Kingston FURY Renegade G5 2TB Review and Testing

Kingston Fury Renegade G5 — a solid-state drive of the M.2 format, aimed at use in high-performance systems with the PCIe 5.0 interface. The 2 TB model is one of the first solutions in the consumer segment, combining current storage technologies with a declared read speed of up to 14 MB/s. In this review, we will consider in detail the architecture of the device, its appearance, the package contents, real performance compared to competitors, and also draw conclusions about the advisability of its purchase.

This subsection of our review identifies the main aspects Kingston FURY Renegade G5 2TB, such as appearance and hardware configuration.

Kingston FURY Renegade G5 2 TB comes in a thick white cardboard box with aggressive red and black design elements typical of the brand's gaming series. The front side of the package immediately focuses attention on the key characteristics of the drive: a capacity of 2048 GB and a declared speed of up to 14 MB / s, which emphasizes the focus on the high-performance segment. There is also an image of the SSD itself, made in a typical marketing style - a dark module with the FURY logo, emphasizing its belonging to the premium line. The packaging is sealed, it has protection from opening, thanks to which it is easy to determine whether the integrity of the product has been compromised before unpacking.

Inside the box, the drive is secured in a transparent plastic blister. This solution is standard for most M.2 SSDs and provides basic protection against mechanical damage during transportation. There is no additional foam, thermal pads or radiators in the kit - only the drive itself. It is important to consider this: despite the high operating speed and modern PCIe 5.0 interface, cooling is entirely at the discretion of the user. Kingston clearly assumes that this device will be installed in a system with a well-thought-out air flow or with a radiator already on the motherboard. The lack of a pre-installed radiator allows you to avoid incompatibility with limited-size slots, especially in laptops and mini-assemblies, but at the same time requires attention to temperature issues.

Visually, the SSD itself is made in the classic M.2 2280 form factor. On one side there is a sticker with marking, serial number, barcode, technical designations, including CE, FCC and NVMe logos, as well as a warning about the loss of warranty if this sticker is removed. The back side of the module is devoid of any chips, which may indicate a one-sided layout of all elements on one side of the printed circuit board, which is convenient for use in thin devices. The visual style is neutral, made in light gray, without RGB or decorative elements - Kingston clearly focused on functionality and compatibility, and not on the external effect. The soldering itself is neat, without traces of manual finishing, all elements are tightly seated, and the edges of the board are even, which indicates good quality control in production.

Thus, the delivery set is as minimalistic as possible: the SSD itself and the packaging - nothing extra. There are no adapters, screwdrivers, additional documentation or software on USB. This is typical for solutions in the upper price range, designed for experienced users who know in advance how and with what they will work. Externally, the drive makes a strict, technical impression - without excesses, but with an emphasis on performance, reliability and neatness of execution.

The Kingston FURY Renegade G5 2TB is a modern NVMe SSD designed for maximum throughput, minimal latency, and sustained performance over long workloads. Architecturally, this drive is a direct response to the requirements of high-performance systems, including gaming PCs, workstations, and enthusiast builds, where every component must provide peak efficiency. The device is based on the Silicon Motion SM2508 controller, built on a 6 nm process technology. This controller uses a five-core architecture, where four cores are based on ARM Cortex-R8, and one auxiliary core is based on Cortex-M0. This combination provides high computing power when processing parallel read and write operations, as well as optimization of NVMe commands. The controller operates at a frequency of 1,25 GHz and supports an eight-channel interface for interaction with NAND memory, which allows you to fully utilize the capabilities of the PCIe 5.0 x4 interface on which this SSD operates.

Kingston uses Kioxia's 218-layer TLC NAND 3D BiCS8, which uses Charge Trap Flash technology. This modern generation of flash memory not only provides high data storage density, but also significantly improved performance compared to previous generations. Each crystal has a density of 17,1 Gbit/mm², and the interface speed between the NAND and the controller reaches 3600 MT/s. This enables the drive to achieve sequential read speeds of up to 14,7 GB/s and write speeds of up to 14 GB/s under optimal conditions. Another feature of this memory is its short access time - reading a page takes about 40 microseconds, which has a positive effect on the system response when working with small files and randomized requests.

LPDDR4 buffer memory is used to store service tables and address maps required by the controller for fast navigation through memory cells. The DRAM cache size is 2 GB, and it functions as a high-speed temporary buffer, reducing the number of direct accesses to flash memory and thereby reducing wear on NAND chips. LPDDR4 is not only characterized by high bandwidth, but also low power consumption, which allows the drive to not overheat even under high load conditions.

The PCIe 5.0 x4 interface gives the Renegade G5 a significant advantage over PCIe 4.0-based SSDs. Each PCIe 5.0 lane offers up to 4 GB/s of throughput, and in an x4 configuration, up to 16 GB/s is theoretically possible, giving the drive potential for further improvements via firmware and controller optimization. NVMe 2.0 as a protocol provides flexibility and optimized command queuing, especially in multitasking environments.

