** TOOK THE PLEXTOR 256GB M2 PCI-E SSD FOR A SPIN!! **

[Gibbo]

HI there


Being testing some SSD's for a new potential SSD partner in the future, in my testing I gave Plextor's 256GB PCI-E M2 SSD for a spin, needless to say its performance is pretty staggering.

Most the SSD's were tested in an Asus Crosshair 990FX chipset board with FX-9590 so these results might be lower than what one would get on an Intel based system possibly, comparing to the result our 128GB new SSD partner drive got.




Plextor 256GB M2 PCI-E SSD

Intel 730K 240GB SSD

Samsung 120GB 840 EVO - Rapid Mode OFF

Samsung 120GB 840 EVO - Rapid Mode ON

Conclusion


Bang for money the Samsung 840 EVO is the clear victor, how realistic the performance gains are with rapid mode enabled I really can't comment on as AS SSD clearly shows read performance and access times taking a clear performance hit, yet write performance seems vastly improved. So it could be a case that rapid mode shows greater gains in benchmarks than real world performance.

The Intel drive is a solid performer, so its great to see them competing with the top performance SSD drives with a price point which is not to bad, considering the 5yr warranty.

The Plextor for me is the stand out drive, its performance is real and it is earth shatteringly quick at every thing, the drive has no weak point, it blitz every single benchmark area. Also to use it simply works, its easier to install than a regular SSD being just a PCI-E card with no cables and of course you can remove the M2 SSD and install it into an M2 slot on your motherboard as well, just ensure its a PCI-E M2 slot on your mainboard.

 

[Gibbo]

BUY ONE OF THESE AMAZING DRIVES!!




Plextor M6e M.2 PCI-E 256GB Solid State Hard Drive - Retail @ £199.99 inc VAT

Plextor's latest M2/PCI-E SSD's allow you to utilise the performance advantage of M2 without having to upgrade your mainboard as these M2's SSD's are supplied and pre-installed to a PCI-E controller card. These drives offer performance that is unbeatable by any current SATA3 drive on the market. So if you want the fastest single SSD option on the market than look no further than these Plextor M6e drives.


Specification:-
- Interface: M2/PCI-E, exceeds SATA3 limitations with upto 1.5x performance boost.
- Duo BIOS Support: Set as boot device under UEFI BIOS or the legacy BIOS
- Compatibility: AHCI Support, no drivers needed.
- Read Speed: 770MB/s
- Write Speed: 580MB/s
- Read IOPS: 105,000
- Write IOPS: 100,000
- Controller: Server Grade Marvell PCI-e Control Chip (88SS9183)
- Warranty: 5yr


Only £199.99 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW















Plextor M6e M.2 PCI-E 256GB Solid state Hard Drive (PX-G256M6e) @ £169.99 inc VAT

Plextor’s M6e M.2 PCIe Gen2 x2 is an ultra-fast SSD, which uses the latest generation of components and a native PCIe interface for extremely high performance. It is suitable for ultra-thin notebooks and motherboards supporting 2280 sized (80.0mm × 22.0mm), PCIe M.2 SSDs. Gamers and high-power users will appreciate the responsiveness and ultra-fast loading times that the powerful M6e M.2 delivers.

By bypassing the 6Gbps limit of the SATA Rev 3.0 interface, Plextor’s M6e M.2 is able to reach maximum sequential read speeds of 770MB/sec and sequential write speeds of 580MB/sec. Its 4K random speeds top out at 105K and random write speeds go up to 100K IOPS. Performance that translates into fast level load, quick boot times, smooth video editing and more.

Giving the M6e M.2 its speed is the combination of a multi-core Marvell PCIe 9183 controller, high quality Toshiba Toggle NAND flash memory , a fast onboard DDR3 DRAM Cache, and Plextor’s own in-house produced custom firmware. Plextor focuses on reliability, undertaking extensive testing at its own state-of-the-art facilities giving the M6e M.2 a calculated MTBF of 2.4 million hours.

Every M6e M.2 drive is individually burned in and tested for absolute stability, and backed by Plextor’s full five-year long-term warranty.

Powerful components, channeled through a fast interface, built by a company known for performance, stability, and quality – the Plextor M6e M.2 takes SSD technology to the next level.


Only £169.99 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW















Intel 730K "Jackson Ridge" 240GB "Overclocked" Solid State Hard Drive - Retail @ £174.98 inc VAT

Born from the data center, the Intel® Solid-State Drive 730 Series delivers uncompromised performance for PC enthusiasts by combining factory tuned components and data center DNA.

