The Patriot Hellfire M.2 480GB Review: Phison NVMe Tested

Random Read Performance

The random read test requests 4kB blocks and tests queue depths ranging from 1 to 32. The queue depth is doubled every three minutes, for a total test duration of 18 minutes. The test spans the entire drive, which is filled before the test starts. The primary score we report is an average of performances at queue depths 1, 2 and 4, as client usage typically consists mostly of low queue depth operations.

The random read performance of the Patriot Hellfire is disappointing, even when aided by a heatsink. Samsung's SATA SSDs outperform the Patriot Hellfire, and the Plextor M8Pe is twice as fast. The PNY CS2211—based on the same NAND and Phison's S10 SATA SSD controller—is the most embarrassing drive for the Hellfire to lose to.

With no particular advantage in power consumption, the Patriot Hellfire gets a very poor efficiency score for random reads.

Patriot Hellfire M.2 480GBPatriot Hellfire 480GB (heatsink)Crucial MX300 525GBIntel SSD 600p 512GBIntel SSD 750 400GBOCZ RD400 512GB (M.2)OCZ RD400A 512GBPNY CS2211 480GBPlextor M8Pe(Y) 512GBPlextor M8PeGN (M.2) 512GBSamsung 850 EVO 500GBSamsung 850 Pro 512GBSamsung 950 Pro 512GBSamsung 960 EVO 1TBSamsung 960 EVO 250GBSamsung 960 Pro 2TB

The poor random read performance at lower queue depths continues at higher queue depths, and the Patriot Hellfire cannot catch up to the Samsung 850 Pro without a heatsink.

Random Write Performance

The random write test writes 4kB blocks and tests queue depths ranging from 1 to 32. The queue depth is doubled every three minutes, for a total test duration of 18 minutes. The test is limited to a 16GB portion of the drive, and the drive is empty save for the 16GB test file. The primary score we report is an average of performances at queue depths 1, 2 and 4, as client usage typically consists mostly of low queue depth operations.

The random write performance of the Patriot Hellfire is relatively good, but it is not in the top tier. The average score with a heatsink is actually slightly lower than without, likely because the heatsink allows for higher performance early in the test, and then the drive's spare area starts to run out sooner.

The Patriot Hellfire delivers better efficiency than most other NVMe SSDs and thanks to its good performance it is even substantially more efficient than the lower-power SATA SSDs.

Patriot Hellfire M.2 480GBPatriot Hellfire 480GB (heatsink)Crucial MX300 525GBIntel SSD 600p 512GBIntel SSD 750 400GBOCZ RD400 512GB (M.2)OCZ RD400A 512GBPNY CS2211 480GBPlextor M8Pe(Y) 512GBPlextor M8PeGN (M.2) 512GBSamsung 850 EVO 500GBSamsung 850 Pro 512GBSamsung 950 Pro 512GBSamsung 960 EVO 1TBSamsung 960 EVO 250GBSamsung 960 Pro 2TB

With or without a heatsink, the Patriot Hellfire's random write speed tops out at QD4 around 600MB/s. Most SSDs experience little to no improvement past this point. The Plextor M8Pe continues to slowly improve, but at QD4 its performance is sub-par.