Patriot Memory Burst 120GB SSD Review

Patriot Memory has sent us the Patriot Burst for review. Today, we will be taking a look at their 120GB SSD with the branding of the Burst series. The Burst series of SSDs come in capacities of 120GB and 240 GB. Aimed at delivering a budget-friendly yet high-speed SSD experience, Patriot prioritizes providing excellent value to users seeking optimal performance without breaking the bank.

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Key Takeaways

• The Patriot Burst 120GB is for anyone looking for a highly affordable 120GB SSD.
• The Patriot Burst 120GB is not for those looking to benefit from faster speeds or higher capacities.
• The Patriot Burst 120GB comes with an MTBF rating of 2,000,000 hours, features a 32MB cache, and boasts an impressive read speed, reaching up to 560MB/s.

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Let’s start with the key specifications.

Capacity	120GB
Interface	SATAT III 6 Gb/s
Cache	32MB
MTBF	2,000,000 hrs
Connector Type	22-pin Serial ATA
Storage Interface	Serial ATA-600
Form Factor	2.5”
Data Rate	Up to 560MB/s Read and up to 540MB/s write
Operating Temperature	0 ~ 70°C
Dimension	2.7” X 3.9” X 0.3”
Weight	2.77 Oz
Power Consumption	Idle: 0.3W, Read: 1.3W, Write: 2W
Warranty	3 Years
Certification	CE/FCC/RoHS
OS Support	Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, Linus and Mac OS
Storage Temperature	-40°C ~ 85°C
Operating Shock	1500G (@ 0.5msec half sine wave)
Vibration	20G Peak, (80 ~ 2000Hz)
Humidity	0°C ~ 40°C / 93% RH, 72 Hours
Data Reliability	LDPC
Operating Voltage	5V

Packaging and Unboxing

Let’s take a look at the drive’s unboxing.

Accessories

The SSD comes bundled with the following.

Closer Look

The Patriot Memory Burst 120GB has a form factor of 2.5”. It has a height of 7mm making it a low profile design making it suitable for use in PCs as well as in notebooks. The Patriot Burst SSD, with a SATA III 6Gb/s interface, not only outperforms traditional HDDs but is also backward compatible with SATA III 3Gb/s. At a sleek 7mm height in a 2.5” form factor, it’s a perfect fit for Ultrabooks or laptop upgrades. Sizes come in 120GB and 240GB, catering to various user needs.

Patriot keeps it competitive, offering an impressive price-per-performance ratio in the Burst series. Plus, with Patriot’s stellar build quality and a reliable 3-year warranty, the Burst SSD stands out as a trustworthy choice.

Taking a closer look, the drive sports a black matte finish with a distinctive blue sticker. The Patriot brand name proudly sits on the top right, while “Burst” is stylishly printed in light blue on the left. Crucial details like the drive’s size and specs are neatly laid out on the sticker. The P logo adds a final touch to the bottom right. A sleek package that’s not just about looks but also delivers on performance and reliability.

After getting my hands on the Patriot Burst 120GB SSD, I didn’t crack it open due to warranty concerns, but the white sticker on the back revealed the model (Burst PBU120GS25SSDR PE000541). Flipping it over, I spotted the company’s website address, shouting out loud that it’s made in Taiwan. It comes with standard ports, compact dimensions (69.85mm W, 99.99mm L, 6.90mm H), and no extras, just a user guide.

There are these four golden screw holes for mounting, spaced just right. Plus, the Phison S11 series controller runs the show inside. I couldn’t crack it open to see the nitty-gritty, but the word is it’s a budget-friendly setup. What’s cool is the controller’s two-channel setup that’s all about being power-efficient, making this SSD a potential energy-saving champ.

Tech-wise, it packs a Phison S11 controller with a two-channel setup for energy efficiency. The 32MB cache suggests it’s not fully relying on Phison S11’s DRAM-less feature. In real-life tests, the speed isn’t blazing, but given the price point, it holds its own in a crowded market. Features include wear leveling, bad block management, low power management, trim support, and LDPC error correction for reliable NAND.

As far as the speeds are concerned. Up to 560MB/s read, 540MB/s write (ATTO); 330MB/s read, 270MB/s write (Crystal Disk Mark). 4K Random Read and Write hit up to 50K IOPS and 40K IOPS (IOMeter). In a nutshell, Patriot Burst delivers decent performance without breaking the bank.

