Kingston FURY Renegade 1TB PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD Review

 A High-Speed Drive for Gamers and Creators, But Is It the Best Choice in 2024?

The Kingston FURY Renegade 1TB PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD promises blazing fast speeds for gamers, content creators, and professionals alike, but does it live up to its hype? In this review, we’ll delve into its real-world performance, durability, and value to determine whether it’s a must-have upgrade for your system.


Design and Build Quality: Sleek and Minimal, But Standard for Its Class

The Kingston FURY Renegade has a clean, minimalist design, with a graphene-aluminum heat spreader that helps keep it cool under heavy workloads.

Its sleek design makes it easy to fit into tight spaces, such as gaming laptops or high-performance desktop builds.

However, compared to more premium options like the Samsung 990 Pro, which boasts more advanced thermal control, the FURY Renegade’s design is functional but not groundbreaking.

Installation: Straightforward but No Added Tools

Installing the Kingston FURY Renegade 1TB SSD was quick and simple, especially if you're familiar with the M.2 form factor.

However, the lack of any included installation tools or additional software for migration was disappointing.

Other manufacturers, like Western Digital, often bundle software for seamless data migration, which could be helpful for less tech-savvy users.

Performance: Lightning Fast for Sequential Read and Write Speeds

When it comes to performance, the Kingston FURY Renegade delivers impressive speeds, boasting up to 7,300 MB/s sequential read and 6,000 MB/s sequential write speeds.

These speeds make it ideal for gaming, large file transfers, and demanding creative applications like video editing.

In my testing, loading times in games like "Cyberpunk 2077" were nearly instantaneous, and 4K video rendering tasks were handled with ease.

However, compared to the WD Black SN850X, which slightly edges it out in write performance, the Renegade falls just short of being the absolute fastest in its class.

Real-World Usage: Great for Gamers, But Average for Mixed Workloads

In gaming scenarios, the Kingston FURY Renegade shines, especially when loading resource-heavy games or streaming data in open-world titles.

However, during sustained mixed workloads, such as running multiple applications or heavy multitasking, its performance showed slight drops over time.

By comparison, the Samsung 990 Pro held up better under prolonged, varied workloads, making it a better option for users who need consistent, high-end performance across a range of tasks.

Thermal Performance: Adequate Cooling, But High Under Sustained Loads

The heat spreader on the Kingston FURY Renegade does its job well under normal conditions, keeping the SSD cool during typical gaming sessions or file transfers.

However, during longer, more intensive operations like rendering large video files or benchmarking, the drive did get noticeably warmer.

This isn’t uncommon for Gen 4.0 SSDs, but compared to the more efficient cooling of the Seagate FireCuda 530, the FURY Renegade runs slightly hotter, which could affect long-term reliability in high-demand use cases.

Endurance: Solid but Not the Highest

With a rated endurance of 1,000 TBW (terabytes written), the Kingston FURY Renegade offers decent durability for regular use, such as gaming and media creation.

While this is sufficient for most users, it’s worth noting that competitors like the Crucial P5 Plus offer a higher endurance rating, which could be more appealing to users who plan on writing a massive amount of data to their drive over its lifespan.

Software and Features: Lacking in Useful Utilities

Kingston offers its SSD Manager software, which allows you to monitor drive health, firmware updates, and other basic functions.

However, the software feels bare-bones compared to the feature-rich utilities provided by companies like Samsung with their Magician software.

Kingston’s offering is functional but lacks advanced options for fine-tuning performance or managing encryption, making it feel underwhelming for power users who expect more.

Pricing: Competitive but Not the Best Value

Priced competitively within the Gen 4.0 SSD market, the Kingston FURY Renegade offers solid value for its speed and capacity.

At its current price point, it sits in a comfortable middle ground between budget options and high-end models.

However, for just a bit more, you can opt for the WD Black SN850X, which offers marginally better overall performance and endurance.

This puts the FURY Renegade in a tough spot for those looking for the absolute best in performance.

Gaming Performance: Optimized but Still Falls Short of Specialized Drives

For gaming, the Kingston FURY Renegade is optimized to deliver fast load times and smooth data streaming, which is essential in modern AAA titles.

However, drives like the Seagate FireCuda 530, which are specifically tuned for gaming environments, offer slightly better performance in real-time texture loading and gaming benchmarks.

If you’re building a purely gaming-focused rig, the FireCuda might be a slightly better fit, though the differences are marginal.

Long-Term Reliability: Good, But Keep an Eye on Heat

The combination of solid performance and reasonable endurance ratings makes the Kingston FURY Renegade a reliable choice for most users.

However, its tendency to run warmer under extended load raises some concerns about long-term reliability in high-performance environments, especially without additional cooling solutions.

Other drives like the Samsung 990 Pro have more advanced heat management systems, which could make them a better option for heavy users.

Comparison with Other Drives: Competitive, But Alternatives Exist

While the Kingston FURY Renegade holds its own in terms of raw performance and pricing, it faces stiff competition from similarly priced models like the WD Black SN850X and Samsung 990 Pro.

These alternatives offer slight advantages in specific areas, such as software features, endurance, or sustained performance, making them better choices depending on your exact needs.

Conclusion: A Great SSD for Gamers and Creators with Some Minor Drawbacks

The Kingston FURY Renegade 1TB PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD delivers impressive speed, solid endurance, and a reasonable price, making it a great choice for gamers and content creators who need a fast, reliable storage solution.

However, its performance under sustained loads and limited software features may leave some users wanting more, especially when there are slightly better alternatives on the market.

Pros:

  • Impressive read and write speeds
  • Easy installation with a sleek, minimalist design
  • Competitive pricing for Gen 4.0 performance

Cons:

  • Tends to run warm under heavy loads
  • Software is limited and lacks advanced features
  • Slightly lower endurance than some competitors

Recommended Alternative: If you're looking for a more balanced SSD with better endurance and superior software, the Samsung 990 Pro offers a more comprehensive package for both gamers and professionals, especially in demanding, sustained workloads

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