The M.2 2280 form factor makes the drive compatible with a wide range of motherboards and laptops. However, due to high data transfer rates and high component density, it was necessary to implement a passive cooling system. The Renegade G5 uses a massive heatsink plate that effectively dissipates heat from the controller and NAND chips. The base of the heatsink is in direct contact with the heat-generating components, and the thermal pads used improve heat transfer. In addition, a 12-layer printed circuit board is used, which contributes not only to reliability, but also to the stability of signal integrity when operating at high frequencies.

Additionally, it is worth noting the presence of specialized power management chips, including an independent Buck regulator that stabilizes currents on the memory chips and controller. This is especially important during sudden load surges, for example, during games, rendering, or copying large amounts of data. The energy efficiency of the SM2508 controller combined with advanced power management allows you to maintain stable performance without overheating even under long-term operation under full load.

In terms of architectural reliability, the drive is rated for 2000 TBW, which is a level of reliability suitable not only for regular users, but also for those who work with large volumes of data - video editors, designers, developers and engineers. The architecture also includes standard wear-leveling algorithms, LDPC error correction and power failure protection, which adds confidence when using the drive in professional conditions.

Overall, the architecture of the Kingston FURY Renegade G5 2TB demonstrates a desire to maximize all key indicators - from data transfer speed and memory density to energy efficiency and stability during intensive work. This solution does not rely on compromises: everything from the controller and NAND to cooling and form factor is built with an eye on the highest possible performance within the current standards of the consumer and professional SSD segment.

CrystalDisk Mark 8

 

Kingston FURY Renegade G5 2 TB was tested using the CrystalDiskMark 8 utility, which allows for a comprehensive assessment of the drive's behavior under various types of load: both sequential data transfer and random operations, with different queue depths and numbers of threads. This is especially important for modern high-speed SSDs, since different operating scenarios — from system loading and games to rendering and working with large archives — use completely different resources and algorithms inside the controller and memory.

 

 

The tests included not only PCIe 5.0 and 4.0-based models, but also PCIe 3.0, SATA III, and even USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 drives, which allowed us to clearly see the real difference between generations. The Kingston FURY Renegade G5 is positioned as one of the fastest consumer-segment drives, and these measurements allow us to assess how well the stated specifications match actual performance, as well as how justified the transition to PCIe 5.0 is in the current environment. Below are the results for each test separately, with an analysis of the drive's behavior relative to its direct competitors.

 

In the test Random Read 4K Q1T1, which evaluates the performance of random reading of small 4 KB blocks with a minimum request queue and one thread, the Kingston FURY Renegade G5 2 TB shows a result of 85 MB / s. This is the best result among all tested drives, albeit with a slight gap from the Samsung 980 PRO, which scored 80 MB / s. It is important to understand that such tasks are especially typical for all-day operation of the operating system - launching programs, accessing system libraries and small files. The fact that the Renegade G5 takes first place indicates its fast response in such scenarios, but the increase compared to the best PCIe 4.0 models is still small. The difference between first and, for example, fourth place (74 MB / s) barely exceeds 10 MB / s. Nevertheless, the G5 confidently holds the lead and shows that it is capable of providing the fastest possible response for small and frequently repeated read operations.

In the second test, Random Read 4 KiB Q32T1- This is an exclusively server scenario, for which this SSD is not intended in principle, which is directly stated in its datasheet. The queue depth for 4k exchange in a client system - even the most heavily loaded - is impossible in principle. Here the leadership goes to the Samsung 980 PRO with a figure of 1059 MB / s, followed by PCIe 4.0 models from Kingston - SFYRSK1000G and SFYRS1000G with 1022 and 958 MB / s, respectively. Renegade G5 is inferior to them, having scored 870 MB / s, which is a little surprising for a device with a more modern PCIe 5.0 interface. This may indicate less aggressive firmware optimization specifically for scenarios with a high queue depth. Despite this, the figure is still high and leaves behind such models as SNVS1000G or Transcend 220S, but still does not provide a noticeable advantage over the flagships of the previous generation.

In the test Random Write 4 KiB Q1T1, which simulates random writing of small data with a low queue and a single thread - which is typical for temporary files, logs, and real-time write operations - the Kingston FURY Renegade G5 takes the lead with a result of 284 MB/s. This is noticeably higher than its closest pursuers SFYRSK1000G and SNVS1000G, which showed 276 and 260 MB/s, respectively. The superiority over the Samsung 980 PRO (257 MB/s) is also obvious, although not radical. The G5 demonstrates stable, fast operation in scenarios typical for OS and applications that need to quickly write configurations, caches, and logs. It is nice to see that despite the “heavy” PCIe 5.0 interface, in such “home” workloads the drive not only does not lose performance, but also outperforms all solutions on PCIe 4.0 and below.

Test Random Write 4 KiB Q32T1 demonstrates the behavior of the drives during intensive random writes with a deep command queue. Here, the Samsung 980 PRO comes out on top with a result of 926 MB/s, followed by Gigabyte GP-ASM2NE with 880 MB/s. Kingston Renegade G5, despite PCIe 5.0, does not make it into the top 3 and closes the top 602 with 1000 MB/s. This is already a serious gap from the leaders. At the same time, it is ahead of SNVS522G (220 MB/s) and Transcend 455S (5 MB/s), so the results are not a failure, but clearly inferior to expectations. It can be assumed that the GXNUMX controller or firmware is optimized for linear or low-threaded work, and not for hard multi-threaded input/output. However, if your scenario primarily involves sequential work with files, this feature will not play a role.