Testing

We have tested this patriot burst review on the X99 platform. The test bench setup is as follow:

• Intel i7 6850k
• Asus Rampage V Edition 10
• Ballistix Elite 4x4GB 3000MHz DDR4
• Noctua NH-U14S
• Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD [OS Drive]
• Seagate 2TB Barracuda
• Colorful iGame GTX 1050Ti
• Corsair AX1200i

To test the drive’s read and write speeds, we have used following software running on Microsoft Windows 10 x64 build version 16299:

CrystalDiskMark

Let’s take a look at the results.

Crystal Disk Mark has resulted in sequential read to be 338 MB/s which is above the rated 330MB/s sequential read speed of the drive. The tested sequential write speed was 294.5MB/s which is above the rated write speed of 270MB/s. Random read and write speeds decent as well. The sequential read/write speeds have been validated on the Crystal Disk Mark.

AS SSD Benchmarks

Next, we run the AS SSD software to test the performance of the drive.

ATTO Disk Benchmark

Next, we ran the ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the drive’s performance.

Anvil Storage Utilities Benchmark

Next, we ran the Anvil Storage Utilities benchmark to test the performance of the drive. On the default test size of 1GB, the tested read speed was 270.26MB/s with 14.80s of response time. The write speed was 240.04MB/s with 16.6641s response time. The tested Random Read speed was 50012.17 IOPS validating the rated Random Read Speed of 50k IOPS.

At a Queue Depth of 4, the Patriot Burst 120GB SSD demonstrated a Random Read Speed of 19857.28 IOPS and a Random Write Speed of 47768.16 IOPS. With a Queue Depth of 16, the Random Write speed increased to 67126.56 IOPS, validating the rated 40k IOPS. Response times for both Random read and write were notably good.

PCMARK

In the PCMark benchmark, the Patriot Burst 120GB SSD achieved a Storage 2.0 score of 4687 with a bandwidth of 118.83MB/s. Real-life testing corroborated these results. Gaming response times ranged from 60.9s to 139.3s, Adobe Photoshop from 120.4s to 410.1s, with Microsoft Powerpoint at the lowest of 9.6s, Excel at 10s, and Word at 29.4s.

Real World Testing

In the data copying test, we transferred a dataset of 1948 files totaling 11GB from the HDD to the Patriot Burst 120GB SSD. The graph depicts data writing speeds and the time taken for the file transfer, measured independently with a stopwatch, not relying on Windows-reported time.

Should You Buy It?

Here are a few factors worth keeping in mind before purchasing the Patriot Burst.

Buy It If:

 ✅You want a cheap 120GB drive: The Patriot Burst 120GB SSD is a suitable choice for users seeking an extremely budget-friendly storage solution with decent performance

Don’t Buy It If:

❌You prioritize high speeds or capacities: It’s not ideal for those prioritizing faster speeds or higher capacities.

Conclusion

In summary, the Patriot Burst 120GB SSD impresses with its commitment to delivering high-speed storage at an affordable price point. With a sleek 2.5″ form factor and low profile design, this drive is not only versatile but also robust, boasting a wide operating temperature range of 0 to 70°C and the ability to endure harsh environments. Powered by the budget-friendly Phison S11 series controller and featuring a 32MB cache, the Burst SSD series exhibits a balanced reliance on technology, avoiding the limitations of a DRAM-less environment.

Patriot’s emphasis on user-friendly design is evident in the 22-pin Serial ATA connector, making it compatible with both SATA III 6Gb/s and backward-compatible with SATA III 3Gb/s. The drive’s power-efficient operation, with consumption rated at 0.3W on idle, 2.0W on writing, and 1.3W on reading, aligns with contemporary energy-saving standards.

The Patriot Burst 120GB impresses with data speeds of up to 560MB/s read and 540MB/s write (ATTO) and 330MB/s read and 270MB/s write (Crystal Disk Mark). Despite the undisclosed Phison S11 model, this SSD, backed by a 3-year warranty, is a compelling, reliable, and cost-effective storage solution. Consider its strong performance figures when making your storage choices.

We are thankful to Patriot Memory for allowing us to review their Burst 120GB SSD.

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