The test system used in this review was an HP 8200 Elite. The computer came equipped with an Intel Core i5-2400 CPU, 4GB of DDR3 1333MHz memory, Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3250312AS 250GB SATA 6 Gb/s hard drive, NVIDIA Quadro FX580 512MB PCIe graphics card and an Intel 82579-LM gigabit network card. For the operating system, I installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 Enterprise.
To test the performance of the Pyro SE, I ran a series of benchmarks using CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1, HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0, ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46, AS SSD, HD Tune Pro 4.61 and Iometer. For comparison, I've also included test results from the Plextor PX-256M2P, Kingston HyperX, OCZ Vertex 3 and OCZ Agility 3.
As I mentioned earlier, the Pyro SE is based on SandForce's SF-2281 controller. Like other SandForce controllers, the SF-2281 features a technology called DuraWrite, which uses data compression to lower write amplification and extend the life of the drive by reducing the number of program-erase cycles. This data compression also plays a big part in the controller's performance. The more the data can be compressed, the faster an SSD like the Pyro SE is able to read and write. Looking at the screenshot above, you can see that there is a considerable performance difference when writing incompressible (0%) and compressible (100%) data. However, thanks to the Pyro SE's synchronous NAND, its read speeds aren't affected nearly as much.
CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1:
First, I ran a few quick tests using CrystalDiskMark. This benchmark tool measures the performance of a storage device by testing its sequential read and write speeds as well as its random read and write speeds using blocks 512K and 4K in size.
 Patriot Pyro SE 240GB |
 Plextor PX-256M2P |
According to Patriot, the 240GB Pyro SE is capable of reading at 550MB/s and writing at 520MB/s when connected to a SATA 6 Gb/s port. While faster than the Plextor PX-256M2P when reading, the drive's sequential read and write speeds came up a bit short of these numbers when using CrystalDiskMark's default (random) test data.
 Patriot Pyro SE 240GB - All 0x00, 0Fill |
 Plextor PX-256M2P - All 0x00, 0Fill |
The Pyro SE performed much better when using highly compressible 0x00 (0 Fill) data. This time around, the drive was able to read at 486.7 MB/s and write at 455.1 MB/s.
HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0:
Next, I used HD Tach to test the Pyro SE's read, write and burst speeds as well as its seek times and CPU usage.
Looking at the screenshot above, you can see that the Pyro SE had average read and write speeds of 372.2 MB/s and 351.6 MB/s respectively, as well as a burst speed of 348.8 MB/s.
ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46:
I also used ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the Pyro SE's sequential read and write speeds. The tests are run using blocks ranging in size from 0.5KB to 8192KB and the total length set to 256MB.
 Patriot Pyro SE 240GB |
 Plextor PX-256M2P |
When tested with ATTO, the Pyro SE's read speeds topped out at about 554 MB/s and its write speeds at 490 MB/s.
