, but write speed was a higher at 112 Mbps.

Trying this on a gaming laptop, the ASUS ROG X13 beat all of the above.

Write speed climaxed at 286 Mbps, read 174 Mbps.

A 2025 Android smartphone saw the slowest though. Write at 52Mbps and read a very low 18 Mbps.

If you have a microSD card in your portable device, to save regular data corruptions, my advice is to swap out for one of these. Small, pocketable and of course ready to go.

Totally reliable and a trusted triple AAA brand that is focused on both quality and speed the Kingston XS1000R SSD is going to see you right for multimedia rendering, gaming on any platform or simply expands on local storage.

Game on the go without interruption with Kingston XS1000R Series.

The post Kingston XS1000R 2TB SSD Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Kingston Technology announced the refreshed Kingston XS Series of External SSDs, featuring a bold new design that highlights Kingston’s commitment to performance, reliability, service and innovation.

The new look proudly features Rex, Kingston’s iconic redhead mascot, representing the company’s nearly 40-year legacy of leadership in the global tech industry. Paired with the ‘Built on Commitment’ tagline, the refreshed design reflects Kingston’s ongoing promise to deliver high-performance, dependable storage solutions.

Compact yet powerful, the XS Series, including the XS2000 and XS1000 family, delivers impressive storage performance in a sleek, pocket-sized form, tailored to meet the needs of both professionals and everyday users.

The XS2000 stands as Kingston’s professional-tier external SSD, offering speeds up to 2,000MB/s and large capacities up to 4TB. Designed for content creators, videographers, and media teams, it supports Apple’s ProRes direct video recording, enabling seamless integration with mobile devices and production workflows. It’s the ideal solution for creators who demand studio-grade performance in the palm of their hand.

Meanwhile, the XS1000 and XS1000R are Kingston’s mainstream solutions for everyday storage, file transfer and backups. With read speeds up to 1,050MB/s and capacities up to 2TB, they offer versatile, lightweight storage solutions for a wide range of users, from students and business travelers to hybrid workers, balancing performance, portability, and everyday value.

“At Kingston, our commitment goes beyond just building products, it’s about building trust.” says Kevin
Wu, Sales/Marketing and Business Development Vice President of APAC region. “The refreshed XS Series, featuring Rex and the ‘Built on Commitment’ tagline, reflects our promise to deliver reliable, innovative, and adaptable technology that evolves with our customers’ needs.”

With the XS Series, Kingston strengthens its leadership in memory and storage, blending trusted performance with modern design to empower creators, professionals, and consumers alike.

The post Kingston Refreshes XS Series External SSD appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Kingston FURY, the high-performance division of Kingston Technology has just announced its PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD.

Kingston FURY Renegade G5 for gaming and high-power users seeking maximum performance. Kingston FURY Renegade G5 allows users to unleash the full capability of their system by leveraging the latest PCIe Gen5 x 4 controller and 3D TLC NAND to reach extreme speeds up to 14,800/14,000MB/s read/write and over 2M IOPS.

Kingston FURY Renegade G5 is optimized for performance PC and workstations to eliminate storage bottlenecks and significantly reduce load times, making it the ideal drive for when you’re deep in high-intensity gaming, editing, or a data-heavy workflow.

With such incredible power, Kingston FURY Renegade G5 was engineered to ensure smooth operation for demanding applications while preserving efficiency, thanks to Silicon Motion SM2508 controller based on 6nm lithography and low-power DDR4 DRAM cache, reducing heat and energy consumption. Whether for high-end applications, content creation, or productivity, this storage solution delivers everything needed to elevate your gaming and professional experience.

“We’re eager to announce this addition to the Kingston FURY family of high-performance solutions,” said Kingston. “Between the power of Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SSD and Kingston FURY memory, high-power users and hardware enthusiasts can create their ultimate system.”

Kingston FURY Renegade G5 is available in 1024GB, 2048GB and 4096GB full capacities and is backed by a limited five-year warranty, free technical support, and legendary Kingston reliability.