Maximize your computing experience with the fastest consumer Intel® Solid-State Drive delivered to date. The Intel® Solid-State Drive 730 Series is built with a specially qualified 3rd generation Intel controller. Performance optimized firmware and 20nm Intel® NAND Flash Memory take it a step further by factory overclocking these components for a 50% increase in controller speed and 20% increase in NAND bus speed. Optimized for the most demanding tasks, including digital content creation and extreme gaming, the Intel Solid-State Drive 730 Series delivers low 50ìs read latency, up to 550 MB/s sequential reads and random reads up to 86,000 IOPS.

The Intel Solid-State Drive 730 Series also delivers extreme endurance of up to 70GB writes per day for five years (compared to the industry typical 20GB), providing peace of mind for anyone requiring dependable up-time from their workstation or gaming rig. Intel’s advanced firmware algorithms provide consistent performance that you can rely on for both compressible and incompressible data types, plus data center efficiency and dependability.

Digital content creation experts and PC enthusiasts know the highest storage performance is achieved with RAID configurations, especially as Solid-State Drives start to saturate the SATA bus. Two 240GB Intel Solid-State Drive 730 Series in a RAID-0 configuration provide the same storage capacity as a single 480GB drive— but the throughput nearly doubles to an amazing 1000 MB/s when coupled with Intel
platforms supporting Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Q87, H87, Z87 & X79).


Specification:-
- 128k Sequential Write - 270MB/s / 2 Drive RAID 0 - 500MB/s / 3 Drive RAID 0 - 700MB/s / 4 Drive RAID 0 900MB/s
- 128k Sequential Read - 556MB/s / 2 Drive RAID 0 - 1073MB/s / 3 Drive RAID 0 - 1436MB/s / 4 Drive RAID 0 1635MB/s
- IOPS: 86,000 Random 4kb Reads
- IOPS: 56,000 Random 4kb Writes
- Latency Read: 50us
- Latency Write: 60us
- Intel 20nm NAND Flash Memory
- Intel Controller
- Form factor: 2.5"
- Thickness: 7mm
- Weight: 78grams
- Factory Overclocked ASIC and NAND Bus: 600MHz ASIC Clock / 100MHz NAND Bus Clock
- Warranty: 5yr


Only £174.98 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW















Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) @ £67.99 inc VAT

The Samsung SSD840 EVO is a high performance SSD designed for power users. Capable of delivering up to 98,000 IOPS Random Read Speed and 540MB/s Sequential Read speed, it is an SSD of unrivaled high performance. Even better, the advanced MEX controller delivers these speeds regardless of data type, unlike some competing controllers that greatly favor compressible data.

• Capacity: 120GB
• Sequential Read: 540MB/s
• Sequential Write: 410MB/s
• Random Read (QD32, 4KB): 94,000 IOPS
• Random Write (QD32, 4KB): 35,000 IOPS
• Random Read (QD1, 4KB): 10,000 IOPS
• Random Write (QD1, 4KB): 33,000 IOPS
• Warranty: 3 Year


Only £67.99 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW

 

[biuro74]

A bit weak performance on AMD-based motherboard. 660MB/s is not 770MB/s declared :/
Anyways it's good product - hopefully rest of M.2 vendors would use PCIe data transfer mode instead of SATA3which limits transfer to 550MB/s.
Lacking one remainder here - once M.2 card is taken out the PCIe "mother" card, warranty sticker is broken which might mean warranty is lost (at least it was in older revision).

 

[glenimp617]

now test the samsung m.2 drives to see what speed really is

you'll need the asrock z97 board though, afaik it's the only board with 4 pci-e lanes to the m.2 bus

 

[Gibbo]

now test the samsung m.2 drives to see what speed really is

you'll need the asrock z97 board though, afaik it's the only board with 4 pci-e lanes to the m.2 bus

The Samsung ones are slower, as they are SATA based M2, not PCI-E based M2, makes quite a difference to performance.

 

[Roady]

Why test the 128GB EVO when the other two are 256's?

The 256GB EVO has much better ('quoted') figures than the 128, is aimed at the same market, is the same capacity and has similar price points as the plextor and intel.

Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic
• Capacity: 120GB
• Sequential Read: 540MB/s
• Sequential Write: 410MB/s

Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic
• Capacity: 250GB
• Sequential Read: 540MB/s
• Sequential Write: 520MB/s

You could have even tried the Samsung mSATA (although speeds are rated similar to the SATA) for a direct comparison to the Plextor (which would've still come out on top)

Samsung 840 EVO mSATA 250GB Solid State Drive
Specification:-
- SR: 540MB/s SW MAX: 520MB/s
- RR: MAX 97000 IOPS RW: 66000 IOPS

 

[Gibbo]

Why test the 128GB EVO when the other two are 256's?

