Patriot Torqx 256GB MLC SSD
PrintIndilinx's controller propels Patriot to new heights
At what capacity point are enthusiasts ready to make the crossover from magnetic storage to solid state? For some, that mark is a quarter-terabyte. If that sounds like you, Patriot’s new 256GB Torqx, featuring the hot Indilinx controller, could be the SSD you’re after. We pitted the 256GB Torqx against the 128GB Torqx and Intel’s second-gen 160GB X25-M SSD to find out which would be the new SSD king.
We wish every solid state drive already had TRIM support. They don't, but the Patriot Torqx does.
On our new Core i5 test bed, the 256GB Patriot Torqx significantly outperformed both its smaller sibling and Intel’s X25-M—at least in sustained reads and writes. (To restore performance on the latter two drives to like-new levels, we used Patriot’s and Intel’s SSD-optimizing utilities on their respective drives before testing.) For the first time, we found a drive with average sustained reads and writes above 200MB/s—on the same platform, the 128GB Torqx averaged 178MB/s reads and 168MB/s writes, while the X25-M achieved 185MB/s and 94MB/s, respectively. These aren’t quite the numbers we saw when we originally tested the 128GB Torqx or the X25-M, a difference we chalked up to the new test bed. Regardless, the 256GB Torqx surpassed both other drives in average sustained reads and writes, though Intel’s drive is still the champion in random-write access times, as well as in our Premiere Pro and PCMark Vantage tests, where the 256GB Torqx lagged far behind. Strangely, the smaller-capacity Torqx also outperformed the 256GB in the latter two tests.
Both Torqx drives benefit from Patriot’s updated firmware, which adds TRIM support to the drives, as well as a garbage-collecting drive optimizer for Vista and XP users. Older Intel- and Samsung-controlled drives were not upgradeable to support TRIM as of this writing, so Indilinx-controlled drives like the Torqx should be on top of any Windows 7 user’s list.
With its phenomenal sustained reads and writes, low random-access times, easy firmware upgrading, TRIM support, and usable capacity, the 256GB Torqx is a compelling candidate for your next primary drive, though its unexpectedly bad PCMark Vantage HDD score—nearly 6,000 points lower than the 128GB version—robs it of the Kick Ass award enjoyed by its smaller sibling. And, of course, it costs $700—reasonable, but only in the land of solid state drives.
Patriot Torqx 256GB MLC SSD
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Stupid-fast sequential reads and writes; competitively priced. TRIM support, plus optimization utility.
Tora Bora
SSDs are still expensive. Benchmarks trail other drives.
9
Benchmarks
| Patriot Torqx | Patriot Torqx (MLC) | Intel X25-M G2 (MLC) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 256GB | 128GB | 160GB |
| Average Sustained Transfer Rate Read (MB/s) | 200.5 | 178.0 | 185.0 |
| Average Sustained Transfer Rate Write (MB/s) | 200.0 | 168.2 | 94.3 |
| Random Access Read (ms) | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.11 |
| Random Access Write | 0.29 | 0.29 | 0.6 |
| Premiere Pro (sec) | 486 | 395 | 370 |
| PCMark Vantage HDD Overall Score | 16,775 | 22,225 | 23,105 |
Best scores are bolded. All drives tested on our new hard drive test rig: 2.66GHz Core i5-750 on an Asus P7P55D-Premium motherboard. HDTach 3.0.1.0, h2benchw, and Premiere Pro CS3 were obtained in Windows XP; PCMark Vantage scores were obtained in Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit.
More like this
nevrUmind
February 19, 2010 at 5:37pm
Thanks, howson - I had seen the Newegg horror stories, I mean reviews, and just grew increasingly doubtful that any of the current SSD crop truly rises to the level of reliable and consumer-friendly. And the relentless rise in RAM prices this past half-year means these drives aren't budging from their painful price points. That's a pretty lethal one-two punch for prospective buyers.
