Patriot P300 512GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD
The Patriot P300 512 GB slots into the middle of Patriot's budget NVMe lineup, pairing a Phison E13T DRAM-less controller with Kioxia 96-layer TLC for 2,100 MB/s reads at a low cost.
The P300 512 GB targets budget-conscious builders who need more space than a 256 GB boot drive but do not want to pay for enthusiast-tier NVMe performance. The US-market variant uses Phison's PS5013-E13T 4-channel DRAM-less controller with Kioxia BiCS4 96-layer TLC NAND. International variants use a Silicon Motion SM2263XT controller instead, identifiable by a black PCB versus the US model's blue PCB.
As a DRAM-less design, the P300 relies on Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology, borrowing a small slice of system RAM for flash translation table duties. This is transparent on Windows 10 build 1709 and later, and has minimal impact on everyday performance. The 512 GB capacity is a practical sweet spot for a boot drive plus several games or applications, offering a better endurance rating and more SLC cache headroom than the 256 GB variant.
The drive ships as a bare single-sided M.2 2280 module with a label on the front and nothing on the back. No heatsink, no RGB, no software bundle. It competes directly with the Kingston NV2, Crucial P3, and WD Blue SN580 in the budget DRAM-less NVMe segment. All of these drives offer similar performance, so pricing at the time of purchase is usually the deciding factor.
✅ Storage Comparisons:
🚀 Performance and benchmarks
Patriot rates the P300 512 GB at up to 2,100 MB/s sequential reads and up to 1,650 MB/s sequential writes, with up to 290,000 random read IOPS and 260,000 random write IOPS. These numbers are identical across the entire P300 capacity range, as the E13T controller's four channels reach their ceiling before NAND quantity becomes a factor.
Patriot P300 512 GB vs M.2 3.0 x 4 peers
Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other M.2 3.0 x 4 SSDs in our database. The highlighted bar is the drive on this page — click any other bar to open that drive.
- ADATA SX 8800 Pro 512 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 2,700 MB/s write
- ADATA SX 8800 Pro 1 TB: 3,500 MB/s read, 2,700 MB/s write
- ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 256 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
- ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 512 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
- Patriot P300 512 GB (this drive): 2,100 MB/s read, 1,650 MB/s write
Compared to SATA SSDs capped at roughly 550 MB/s, the P300 512 GB is a substantial upgrade for OS boot times, application loading, and file transfers. Against DRAM-equipped PCIe 3.0 drives like the Samsung 970 EVO Plus, the P300 falls behind in random write workloads and sustained transfers after the SLC cache fills. The 512 GB model has a larger SLC cache than the 256 GB, which means it can absorb more data before falling back to native TLC write speeds. For everyday desktop use, light gaming, and general productivity, the performance gap between the P300 and more expensive NVMe drives is difficult to notice.
🖥️ Endurance and warranty
The P300 512 GB carries a 160 TBW endurance rating within Patriot's warranty period. At a typical 20 GB per day write workload, the 160 TBW rating translates to approximately 21 years before reaching the rated limit. The Phison E13T platform uses LDPC error correction for data integrity. Budget drives typically carry lower endurance ratings than enthusiast models, but 160 TBW is adequate for the light to moderate workloads the P300 512 GB is designed for.
📊 Specs
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 512 GB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 3.0 x 4 |
| Controller [?] | Phison PS5013-E13T |
| Memory type [?] | Toshiba 3D TLC |
| DRAM [?] | HMB |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 2100 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 1650 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 290000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 260000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 160 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 2 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Conclusion
The Patriot P300 512 GB is a competent budget NVMe SSD that delivers 2,100 MB/s reads at a price point that makes sense for cost-sensitive builds. It is best suited as a boot drive with room for several applications and games, or as a secondary drive in a system that already has a faster primary NVMe. Builders who regularly transfer large files or run write-intensive workloads should spend more on a DRAM-equipped drive like the Patriot VPN100. For basic desktop and light gaming duty, the P300 512 GB gets the job done without overcharging for features most users will not miss.
+ Pros
- 2,100 MB/s sequential reads at a low price
- Single-sided M.2 2280 fits laptops and desktops
- Larger SLC cache than the 256 GB variant
- Low power consumption for mobile use
- HMB support keeps costs down
- Cons
- DRAM-less design limits random write performance
- SLC cache still modest compared to DRAM-equipped drives
- 160 TBW is lower than enthusiast NVMe drives
- No heatsink or SSD toolbox software included
🛒 Buy this or similar SSD Storage:
✨ Video Review
Is This Value NVMe Solid State Drive Anygood? Patriot Memory P300 M.2 Pcie Gen 3 x4 512GB