Moving on to Sequential Read 1 MiB Q1T1, which measures linear reading of large amounts of data with a minimum queue, the Kingston Renegade G5 pulls ahead with a result of 8753 MB/s. This is almost twice as much as the best PCIe 4.0 drives, such as the SFYRS1000G (4577 MB/s) or SFYRSK1000G (4510 MB/s). Even the Samsung 980 PRO is clearly not a competitor here, showing 3694 MB/s. In this test, the Renegade G5 reveals the full potential of PCIe 5.0 - the wide bus and fast memory give a result approaching the theoretical limit. This is especially valuable when working with large archives, media files, ISO images, as well as in rendering or loading levels in games with high details. The G5 feels like a real flagship here, confidently breaking away from the competitors.

In the test Sequential Read 1 MiB Q8T1, where the queue depth is increased to 8 and there is only one thread, the Kingston Renegade G5 extends its lead, reaching an impressive 14 MB/s. This result is the absolute maximum among all the drives on the chart, and it demonstrates what the SM730 controller is capable of when paired with fast 2508-layer TLC NAND. The closest PCIe 218 models show approximately 4.0 MB/s, and the Samsung 7300 PRO - 980 MB/s. Almost doubling the performance in this type of workload allows the G6800 to easily cope with tasks that require massive data loading - 5K/4K video editing, creating backups, migrating large databases. Such a lead confirms that the drive was designed with maximum bandwidth in mind.

В Sequential Write 1 MiB Q1T1, which demonstrates linear recording with a low queue, the Renegade G5 takes the lead again, reaching 10 MB/s. The second place SFYRS254G lags behind with 1000 MB/s, and the Samsung 5628 PRO and SFYRSK980G share third place with 1000 MB/s. The gap here is not just noticeable - it is huge, more than 3731 times compared to the previous leaders. This is critically important for tasks where large data streams are constantly recorded, such as video capture, saving project sources, caching heavy applications. Here, the G2,5 demonstrates a reference implementation of PCIe 5 and is clearly positioned as a working tool for heavy loads, and not just a “gaming toy”.

Finally, in the test Sequential Write 1 MiB Q8T1, where the load increases due to the deep queue, the Kingston FURY Renegade G5 shows a result of 14 MB/s — and this is again the first place. The gap with the closest SFYRS163G of 1000 MB/s is more than twofold. Even models such as SNVS6133G (1000 MB/s) and Samsung 5347 PRO (980 MB/s) are far behind. The figure of 4850+ GB/s is an absolute record among consumer drives in this test. This level of performance turns the G14 into a serious solution for multi-threaded linear writing: it can handle huge amounts of data without any signs of speed degradation or queue overload. This confirms its suitability for heavy workstations, engineering tasks, professional video editing and high-performance cache servers.

CONCLUSION

Kingston FURY Renegade G5 2TB — is a drive created without regard for compromises. Its architecture is based on the modern Silicon Motion SM2508 controller, high-speed 218-layer TLC NAND and PCIe 5.0 x4 interface, which allows it to confidently go beyond the capabilities of PCIe 4.0-based drives. The main advantages of the device are manifested in linear work with data - in sequential reading and writing, it consistently leads, showing speeds of up to 14 MB/s for reading and up to 730 MB/s for writing. This makes it an extremely attractive solution for tasks related to processing large amounts of information: video editing, 10D rendering, archiving, high-speed file sharing.

The main thing: In linear access tasks, Kingston FURY Renegade G5 demonstrates absolute leadership in the consumer segment, confidently outperforming both PCIe 4.0 models and competitive solutions in its class. This is a drive that can fully unleash the potential of modern platforms, especially those where copying speed, compression, and working with multimedia arrays are important.

However, in scenarios involving random access to small data (especially at high queue depths), the gap is not so clear. In some tests, it is inferior to top models on PCIe 4.0, such as the Samsung 980 PRO or Kingston SFYRSK, which indicates that its architecture is more focused on high-speed streams, rather than optimizing IOPS in highly loaded parallel tasks. This is not critical for home or professional use, but it may become a nuance for those who work with databases or arrays of small files in a server environment.

The package and appearance are minimalistic. The drive comes without a heatsink, which allows it to remain compatible with laptops and systems with limited space, but at the same time requires the user to provide effective cooling on their own. Given the PCIe 5.0 power profile and high operating speeds, thermal management becomes an important aspect in all-day use.

Based on the results of tests and analysis of all aspects, a clear conclusion can be made: Kingston FURY Renegade G5 2TB is a drive for those who really care about maximum linear performance and a high level of reliability. It is especially suitable for gamers, content creators, professionals working with large amounts of data, and those who want to get the most out of a PCIe 5.0-based platform. At the same time, it does not impose decorative features and is focused primarily on results, not appearance.