The post Kingston FURY Releases High Performance PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

So you’ve built a killer gaming rig, or forked out a tidy sum for a handheld portable PC and you’re good to game… but after a couple of Steam installs your SSD is full.

I hear you. It happens to all of us.

Thankfully Kingston have the NVMe SSD solution with drives starting at 1TB and going up to 4TB.

STG received a 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe Internal SSD to install and put through it’s read and write paces.

Offering up a t maximum of 6000Mbps read to 5000Mbps write speeds the 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD sits within the fast lane, although is not the fastest in the market at the time of writing this review.

However, if you’re going to get one of these for gaming, it’s a sure bet you’ll be fine.

For things more mundane and everyday PC use, it’s an overkill (but a worthy one) and if you’re a content creator and need to edit large graphics and videos, it is perfect.

The Kingston 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD is Gen 4 but backwards compatible, if you have a Gen 3 PCIe slot.

The pricing tier for the 2TB model is very competitive and is actually giving you value for lower cost.

With the review 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD I placed in to my gaming laptop as the primary (Windows) drive , an upgrade from the factory 1TB.

It was hard to say if speeds were much faster, but of course having that extra 1TB of space for Steam games with huge data footprints was a plus.

Gameplay from the Kingston SSD was super fluid. No jitters or lag and of course content creation buttery smooth rendering.

The Kingston 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD enables you to install more to play more. Create 4K or 8K content without needing to clear clutter to reserve space, and do all of this with super reliability and top end speeds.

The post Kingston 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Kingston Technology has announced it is shipping the NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD for users looking for high capacity 4×4 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 4×4 NVMe controller.

Delivering read / write speeds of up to 6,000 / 5,000MB / s1, 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 4TB 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.

“We are excited to elevate the user experience with the next-gen successor, NV3,” said Kingston. “Whether upgrading to meet the evolving demands of working from home or building a new gaming PC, the NV3 is designed to deliver speed and dependability at an attractive price point.”

Available in capacities from 500GB to 4TB, NV3 will give users storage space they need for applications, documents, photos, videos, games and more. NV3 will also include 1-year free Acronis True Image for Kingston software, alongside the Kingston SSD Manager application, enabling users to monitor drive health and disk usage, update drive firmware, and securely erase data.

Specs:

Form factor: M.2 2280
Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe
Capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB
Sequential read/write:
500GB – 5,000 / 3,000MB/s
1TB – 6,000 / 4,000MB/s
2TB – 6,000 / 5,000MB/s
4TB – 6,000 / 5,000MB/s
NAND: 3D
Endurance (total bytes written):
500GB – 160TB
1TB – 320TB
2TB – 640TB
4TB – 1280TB
Storage temperature: -40°C~85°C
Operating temperature: 0°C~70°C
Dimensions: 22mm x 80mm x 2.3mm
Weight: 7g (All capacities)
Vibration Non-operating: 20G (20-1000Hz)
MTBF: 2,000,000 hours
Warranty / support: Limited 3-year warranty with free technical support

The post Kingston Brings Next-Gen Performance w. NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

PC gamers now have something console players have had for a while, to be able to play on the go, anywhere and at anytime.

The likes of Steam Deck and Asus’ ROG Ally take the specs of a gaming Rig and place it into a handheld device, to the likes of mobile gaming, but with the same or similar experience as if you were still tied to a desk.

But there’s a problem.

Just like Triple A console games (excluding Nintendo Switch) the data size for your fav’s can be huge and the highest spec or only spec for ROG Ally is a 512GB SSD from the factory.

Great if you have only one or two games in your digital library, not great if you have have a horde of them.

Western Digital to the rescue with the release of their WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD.

Built and designed for your handheld PC console they offer up that much needed storage space going up to 2TB, and with the specs and speed you need to survive in battle.

