Testing
The following components are used for our testing.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Cooling: Custom AlphaCool Loop
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair VIII Hero
Graphics Card: EVGA RTX 2070 Super
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 64GB
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus
Case: InWin 925
Power: EVGA G5 750
Once the Keypad 200 has been unlocked, you are able to access the data on the drive. The process of unlocking the drive, that we covered previously, is an easy process, and the rubberized buttons are large enough and have enough separation between them to help reduce incorrect attempts. By default, the drive will lock itself after 10 incorrect User PINs, which is where the Admin PIN can come in handy. If the Admin PIN is entered incorrectly 10 times, then the drive initiates its brute force protection mechanism, triggering a full crypto-erase of the drive and resetting it.
With my user and Admin PINs setup, it was time to see how the IronKey Keypad 200 performs in basic file transfer use. I fired up CrystalDiskMark, ran the standard benchmark, and you can see the results below. Kingston advertises the KP200 as having performance up to 145MB/s for READ, and up to 115MB/s for WRITE, but my testing results were actually a decent bit above those figures. I experienced up to 171MB/s READ speeds and 148MB/s WRITE speeds with sequential workloads. Random workloads drop way off, which is expected, and I saw 17MB/s READ and 16MB/s WRITE in those types of workloads.
While these results are nothing compared to some of the crazy fast speeds we have seen from portable SSDs, that’s not the workload the IronKey Keypad 200 is aimed at. The KP200 is designed with security as the number one focus. The performance results I encountered during my time with the Keypad 200 are great for a USB 3.2 Gen 1 drive with built-in hardware encryption. This drive will be more than suitable for safely transporting and transferring your tax documents and other important personal information, leaving you resting a little more soundly if the drive were to become lost or stolen.
Final Thoughts
With it being tax season in the US, I can see the Kingston IronKey Keypad 200 being a great option for folks that want to ensure a safe and secure way to provide their documents to a tax preparer in-person. The ability to have these types of sensitive documents with you at all times, without having to worry about the drive falling into the wrong hands, makes going about your daily tasks that much easier.
Out of the box, the Keypad 200 can be set with just a User PIN and be good to go, but the ability to add an Admin PIN to the drive opens up a whole other load of features and settings that can be adjusted to your liking. From incorrect PIN lockouts to drive wipes and more, the KP200 provides a ton of flexibility depending on your needs. Setting up the drive, without software, is a breeze, as the tactile buttons are easy to use, while the LED indicators let you know the status of the drive with a quick glance. That being said, the more advanced features will definitely have you looking at the drive’s manual, as the button patterns and LED indicator patterns can become quite complex without any included software to assist with changes. Add in the IP57 rating, and this drive not only protects your data with XTS AES 256-bid hardware encryption, but against the elements as well.
Performance-wise, the IronKey Keypad 200 outperformed the advertised specifications by quite a bit in my testing. This is always a welcomed outcome, and the 171MB/s READ and 148MB/s WRITE speeds are more than enough for your standard USB flash drive needs. Available in multiple capacities between 8GB and 128GB, our 128GB version can be found for $207.45 at our favorite online retailer. If you are in need of portable USB storage with great protection and performance, definitely check out the Kingston IronKey Keypad 200, as it earns a 9 out of 10.
Pros
– Metal body and protective sleeve
– Read and Write performance above advertised specifications
– IP57 Rating
– FIPS 140-3 Certification (Pending)
– XTS AES 256-bit Encryption
Cons
– Advanced settings changes require use of manual