The Patriot VPR400 (VPR400-512GM28H) is an M2 SSD with good write and read speeds, customizable RGB backlighting, an efficient heat sink, and a 5-year manufacturer’s warranty. This is an interesting example for semi-open systems or systems with transparent panels. I will try to answer how interesting it is in this review.
Package
Personally, I would give the manufacturer’s designers an A for their approach to the design of the box in which this product is delivered. This is a case style with a hinged lid, a blister window, a combination of bright colors and many other “things”. As a result, it turned out not only beautiful, it turned out expensive and very stylish, that is, just enough to say – “We have a really bright thing in front of us”!
Okay, no one can deny that it’s done really well – everything here is worthy of attention. However, in the end, the box is something that, as a rule, goes into recycling after unpacking anyway, and the status of the product is usually not an obstacle here. Nevertheless, no matter what fate awaits the box of the VPR400, I still advise you to spend some time studying the array from the walls, because this way you will get answers to a considerable number of technical questions.
Information from the box walls
Let’s start with the good stuff – Patriot VPR400 has a PCIe Gen4 controller, which means good speeds – up to 4600 MB/s for reading and up to 4400 MB/s for writing. This is at least what the manufacturer claims, both on the front flap and on the internal walls. Another noteworthy feature is the RGB backlight. And the volume mark, VIPER logo and other interesting “things” are all on the front wall.
On the back, there is a product passport in several languages, the address of the global website, as well as the company’s pages on various social networks, plus a 5-year warranty label.
The compatibility with Intel and AMD platforms is noted on one of the side walls.
Finally, by “folding back” the previously mentioned lid, the user will “discover” a blister window through which you can get a pretty good look at the product design, as well as an informative illustration of the SSD, and markings for other interesting data.
Having finished studying the array, let’s proceed to unpacking.
Package contents
Everything is simple with the package: inside the box on a blister seal there is only the drive itself. By default, the manufacturer installed a rather massive radiator with the previously mentioned RGB backlight; we will return to the item of its configuration.
Apart from the drive, there is nothing else in the box.
A few words about the warranty. The manufacturer gives 5 years. The warranty seal is a sticker on the opposite side of the radiator. In addition to it, you should not violate the integrity of the radiator mount. As for the user manual, there is no need for it, since the installation of the media will not cause difficulties, even if this is your first experience.
Patriot VPR400 specifications
This model is available in a 512GB version (VPR400-512GM28H), as we have, and the top-of-the-line 1TB version (VPR400-1TBM28H).
- form factor – M.2 2280;
- interface – PCIe 4.0×4;
- controller – Innogrit IG5220 Gen4 x4;
- random reading in 4k blocks – 600K IOPS;
- random write in 4k blocks – 500K IOPS;
- TBW resource – 512GB – 400TBW;
- features – RGB backlight – use of Viper RGB APP 3.0 software;
- warranty – 5 years.
Features of the radiator
In short, I liked the radiator. It is spectacular and quite efficient. The mounting format is not very clear (most likely, heat sink pads), but there are no questions about reliability. I did not remove the radiator for several reasons. The first one is that I was satisfied with the heating, which I will discuss below. Secondly, you shouldn’t forget about the RGB backlight. And thirdly, if you don’t know for sure the material of the radiator fixation, you can damage the diode power supply circuit while trying to remove it. And finally, the eternal “why”, because, frankly speaking, you can do without adding unnecessary hassle.
Thermal Throttling technology is used in the design of the radiator, which means up to 55-60 degrees under normal load.
Board
The storage medium is soldered on a 2280 brown board. The previously mentioned radiator, and it’s easy to see, covers the key element base, including memory modules and the Innogrit IG5220 Gen4 x4 controller.
On the opposite wall is a large sticker with various technical data about the model. In addition to the above, it is also worth remembering that this sticker is a warranty seal, and it is strictly forbidden to violate its integrity.
Features of Viper RGB app
An interesting feature of the backlight, in my opinion, is the ability to customize it. For the latter, the Patriot Viper RGB utility is used, which, by the way, allows you to customize the backlight not only on the aforementioned M.2, but also, for example, on the same Patriot RAM. If you like such beauty, then I advise you not to overlook the capabilities of the aforementioned software.
The user can manually select the color for the five diode groups on the drive. There is also an option to turn off the backlight. In addition, there is even a static option.
The backlighting on the VPR400-512GM28H can also be controlled using software from the world’s leading motherboard manufacturers. See the illustration below for specifics.
Test bench
To test the capabilities of the Patriot VPR400, I used a PC running Windows 10 Home Edition. The hardware under the hood is as follows:
- motherboard – Asus TUF GAMING B550-PRO (sAM4, AMD B550);
- processor – AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 (4.6) GHz 32MB sAM4 Multipack (100-100000065MPK);
- RAM – Goodram IRDM X 2×8 GB;
- HDD – Western Digital Blue 1TB;
- video card – MSI GeForce GTX 960;
- Deepcool DQ750ST power supply.
Results obtained
Here are the results.
Results and conclusions
To summarize, we have an interesting drive for semi-open and transparent systems that will allow you to adequately reveal your tastes in modding, and in addition, it will be able to significantly speed up your system’s performance. Also, VPR400-512GM28H offers stable media performance, a 5-year manufacturer’s warranty and a surprisingly good price tag for a product of this kind.
The estimated cost is 1950 UAH ($53).