STG received a 2TB WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD for review and as soon as it arrived I was right on it, levelling up my ROG Ally.

Now, important bit to note – swapping out the SSD on your ROG Ally does not void your warranty. ASUS even have a tutorial on how to do it, which you can see here.

A few screws and one final screw that keeps the factory SSD in place and it’s dead easy to swap it out and screw it all back up again.

Booting the Ally up will of course take you to the Bios – it’s from here that you will need to redownload the Windows OS (operating system) via cloud and even this ASUS has made simple as.

Once downloaded Windows will automatically reinstall (Windows is a chunky slow beast, so allow a few hours for this) and boom you’re good to go with ample storage on the new WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD you’ve just installed.

The WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD uses PCIe technology and can sequential read up to 5,150 MB/s and write at 4, 900 MB/s sequential.

Ultimately what this means is that it is lightning fast, more speed is the better and prevents in-game lag and rendering issues.

Couple this with the ROG Ally’s 16GB and a dedicated AMD Radeon Navi3 graphics card you can download, store and play high end games on the go, you can infact play ‘ALLYour’ games.

Having to redownload high end games from Steam, Epic and GOG stores saw the installation time to be notably faster than it was when I first purchased the ROG Ally.

Gameplay never faltered. The WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD definitely keeps up with the onscreen action.

With an easy installation that you can do yourself and a low price point when compared to other manufacturers, you also get the decades of expertise and reliability of Western Digital when upgrading with the WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD.

The WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD ensures you do not have to compromise on your library storage as well as game play.

Upsize your Ally or Steam Deck and play like you mean it with the WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD.

The post WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

To help gamers get the most out of their handheld gaming PC experience, WD_BLACK from Western Digital is introducing a new premium, high-performance M.2 2230 solution architected for today’s handheld PC player. Building upon the WD_BLACK legacy of performance storage for all kinds of competitive gamers, the company is introducing the WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD.

According to a recent Gartner report, the handheld gaming console market is expected to reach 14.8M by 2027. As the mobile gaming market continues to grow and more AAA titles are released, new and innovative storage solutions are being released and developed to ensure mobile gamers are able to make the most of their on-the-go gaming experience.

“With game sizes continually becoming larger, it’s easy for handheld game consoles to fill up over time with new games and regular updates,” said Eric Spanneut, vice president of client SSDs for Western Digital. “The new WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD boosts available storage up to 2TB and is specifically designed to handle the peak performance of demanding games for handheld gaming PCs.”

The WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD in the small M.2 2230 form-factor gives consumers a way to expand their handheld gaming PC internal storage so they can take their game library anywhere they go. By offering a range of capacities, consumers now have more options to expand their game libraries, with up to 2TB of trusted Western Digital TLC 3D NAND. This new drive also offers an immersive experience with exclusive gaming features including PCIe Gen 4.0, Western Digital’s nCache 4.0 technology, and Microsoft’s DirectStorage support. This is a great option to supercharge compatible handheld devices, such as the ASUS ROG Ally, with speeds up to 5,150 MB/ (1TB and 2TB models) for blazingly quick game installations and level loads.

“The ROG Ally takes handheld gaming to new heights. AAA game titles reach over 150GB in size, so play more of your best games by expanding your internal storage with the WD_BLACK SN770M, a gaming-optimized mobile SSD for the ROG Ally,” said Shawn Yen, vice president of gaming, ASUS.

“Our Ryzen Z1 Series processors are advancing the future of handheld gaming. The latest WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSDs will be yet another example of how AMD is working with leading partners to redefine the mobile gaming landscape,” said Renato Fragale, senior director of product management, AMD. “Together, we are expanding the handheld gaming ecosystem by creating a new generation of powerful, portable, and affordable systems that deliver an exceptional experience no matter where you game.”

The WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD is available in 1TB, and 2TB capacities and features Western Digital’s 5-year limited warranty. The products retail in Australia for $239.00 MSRP (1TB) and $439.00 (2TB) and are available now at local retailer

The post WD Gives Gamers More Capacity w. Mobile Gaming NVMe SSD appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The PlayStation 5 is one epic gaming console for the players.

But you’re limited to 1TB (actually just under, as the OS gobbled up some of that space). And while 1TB might sound like an ample amount of storage to hoard your gaming goodness. It’s not.

Given that new Triple AAA titles can be upwards of 80GB once fully installed your 800GB or so of actual console storage space gets chewed up real quick.

And before you know it you’re deleting and installing every time you want to play a new game. And this eats up precious game time.  Yes you can add external storage to the PlayStation 5 via USB. But this is only for storing games. To play, they need to be on the consoles drive. So again enacting transfers eats up time.

Western Digital have offered up a solution for us space strapped players, the officially licensed WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD for PlayStation 5. An SSD that ticks the requirements set by Sony offering up speeds of 7,000MB/s read and 5,300MB/s write. The WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD also has a heatsink.

You’ll need to some DIY. So here’s the tricky bit.

You can add the WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD in to your console and double the storage, or go even higher (the WD_Black NVMe SSD PlayStation range goes up to 4TB).

My advice here is that if you’re not confident to do the upgrade yourself, get a professional, certified and experienced technician to install the WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD in to your console for for you. While there a lot of tutorials out there on how to do it yourself on the web and YouTube (even PlayStation provide a video on it, which we have added below), if you somehow screw it up, you risk voiding your warranty.

The WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD slots in there nice and snug and once the console is powered back on you’ll be prompted to format the new drive.

Once the format is complete you can begin to use as you would the consoles internal storage and play from your now max’d out PS5.  While the console sees the new WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD as an additional drive, it qualifies it as an extension of its original. Meaning it is not treated like a USB connected external. Load your games up and play. You’re good to go.

Having had the opportunity to place a 1TB WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD in to my PlayStation 5 for this review I’ve had zero issues, no lag, no hiccups or grumpiness from the OS and as for speeds, as fluid and fast (if not a bit faster) than the consoles factory SSD.

If you’re a PlayStation player, you really do owe it to yourself to beef up your consoles storage space.

There’s nothing more frustrating than having mates over, deciding on a game, then finding you’ll have to spend the entire night doing console admin, deleting, transferring and downloading large volumes of data., just to play.

Western Digital’s WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD , your PlayStation 5 needs one.

The post WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD 1TB (PS5) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Today, Western Digital announced the company has expanded its line-up of officially licensed drives for PlayStation, with the enhanced WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe for PS5 consoles.  

The new drive features higher capacity and faster speeds than the previous generation, and an exclusive heatsink design featuring the PlayStation logo. Now available in up to 4TB, gamers can quadruple their PS5 storage – offering more flexibility to store and play up to 100 games. 

Additionally, the WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe SSD for PS5 consoles offers enhanced speeds compared to the previous generation drive, so gamers can more easily keep up with today’s top titles. Notably, the all-new heatsink design was optimised specifically for the PS5 and offers easy, hassle-free installation. 

With its innovative enhancements, the officially licensed WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe SSD for PS5 consoles provides players with peace of mind knowing that their new and favorite titles are stored on a drive that’s been certified and tested to take on the latest PS5 games.   

“Continuing to team up with Sony Interactive Entertainment to drive innovation, allows us to keep delivering on our commitment to create solutions that enhance the gaming experience for gamers,” said Susan Park, vice president, global strategic partnerships at Western Digital.   

The WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe for PS5 consoles in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB is available now.

The post WD_BLACK Releases Amped Up appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Samsung has announced the release of its latest range of memory and storage solutions.

The Portable SSD T9, PRO Ultimate microSD and the SSD 990 PRO 4TB are designed to cater to a wide range of user needs from professionals to creators. The new storage range is built to empower users with fast transfer speeds and ample storage, as well as providing the reliability and convenience they need to help maximise productivity.

