14 DAY TRIAL // Like so many of its peers and rivals, Patriot memory adopted the very popular SandForce solid state drive controller chips when it constructed its SSDs. The Inferno line is one of the more representative lineups, since it has read and write speeds higher than those of all competing products, save for but a few. Now, that same series has been expanded through the addition of three new members that are just as fast as the 100GB and 200GB models that marked the emergence of the line.
The new 60GB, 120GB and 240GB Inferno SSDs, like their precursors, are constructed out of specially screened MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory chips and come with 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch adapter plates, for easy installation. The SandForce DuraClass technology also makes sure to provide about 20 times better reliability and endurance compared to other controllers. This is accomplished by means of Wear Leveling and innovative write technologies. As for actual performance, reading is done at 285 MB/s while writing is accomplished at 275MB/s.
“The Inferno series of SSDs are the fastest and most exciting that Patriot has yet brought to the market,” states Les Henry, Vice President of Engineering at Patriot. “Our Inferno series has been well received and reviewed. We are excited to expand the product family with the introduction of the new larger capacity Inferno drives as well as the new 60GB capacity option. With the addition of the 60GB capacity drive, enthusiasts can enjoy the blistering performance of the Inferno SSD at a more affordable price point making it ideal as a boot drive in a high performance system.”
Basically, Patriot's Inferno SSDs are aimed at enthusiasts and will perform very well as boot drives, though the higher-capacity models should also act as decent HDD replacements, even in spite of the lower capacity. All have a MTBF of 1.5 million hours, work on the SATA 3.0 Gbps interface and come with a 3-year warranty. Unfortunately, pricing details have not been disclosed.