Patriot Torqx 128GB SSD Review

[AkG]

ATTO Disk Benchmark

ATTO Disk Benchmark

The ATTO disk benchmark tests the drives read and write speeds using gradually larger size files. For these tests, the ATTO program was set to run from its smallest to largest value (.5KB to 8192KB) and the total length was set to 256MB. The test program then spits out an extrapolated performance figure in megabytes per second.

Read

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If speeds like this from a single drive don't put a smile on your face we are not sure what would. The Torqx performs almost exactly like the others; sure there was some slight variances but all fell within the normal boundaries expected with modern high yield manufacturing techniques.

Write

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This is another prime example of just how good the Indilinx SSDs are; and it really reinforces what we have said earlier in this review (and the past): an Indilinx SSD is a Indilinx SSD. OCZ may have added some extra tweaks to their firmware, G.Skill may be cheaper but when the underlying tech is the same, its hard to point at one and say it is better than the others...at least when using performance as your only benchmark that is.

 

[AkG]

IOMETER / IOMeter Stutter Test

IOMETER

IOMeter is heavily weighted towards the server end of things, and since we here at HWC are more End User centric we will be setting and judging the results of IOMeter a little bit differently than most. To test each drive we ran 5 test runs per HDD (1,4,16,64,128 que depth) each test having 8 parts, each part lasting 10 min w/ an additional 20 second ramp up. The 8 subparts were set to run 100% random, 80% read 20% write; testing 512b, 1k, 2k,4k,8k,16k,32k,64k size chunks of data. When each test is finished IOMeter spits out a report, in that reporst each of the 8 subtests are given a score in I/Os per second. We then take these 8 numbers add them together and divide by 8. This gives us an average score for that particular que depth that is heavily weighted for single user environments.

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As it turns out the performance of the Torqx is slightly elevated when compared to the other two in its class but the differences are minor enough that it can be chalked up to margin of error. Will your Torqx perform the same? Yes and no as the luck of the draw cuts both ways.

IOMeter Stutter Test

In our usual IOMeter test we are trying to replicate real world use where reads severly outnumber writes. However, to get a good handle on how well a Solid State Disk Drive will handle a worse case scenario (and thus how likely the dreaded stutter issue will happen) we have also run an additional test. This test is made of 1 section at que depth of 1. In this test we ran 100% random. 100%writes of 4k size chunks of information. In the .csv file we then found the Maximum Write Response Time. This in ms is worst example of how long a given operation took to complete. We consider anything higher than 333ms (one third of a second) to be a good indicator that stuttering may happen, with the higher the number the worse the duration of the stutter will most likely be.

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Once again, the differences between these three SSD drives are minor and as such the Torqx performs extremely well.

 

[AkG]

XP Start Up / Adobe CS3 Load Time

XP Start Up

When it comes to hard drive performance there is one area that even the most oblivious user notices: how long it takes to load the Operating System. For our tests the clock starts as soon as the system “beeps!” and stops when our Anti-Virus splash screen disappears. While all the other tests were run with a streamlined XP image this particular image is the test bed's “day to day” OS and it has accumulated a lot of crud over the months from installs and removals. We chose the Anti-Virus splash screen as our finish line as it is the last program to be loaded on start up.

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As expected the boot time of this drive ends up as part of a 3 way tie for first place.

ADOBE CS3 LOAD TIME

Photoshop is a notoriously slow loading program under the best of circumstances, but when you add in a bunch of extra brushes and the such you get a really great torture test which can bring even the best of the best to their knees. Let’s see how our review unit faired in the Adobe crucible.

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The Adobe test seems to agree that minor differences may not be all that important after all. This is why we like doing both synthetic and real world tests as you can’t get a clear picture by just running one or the other.

 

[AkG]

Real World Data Transfers

Real World Data Transfers

No matter how good a synthetic benchmark like IOMeter or PCMark is, it can not really tell you how your hard drive will perform in “real world” situations. All of us here at Hardware Canucks strive to give you the best, most complete picture of a review item’s true capabilities and to this end we will be running timed data transfers to give you a general idea of how its performance relates to real life use. To help replicate worse case scenarios we will transfer a 4.00GB contiguous RAR file and a folder containg 49 subfolders with a total 2108 files varying in length from 20mb to 1kb (1.00 GB total).

Testing will include transfer to and transferring from the devices, timing each process individually to provide an approximate Read and Write performance. To then stress the dive even more we will then make a copy of the large file to another portion of the same drive and then repeat the process with the small one. This will test the drive to its limits as it will be reading and writing simultaneously. Here is what we found.

