Patriot Viper VP4300 PCIe 4.0 x4 Drive Review on 3D TLC (VP4300-1TBM28H)

 

With the release of desktop processors of the 11th generation Intel Core (Rocket Lake-S) for the LGA1200 platform, the PCI Express 4.0 standard ceased to be the prerogative of AMD platforms. The demand for drives with PCIe 4.0 interface has increased. We’ve already looked at new generation SSDs from other companies, now it’s the turn of Patriot’s Viper brand.

 

Viper VP4300 is interesting in several respects: both the PCIe 4.0 interface itself and the controller of Innogrit, a new player in this market. In addition, the drive has an unusual configuration.

 

Equipment

 

 

In general, the VP4300 series includes models with a capacity of 1 TB and 2 TB. Our younger version has two 256GB TLC flash memory chips on one side of the board, a 512MB DDR4 DRAM chip, and an 8-channel Innogrit IG5236FAA controller. The Innogrit IG5236 chip is manufactured using the 12-nm FinFET process at TSMC’s production facilities.

 

From third-party sources, we found out that the SSD uses Micron’s fourth-generation 96-layer TLC 3D NAND crystals. The nuance is that there is currently a more modern 176-layer memory of the fifth generation, which is about 30% faster. But, unfortunately, it is not possible to connect it to the Innogrit IG5236 controller, because it uses the 1600 MHz ONFI interface, which is not supported by it.

 

On the other side, under the sticker with the specifications of the drive, there are two more 256GB flash memory chips and another 512MB DRAM chip. The device comes in the form of an M.2 2280 format board.

 

The Patriot Viper VP4300 comes formatted with the NTFS file system. Its effective capacity is 1024 GB or 953 GiB.

 

 

Assembly

 

The packaging is designed in the form of a book with an opening cover. In addition to the drive itself, the kit includes two radiators and instructions for their installation. Both have a transparent adhesive layer for fixing on the drive.

 

If you plan to install an SSD in the compartment? where there is no space at all, for example, a laptop, radiators can not be used, although this can lead to overheating. If there is a little space, you can use a thin graphene radiator. By the way, it is also flexible. But the best option will be a massive aluminum radiator. Together with the aluminum radiator, the height of the SSD increases to 8 mm. It holds firmly on the drive. A maxi option, and this is allowed according to the instructions, is a simultaneous combination of both radiators.

 

 

 

Working

 

 

In many benchmarks, Patriot Viper VP4300 shows itself exclusively from the best side, overtaking some competitors. In this model, the volume of the SLC cache is approximately 35% of the free capacity. After it is filled, with continuous recording, the speed starts to fluctuate in the range of 740-2500 MB/s. The minimum speed may be several times lower than that of competitors, but such cases are almost never encountered in real operation.

 

 

In everyday mode, data recording speed in Windows 10 reached 2.3 GB/s. This allows you to quickly work with large amounts of information. In addition, the controller copes well with the release of flash memory without harming parallel activity.

 

 

During operation, the storage temperature according to the internal sensor was 45°С at an ambient temperature of 23°С. The SSD was tested without and with complete radiators. After 13 minutes of continuous recording, the temperature reached 62°C without addons, 57°C with graphene and 50°C with aluminum radiator. These indicators were obtained on an open stand, so it should be taken into account that the temperature inside the computer case, and even more so the laptop, will be higher.

 

 

Patriot states that its flagship drives can be overwritten 1,000 times during its lifetime without loss of warranty, which exceeds typical limits from other manufacturers. At the same time, Viper VP4300 series drives have a rather small reserve area – only 7% of the full capacity.

 

The Viper VP4300 is known to be usable in the PlayStation 5 gaming console. Not only does it meet Sony’s speed guidelines, but it also fits in the storage bay with a heatsink.

 

Impressions

 

Using the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface and the Innogrit IG5236 controller allows the Viper VP4300 to achieve a real read speed of 7,400 MB/s, and a write speed of over 6,350 MB/s. I liked the delivery set with a thin disposable graphene radiator for laptops and monoblocks and a larger heat sink for desktop setups. It is worth noting that the mentioned advantages of the Viper VP4300 result in the fact that it is more expensive than other flagship solutions with a PCIe 4.0 interface.

 

Rating:

+ two complete radiators

+ performance

-cost