Today we will reviewing the Patriot Memory Ignite 240GB SSD. The Ignite is one of several SSD series in Patriot’s range of storage devices, aimed at the performance user.

We’ll start off with a little history lesson. Back in the early days of enthusiast computing, SSDs (Solid State Drives) were hugely expensive. In fact, I remember SSDs were in the 3.5″ form factor (yes, they do exist at one point). We’re talking almost 15 years ago 😛

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Nowadays, most SSDs have become more affordable and now come in the 2.5″ form factor, with sizes ranging 120GB all the way upto 1TB or even 2TB. The popular sizes are 240GB or 480GB, and most enthusiasts would use that as their boot drive.

Not a lot of people know this, but there are several types of NAND flash memory used in most of today’s SSDs. The two most popular are SLC and MLC. Here’s a little background taken from Tomsitpro.

SLC — Single Level Cell: the most expensive, longest lived (high P/E), and generally fastest. Bits are stored only as 2 voltage levels, or a “1” or “0.” In SLC less data is stored per cell, so the per unit storage cost is higher. MLC — Multi-Level Cell: is consumer grade and used in phones, cameras, and USB sticks. The stored charge in MLC may be interpreted as a variety of values, 0 to 3, or 4 possible states, and may store 2 bits. With shorter lifetimes, usually 10x less than SLC, the advantage of this memory is that the cost is 2- 4x less than SLC, but with lower write speeds. MLC typically uses some form of error correction code per block.

The Ignite SSD from Patriot is equipped with the super fast Phison S10 controller along with qualified MLC NAND flash memory. This allows a maximum sequential read and write speeds up to 560MB/s and 405MB/s, respectively, using a SATA III 6.0 Gb/s interface. What’s more, according to Patriot’s spec page, you can get approximately 100K IOPs for random read and up to 85K IOPs for random write.

I’m expecting some good results from the Patriot Ignite. Let’s see how well it will perform. We will be comparing the performance of the Patriot Ignite 240GB SSD with the recently reviewed Crucial MX300, the Adata XPG SX930 and the OCZ TR150.

For those who don’t know who Patriot Memory are, here’s a little blurb taken from their website …

Mission Statement To be the brand of choice for the computer and consumer electronic industries with a commitment to quality and customer service. Vision Commitment, focus on innovation in technology, product quality, and customer satisfaction are the key enablers of our future success. Company Profile Founded in 1985, Patriot designs, manufactures and markets high performance, enthusiast memory modules, flash memory, and mobile accessory products with the objective of offering a perfect blend of quality and value for consumers.

Product Design Patriot prides itself on developing new products that offers a style that’s sleek, modern and functional. This holds true for our high-performance memory modules, USB Flash memory and mobile accessories line.

Now, let’s check out the features and specifications of the Patriot Memory Ignite 240GB SATA3 SSD.