“Samsung’s new storage line up, including the Portable SSD T9, PRO Ultimate microSD and SSD 990 4TB redefines storage excellence for today’s users. With cutting-edge technology and incredible performance, we’re empowering creative professionals and gamers alike to elevate their digital experiences, by offering high performance storage with high-capacity, and optimised memory solutions that can enable Australians to achieve their creative potential,” said Phil Gaut, Senior Director of Display and Brand Memory at Samsung Australia.

With its stylish and portable design, the Portable SSD T9 is a game-changer. The T9 is built to offer fast transfer speeds and ample storage. This innovative SSD features a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface, delivering maximum sequential read/write speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s. It’s approximately two times faster than the previous model T7, enabling users to transfer a 4 gigabyte (GB) Full HD video in just two seconds. The T9 comes in three capacities – 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, providing storage for pro-grade content while maintaining a compact, credit-card-sized form factor.

The T9 features a unique design with curved diagonal lines and reverse carbon patterns. Moreover, with Samsung’s Dynamic Thermal Guard, it helps to ensure consistent and fast transfer speeds.

With proven experience in Portable SSD compatibility, Samsung has designed the T9 to meet the USB Type-C power spec. This has enhanced compatibility across operating systems such as Windows, macOS, smartphones and tablets, gaming consoles and professional high-resolution cameras. The T9 also comes with USB Type C-to-C and USB Type C-to-A cables.

The new flagship UHS-I memory card model ‘PRO Ultimate’ is available in microSD with capacities of up to 512GB. Read speeds of up to 200MB/s, the maximum speed achievable through the UHS-I interface and write speeds of 130MB/s, enable professional photographers and content creators to maximise productivity.

These high-performance read/write speeds, help to allow for the seamless transfer of heavy-duty files such as 4K ultra-high definition (UHD) and Full HD (FHD) video with Video Speed Class 30 (V30) support.

To meet consumer needs for the ability to manage large volumes of content and quick transfers to other devices, the PRO Ultimate microSD card showcases an Application Performance Class 2 (A2), facilitating high performance for random read and write operations as well as multi-tasking capabilities.

The PRO Ultimate microSD card offers extensive compatibility with selected Android smartphones, tablets, handheld game consoles, action cameras, drones, PCs, and more.

Samsung is expanding its SSD 990 PRO series with the release of a 4-terabyte (TB) model. This series, powered by Samsung’s eighth-generation V-NAND technology and enhanced proprietary controller, delivers incredible sequential read speed of up to 7,450 MB/s.

With improved total bytes written (TBW) ratings of up to 2,400TB, the SSD 990 PRO series features SSD reliability and longevity compared to the 980 PRO, making it a perfect storage solution for gamers and creative professionals who demand high-capacity, high-performance SSDs.

The 990 PRO series achieves increased power efficiency compared to the 980 Pro, with up to 50% performance improvement per watt over the 980 PRO series. It also incorporates a nickel coating on the controller and features a heat spreader label on the backside of the SSD, helping to ensure optimal temperature level maintenance and minimal performance fluctuations over time. The 990 PRO with Heatsink is equipped with an effective, slim heatsink, giving users the full experience in sustained high-performance computing and gaming capabilities.

For high-end games that support the latest in game-loading technology, the 990 PRO series can help reduce lag, allowing users to enjoy real-time gameplay experiences with consistently high frames per second (FPS).

The Samsung Magician software ensures optimal performance in SSDs by keeping firmware, drivers and other settings up to date, while also offering the flexibility to customise power and performance optimisation, according to user preferences. The software also supports RGB functionality for the 990 PRO with Heatsink, so gamers have the option to customise colour and LED effects.

The Samsung Portable SSD T9 and the PRO Ultimate microSD cards are available now.  The SSD 990 PRO 4TB is currently available for pre-order.

The post Samsung Unveils New Storage Lineup appeared first on Shane the Gamer.