Well this certainly puts the fork in the idea that there is a difference between rebadged Indilinx SSDs. To us this a good thing for you as its makes for some fierce competition and lower prices.

 

[AkG]

Real World Stutters / Value

Real World Stutters

Over a three day period we used the SSD as our main OS drive. During this period we did everything in our power to make the drive stutter. This is what we found out.

As with the all the other Indilinx based drives we have tested, as long as you occasionally run the wiper.exe program the Patriot Torqx does not stutter. As we have said in the past, you can however overload the drive but just like a regular drive your system just becomes slow but will not crash. Of course, if you pile on enough past this point it will then stutter but this is way, way past the point where even an HDD would start to complain.

Also like the other Indilinx drives, you really don’t need to do any OS tweaking to get phenomenal performance from this drive; nor worry about the dreaded stutter issue as it just isn't there. We of course recommend turning of defrag and the ilk but that is just common sense “care and handling” of any SSD more than tweaking for acceptable user experience. If you do go whole hog and either use MFT (or just diskpar to align the partition instead of replacing it) you will be rewarded with increased performance. However, after a certain point “faster” becomes less and less discernible and the time (and possible monetary investment) required to do such tweaks does quickly hit the point of diminishing returns.

Value

The term “Value” is such an amorphous term that it truly has different meanings for different people. For some a hard drive is only as good as its performance potential, for others it is how quiet or durable it is; for others still it’s how effective it is for its cost. We here at HWC try to provide as many answers as possible for the term “Value”. Hopefully by this point in the review people looking at performance potential will have a fairly good idea of what its Value is. For the “best bang for the buck” crowd we have included a chart below showing how much a give drive costs per GB . No consideration has been made for performance, “durability” or any other extraneous factors; this is just raw performance vs. monetary cost. All prices are based on the lowest price found in our Price Comparison engine at the time of their initial review.

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While the Torqx may cost more in total it is not the most expensive Indilinx-based SSD based on price per GB. From a hardware point of view they are all basically the same but in the end it is you and only you who can decide if that 2.5” to 3.5” converter and the TEN YEAR WARRANTY are worth the added cost.

 

[AkG]

Conclusion

Conclusion

Believe it or not, when we first started writing this review, things didn't look too good for the Torqx. It's price was higher than the other Indilinx Barefoot-equipped units, its warranty wasn't quite what we were looking for and Patriot's website didn't have any firmware updates or links to the wiper program. Boy, how things change. It really was a close call but in the end Patriot turned things around and made good in every single area we listed.

All of these changes on Patriot's part necessitated a ton of changes on our part. Usually, I hate rewriting reviews but in when it came to the Torqx, a rewrite was more than worth it. Not only was the warranty increased to an industry-leading 10 years but Patriot also posted new firmware and the wiper program on their website. Talk about night and day.

When you look at the results this SSD posts you have to walk away impressed. It truly is a fast, user-friendly drive that will make darn near anyone’s system feel faster. Even better, and unlike some items which appear good on their own but quickly fizzle and fade into the background, the Patriot Torqx doesn't only hold its own but actually exceeds our expectations when compared to other Indilinx SSDs.

The only area where we find things could be improved upon is more of a pet peeve than anything more serious. The OCZ Vertex can easily be updated from 1.1 to 1.3 without the need for removing the drive, setting the jumper and running a Windows-based updater. Just as we found with the G.Skill Falcon, the Patriot Torqx requires the full extended process to update its firmware. However, in this day of easy and cheap and/or free drive imaging programs it is not a deal breaker and more of an increased hassle factor than anything. Just remember, if you do pull the trigger on the purchase of a new Torqx the very first thing is update the firmware!

This leaves the last big “deal maker / deal breaker” issues and that is warranty. To us the length of warranty is not that big a deal, as long as its longer than our 2 year upgrade cycle its longs enough. That being said it does provide peace of mind if nothing else. In this arena, the Patriot Torqx is the now undisputed king of warranties as it comes with a 10 year warranty. This to us says Patriot takes their customer’s satisfaction very seriously, and we hope others follow suit quickly.

It may seem like a small gesture of respect to their customers but when taken with all the other things Patriot has gotten right, even the 2.5" to 3.5" adapter does have a cumulative effect and we think this is going to be one HOT selling item. It may not be perfect in all aspects but the Torqx simply has the best combination of power, ease of use and warranty of all the drives we have tested. Needless to say, it is being awarded our DAM GOOD award. Bravo Patriot for stepping up to the plate and it hitting clear out of the ball park.

Pros:
- Excellent performance
- 2.5” to 3.5” bay converter included
- TEN year warranty

Cons:
- Price is a little high
- Little slow on the Wiper.exe release front
- Little slow on the firmware update front

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