Plextor SSD review: M2S, M3, M3 Pro: Specs| Hashrate

This material is dedicated to SSD drives from Plextor, previously known mainly for its optical drives. Its debut in the solid state drive market took place in 2010, and since then several generations of devices have been released: M1, M2, M2P, M3 and M3 Pro. The M1 line is not widespread, the M2P was released in limited edition and is aimed at the Japanese market, so the main characters of this review are the three remaining models.

Test participants

Plextor M2S, 128 Гбайт

The M2S line of drives was introduced in February 2011 and is based on the Marvell 88SS9174 “server-level” controller and Toshiba Toggle Mode DDR synchronous 34 nm chips. A gentlemen’s set of technologies are supported such as SATA-III, NCQ, TRIM and background garbage collection. Dynamic Wear Leveling technology is responsible for balancing the wear of the cells, and Instant Restore maintains a high level of performance over a long service life. A distinctive feature is the internal 128MB DDR3 cache.

The package includes a mount for installation in a 3.5 “bay and Acronis True Image software for system imaging and backups – a pretty big bonus!

All SSDs have been updated to the latest firmware, in this case version 1.08. The information in the SMART and the worn-out sticker hint that the test copy has already seen the world.

Plextor M2S, 256 Гбайт

Another instance of M2S can hold 256 GB of data, the cache size is 128 MB, like all models in the line. Let’s check how much the performance of the older and middle brothers differs. The younger 64 GB did not get to me.

And again I got a “used” drive. There are many options in SMART, but most of them don’t seem to work.

Plextor M3, 256 Гбайт

The M3 series appeared in November 2011, some for some reason call it M3S, although there are no extra letters in the names of the models. Toshiba chips switched to a 24 nm process technology with reduced power consumption, the cache size of top drives (256 and 512 GB) was quadrupled compared to the M2S series – up to 512 MB, and in the 128 GB model – twice. The controller has remained the same, but the firmware has changed significantly: TrueSpeed ​​technology has appeared, which prevents the SSD from getting into a “dirty” state; it is assumed that the SSD will always perform “like new”.

Details are given at
developer site
… The manufacturer claims that each device undergoes a twenty-hour stress test at the factory, resulting in one of the lowest failure rates in the industry at 0.59%. The fact that the warranty has increased to 5 years will also be important for buyers, and some Russian stores also provide it.

Other features and scope of delivery remain the same as for the M2S.

SMART, unfortunately, is very poor. All that is seen is that the disc is new. Four reboots were screwed up during the flashing to version 1.02.

Plextor M3 Pro, 256 Гбайт

The newest M3 Pro family was announced in January 2012 and became available in March. The first thing that catches your eye is the “thinner” body. Now it is 7mm thick, which makes it compatible with newfangled Ultrabooks. The hardware specs are the same as the M3 (Marvell 88SS9174 controller and 24nm flash from Toshiba), but further firmware enhancements have further increased performance.

The first copy came to me dead (apparently, other writers tried), so a completely new one was received to replace it. The firmware has been updated from version 1.00 to 1.01.

Crucial M4, 64 GB

The representative of the popular Crucial M4 line was added by me on my own initiative. Of course, the younger model will not be able to compete on equal terms with 256 GB rivals, but the measurement results will be useful in the future anyway.

The reason to test this SSD is especially successful, since it is based on the same Marvell 88SS9174 controller used in Plextor, and received an internal 128 MB DDR3 cache. The memory is different – 25 nm ONFI from Micron.

SMART rich, this instance is confused by the large number of remapped sectors, although the drive has not yet been used. At the time of taking measurements, the latest firmware was 0309, by the time the material was submitted, a newer version of 000F appeared, but the express test in the Crystal Disk Mark did not reveal any difference.

The recently tested 64GB Intel 520 SSD and WD Caviar Blue hard drive have also been added to the results charts.