SK hynix may not be a household name in a large part of the world, but they have been around for decades and have most likely provided memory chips for a good number of products you have used as they are the third largest memory semiconductor company in the world. I know I have system memory modules from a variety of manufacturers, but the chips used on these modules are quite often from SK hynix. With this review we are looking at something different, as it is an SK hynix branded SSD that uses all SK hynix manufactured components, including the 3D NAND flash storage chips, the drive controller, and the DRAM memory. The promotional image below shows the SK hynix Gold S31 1TB 2.5 inch solid state drive which is part of a line of SSDs just being launched in the US market.



The product page for the Gold S31 series of solid state drives is more artistic than technical, but combining data from that page and the listing at Amazon.com gives us the features and specifications detailed below...

Features and Specifications:

The Gold S31 SSD sets a dynamic new standard with top-tier speed, proven quality, and an industry leading 5-year warranty. Developed in-house by Korea’s semiconductor powerhouse and trusted by the world’s top PC manufacturers, SK hynix delivers a true game-changer to any PC builder and upgrader.

» Powered by in-house 3D NAND, controller, and DRAM
» Performance:
   » Read Speed: Up to 560MB/s
   » Write Speed: Up to 525MB/s
» Superior reliability and stability (MTBF/TBW). 1.5 Million Hours MTBF, best-in-class 600 TBW (terabytes written)
» 5 year warranty and rock solid support from technology pioneer

Packaging and Accessories:

The compact retail packaging does not dive in to too many technical details other than model and capacity, and in a variety of languages it refers you to their web page for more information.



Inside the box you find the drive in an antistatic bag, as well as a sheet of user instructions and a second sheet with the SK hynix terms and conditions.