G.Skill, Intel & Patriot SSD group test

Patriot Warp v2

Manufacturer: Patriot Memory
UK Price (as reviewed): £332.30 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $420.00 (ex. Tax)

The Patriot Warp v2 is actually very similar to the G.Skill 128GB drive, packing the same generous (for an SSD at least) 128GB capacity and is based on the exact same Samsung 840 8GB MLC NAND flash memory modules and J-Micron JMF 602 controller.

However there are some key differences between them, with the Patriot drive packing a seemingly much more complex PCB design, although both drives actually share identical components – it’s only the layout that’s different here, with Patriot cramming almost all the PCB components onto one side.

The Patriot Drive is also missing the mini-USB power connector present on the G.Skill 128GB SSD despite the obvious space for it on PCB – obviously a cost saving measure and a shame not to include it considering that all the required PCB connections are all there.


As with all the SSDs on test, the drive is housed in a 2.5” drive housing which will require an adaptor frame to fit into the standard 3.5” HDD bays. The metal tin housing the drive’s PCB has a mottled painted steel finish, topped off with the expected shiny sticker to denote manufacturer and drive size.

Speed-wise, Patriot claims read speeds of up to 175MB/s and write speeds of 100MB/s and Patriot only offers a two year warranty – surprisingly brief for a product with no moving parts in an industry populated with mechanical drives with five year warranties as a bare minimum.


What’s clear here is that Patriot Warp v2 128GB and the G.Skill 128GB are remarkably similar pieces of equipment, right down the PCB level. What’s very different though is the price – the Patriot drive retails for a good $100 more than the G.Skill, so it’ll be very interesting to see how both stack up in benchmarking.