Patriot Supersonic Rage Pro USB 3.2 Gen 1 Flash Drive

Model: Patriot Supersonic Rage Pro USB 3.2 Gen 1 Flash Drive
Manufacturer: Patriot Memory
Provided By: Patriot Memory

Among computer enthusiasts the name Patriot is synonymous with quality and value. Founded in 1985, this California-based company has established itself as a leader in the industry by delivering high quality memory solutions powered by the latest technology. Along with a full range of memory modules for desktops, laptops and servers, Patriot offers an assortment of flash-based data storage products including memory cards, solid state drives (SSDs) and USB flash drives.

Earlier this year, Patriot launched its latest USB flash drive, the Supersonic Rage Pro. Available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities, the Supersonic Rage Pro is powered by Silicon Motion's SM3282 single chip controller and is equipped with a USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface. The drive also supports UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) mode, which allows it to read at speeds up to 420MB/s and deliver up to 8,000 4K random IOPS. Last, but not least, the Supersonic Rage Pro comes with an LED activity indicator and features a high-quality aluminum-coated housing for extra protection and better thermal performance.

Needless to say, this is only a taste of what the Supersonic Rage Pro has to offer. To give you an idea of what to expect, we'll take a closer look at Patriot's new USB 3.2 Gen 1 flash drive and then see how well it performs. Does the Supersonic Rage Pro have what it takes? Keep reading as we find out.

Packaging:

Like most USB flash drives, the Supersonic Rage Pro comes packaged in a cardboard blister pack. The front of the card advertises many of the drive's key features including its capacity, rated speed, UASP support and USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface. The back of the card provides a bit more information regarding the Supersonic Rage Pro's features, capabilities and supported operating systems.

Physical Features:

While not the smallest flash drive in Patriot's lineup, the Supersonic Rage Pro is still fairly compact. With the cap on, the drive measures 5.9cm (L) x 2.1cm (W) x 0.8cm (H) and weighs in at about 11g.

While the ends of the Supersonic Rage Pro are plastic, the body is constructed out of aluminum. According to Patriot, this provides protection from physical damage as well as better thermal performance. The body also has large Patriot logo as well as one showing the Supersonic Rage Pro model name and its capacity.

On the end of the Supersonic Rage Pro there is a loop where you can attach the drive to your key ring. While you can't see it in these pictures, there is an LED behind the loop that lights up red whenever the drive is transmitting or receiving data or is in the identification process. Using the loop, you can also store the Supersonic Rage Pro's cap on the back of the drive. Unfortunately, it is not a real solid fit and I was always worried that it would fall off. 

I wasn't able to crack the Supersonic Rage Pro open. However, using CrystalDiskInfo, I could see that the drive uses Silicon Motion's SM3282 controller. Designed for use in portable SSDs, this single-chip hardware and software solution features an on-chip USB 3.2 interface as well as support for the USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) and 2 NAND channels with 4 CE (Chip Enables) per channel.

Performance:

The test system used in this review is equipped with an Intel Core i7-6700K CPU, GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-UD3 motherboard, 32GB (16GB x 2) of Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 memory, Samsung 960 PRO 512GB SSD, GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 and a WINDFORCE OC 6G graphics card. For the operating system, I used the latest version of Windows 10 Pro.

To test the performance of the Patriot's Supersonic Rage Pro USB flash drive, I ran a series of benchmarks using CrystalDiskMark, HD Tach RW and ATTO Disk Benchmark. To get a feel for the "real world" performance, I also copied and pasted 1GB of random files and directories as well as a single 4GB ISO file in Windows Explorer.

CrystalDiskMark 7.0.0:

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.

According to Patriot, the Supersonic Rage Pro is capable of reading at speeds up to 420 MB/s and producing 8,000 4K random write IOPS. Looking at the screenshot above, you can see that the drive had no problem reaching its rated read speed. However, it came up a bit short in CrystalDiskMark's random write test.

As you'd expect, the Supersonic Rage Pro wasn't as fast when tested with the "real world" profile which uses a single thread and a much lower queue depth.  Nevertheless, it was still able to read at 389.62 MB/s and write at 375.62 MB/s.

HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0:

Next, I used HD Tach to test the Supersonic Rage Pro's read, write and burst speeds as well as its seek times and CPU usage.

The Supersonic Rage Pro didn't perform quite as well when tested with HD Tach. This time around, the drive had average read and write speeds of 261.4 MB/s and 241.4 MB/s, respectively, as well as a burst speed of 212.1 MB/s.

ATTO Disk Benchmark 4.01:

I also used ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the Supersonic Rage Pro's sequential read and write speeds. The tests are run using blocks ranging in size from 512B to 64 MB and the total length set to 256MB.

When tested with ATTO, the Supersonic Rage Pro's read speeds topped out at about 436 MB/s and its write speeds at 415 MB/s.

"Real World" Benchmark:

To test the "real world" performance of the Supersonic Rage Pro, I copied and pasted 1GB worth of randomly generated files and directories. All of the files are between 1KB and 95MB in size and no more than five directories deep. To see how well the drive handled large files, I also copied and pasted a 4GB ISO file.

The Supersonic Rage Pro performed very well here, taking 9 seconds to write 1GB worth of test data and 6 seconds to read it back.

Final Thoughts:

Patriot's new Supersonic Rage Pro USB 3.2 Gen 1 flash drive is a great addition to the company's already impressive line of flash-based storage products. The drive is well constructed and features a high-quality aluminum-coated housing that provides both extra protection and improved thermal dissipation. On the inside, the Supersonic Rage Pro is powered by Silicon Motion's SM3282 single chip controller, which features an on-chip USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface as well as support for UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol). When it came time to perform, the drive did not disappoint. The 512GB version of the Supersonic Rage Pro flew through our sequential transfer rate tests, reading at speeds as high as 436 MB/s and writing at more than 434 MB/s. It also did very well in our random read and write tests, making it an ideal choice for a boot drive or to expand the storage of your game console.

The Patriot Supersonic Rage Pro is available now in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities. Prices on Amazon.com currently range from $34 up to $98 for the 512GB version reviewed here.