And after emailing both sales & tech at Patriot, I got contradictory responses from the two departments within the company itself! As far as I can tell, you're right about the controllers (m28 = Samsung, Torqx = Indilinx), and it appears that flashing either model with Patriot-supplied firmware updates is a huge PITA compared to other brands, and wipes the drive to boot.
The other conclusion I'm drawing from everything I've read is that the Intel 160GB 2nd-generation is still the best bet, at least right now, if your #1 priority is reliability. And not just reliability: although it may fall short on synthetic tests, if you look at more real-world stuff like PCMark Vantage, you'll be tempted to conclude that Intel's controller more than makes up for any synthetic sequential write speed shortcomings. Check out a hothardware 2/2/2010 review of the upcoming Vertex Pro -- pp7 & 8 -- Intel still rules vs. current models, and lags the future Vertex Pro on only one test.
That, blindhorizon, is why everybody tries to tout their raw synthetic write speeds vs. Intel. It's salesmanship, but it's probably not reflective of real-world use.
howson
February 18, 2010 at 12:54pm
I meant the utilities at the PATRIOT site...sorry for the typo...
howson
February 18, 2010 at 12:53pm
The M28's have the SAMSUNG controller. I know--I bought one thinking I was getting the Indilinx controller. MaxPC emphasizes the "hot indilinx controller" but doesn't spell out that there is a "slower" Samsung-controller version. And yes, the Patriot site sucks. Read the reviews on Newegg!
The 64GB version of the M28 I purchased is shown in DEVICE MANAGER as a SAMSUNG MMCRE64G5MXP-0VB. With the original firmware it does NOT support TRIM and none of the utilities provided at the SAMSUNG site work with the drive.
I did find a firmware update (VBM19C1Q) at SAMSUNG's site. I installed it (while holding my breath) and now the disk supports TRIM. I probably "voided" the warranty by doing this, but without a way to "clean" the drive it was going to be worthless over time anyway.
blindhorizon
February 18, 2010 at 10:34am
I'm seeing more and more SSDs with really high read and writes, and they always compare them to the Intel X##-M drive with the really slow write times, why bother comparing them the the intel if its slower in most fields anymore?
and does having a super fast write speed make that much of a differance?
nevrUmind
February 17, 2010 at 5:38pm
Is this the 'M28' series [model PTX256GS25SSDR] or the 'other' series [model PFZ256GS25SSDR]? And can anybody explain the difference between the two model lines? Because the Patriot site is no help at all, spec sheet links there are busted, forums there are full of contradictory statements, etc. And you can't tell from their firmware page whether any model has TRIM support out of the box, or must be flashed to get it.
It amazes me they don't have any sort of product-comparison chart there, a 'help me choose' page, etc. And I should have thought the MaxPC reviewer would specify the exact model he was reviewing.
lhatten
February 17, 2010 at 5:03pm
It's all about price. I don't care if it is 2 TB, if it is more than 1.5 times a mechanical, not interested.
SleepyCatChris
February 17, 2010 at 1:15pm
"Intel’s drive is still the champion in random-write access times"
Huh? .29ms is faster than .6ms.
arch-chancellor
February 17, 2010 at 5:48pm
As I recall, you need to look at the number after the decimal. So in this case .2 is smaller than .6
My brian is starting to hert, so I shut op know.
nsvander
February 17, 2010 at 3:12pm
It's a Typo, if you read this article it lists the speed as .09.
NicciAdonai
February 17, 2010 at 12:16pm
The Intel drive gets the best score in PCMark and Premiere Pro despite having the worst speed of the three in all but Sustained Read. What does that mean?
Peanut Fox
February 17, 2010 at 12:58pm
The Intel drive can handle many times more I/O's per second. Adding to that is the controller which helps manage command queuing. When programs, or the OS start to make a lot of request from the drive the drive is able to maintain high transfer rates. Drives that do a poor job of this will drop performance as request to the drive start to stack up. That's why while the Intel drive doesn't have the fasted speeds, it's speed will remain mostly unaffected in most situations.
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