The 256GB EVO has much better ('quoted') figures than the 128, is aimed at the same market, is the same capacity and has similar price points as the plextor and intel.





You could have even tried the Samsung mSATA (although speeds are rated similar to the SATA) for a direct comparison to the Plextor (which would've still come out on top)

Because it was done in my home PC and the Samsung is my personal drive, hence 128GB.

Pointless testing Samsung M2 mSATA, the performance will be identical to the SATA versions. If/when they release PCI-E M2 then were talking.

 

[snips86x]

The Asus V Gene has a mini-PCIE port which is supposed to support the use of these drives. Do you have the adapter which fits on the motherboard?

 

[daver]

Because it was done in my home PC and the Samsung is my personal drive, hence 128GB.

Pointless testing Samsung M2 mSATA, the performance will be identical to the SATA versions. If/when they release PCI-E M2 then were talking.

When is XP941 supposed to be available? I have one in my Vaio Pro I've had a few months and thought you could buy the drives themselves now?

 

[mick4545]

I have the Plextor M6e M2 in my basket as I slowly spec my next build. I see the M6e has 2 notches at the connector end and I think the MB I want, Asus z97 Deluxe, has only 1 key for the notch. Will it work in the Asus z97 Deluxe.

 

[colinmcr]

Excuse my ignorance, is rapid mode in BIOS? How to enable that?

 

[Confused Stu]

Excuse my ignorance, is rapid mode in BIOS? How to enable that?

Download the Samsung Magician software, and the last option is to enable/disable RAPID mode. After a reboot, RAPID mode is engaged. The Magician software likes to start up on boot, complete with UAC prompt, but you can safely remove it from running at startup, makes no difference to performance or RAPID mode.

 

[trickynickyuk]

im running the evo 256GB on asabertooth 990fx with a fx8350 and it is amazing windows loads up within 5-10 seconds the post screen lasts longer than the windows logo and the everything is instant load, i get no lags in games or applications that i have running

 

[LordBarrass]

I have the Plextor M6e M2 in my basket as I slowly spec my next build. I see the M6e has 2 notches at the connector end and I think the MB I want, Asus z97 Deluxe, has only 1 key for the notch. Will it work in the Asus z97 Deluxe.

The M.2 Drives have 2 slots in them and some boards dont have notches and some boards do but they will all fit in. I have just tried a M.2 drive on different boards including an ASUS Z97 board with a similar connector. The notch determines if it is a PCI-e or SATA III connection I believe. If you let me know which specific board it is I can check the spec for you.

 

[mick4545]

The M.2 Drives have 2 slots in them and some boards dont have notches and some boards do but they will all fit in. I have just tried a M.2 drive on different boards including an ASUS Z97 board with a similar connector. The notch determines if it is a PCI-e or SATA III connection I believe. If you let me know which specific board it is I can check the spec for you.

Thanks, the board is a Asus Z97 Deluxe.

 

[ClassicEnergy]

Thanks, the board is a Asus Z97 Deluxe.

http://rog.asus.com/313352014/labels/guides/buying-an-m-2-ssd-how-to-tell-which-is-which/

 

[LordBarrass]

Hi Mick4545,

By looking at the images on the web for the board it looks like it has a slot for the M type of M.2 SSD but the ones with both B+M will fit this board as well. I have not seen any at the moment that just have an M slot on them. Our current range are all B+M boards.

 

[mick4545]

http://rog.asus.com/313352014/labels/guides/buying-an-m-2-ssd-how-to-tell-which-is-which/

Very helpful. Thanks.

 

[ClassicEnergy]

Very helpful. Thanks.

You are welcome sir

 

[Gunslinger]

The Plextor for me is the stand out drive, its performance is real and it is earth shatteringly quick at every thing, the drive has no weak point, it blitz every single benchmark area. Also to use it simply works, its easier to install than a regular SSD being just a PCI-E card with no cables and of course you can remove the M2 SSD and install it into an M2 slot on your motherboard as well, just ensure its a PCI-E M2 slot on your mainboard.

Gibbo, did you notice any issues rising from reports of poor random-address reading and writing? apparently there are some concerns regarding the marvel controllers abilities in that area.
Also questions as to whether the module should have been PCIe x4 based for when in the adaptor rather than still restricted to x2 (assuming x4 would be downwards compatible with x2)