INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Solid state drives (SSDs) based on the SATA standard may not have gone a very long way in terms of raw read/write performance levels during the past few years but they have advanced a lot both in features (AES hardware encryption, TCG Opal 2.0/IEE-1667 support, garbage collection/TRIM, power-loss protection) and build quality (higher controller MTBF, NAND Flash write endurance) effectively making them far more solid solutions compared to earlier models (there used to be a time when SSDs would just die on us after just being used for a few weeks). However until the next SATA standard makes its appearance in the market in numbers SATA III based solutions (along with PCIex ones) are ontop of our list and so although we don't expect to encounter performance miracles still we need to check and compare all the models available in the market we can get our hands on. Today on our test bench we have the latest offering by Plextor the M6S 256GB SSD model.

 

   PLEXTOR is a world-leading developer of award-winning solid state drives, and other high-performance digital storage devices for professionals, consumers, and enterprises. The PLEXTOR brand of storage and multimedia products is owned by Shinano Kenshi of Japan. The PLEXTOR brand name was created in United States in 1993, and comes from two parts: PLEX and TOR. “PLEX” originated from the suffix of “multiplex”. Here, “multiplex” means relating to a system of transmitting several messages or signals simultaneously on the same circuit or channel, just as making silk which is being composed of many materials and needed a precise and delicate process. “TOR” originated from motor, which is the first product with Shinano Kenshi’s core technologies in electric industry. Since the introduction of our very first CD-ROM back in 1989, PLEXTOR has had an obsessive approach to quality and performance. As we grew, PLEXTOR’s legendary optical drives became the performance benchmark against which all others in the industry were measured. Today that legend lives on, not only in our new generation of Blu-ray drives but in our multi-award winning solid-state drives. As additional users discover the benefits of our high-performance SSDs, our engineers continue to insist that every PLEXTOR product be designed to deliver maximum reliability and true performance.

 

    Unlike the Crucial M550 and MX100 models that use the brand new Marvell 88SS9189 8-channel controller the M6S makes use of the earlier 88SS9188 4-channel controller and Toshiba's second generation 19nm MLC NAND flash. I do happen to have much faith in manufacturers with long histories behind them like Plextor but a 4-channel controller is more suited for mSATA SSD models so i don't really understand why they decided to use it with both their SATA III (M6s) and mSATA (M6M) models (lower cost?). The good news however is that according to their specifications sheet the 256/512GB variants don't seem to be taking much of a hit although i do expect the upcoming M6Pro model to carry an 8-channel controller by Marvell (perhaps the 88SS9189?). Another thing that separates the 88SS9189 from the 88SS9188 is that although the second does offer AES-256 support via ATA password it actually lacks the usual hardware encryption and support for TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE-1667 so it's obviously not as secure as some other models we've seen lately (although not really useful for most consumers). Personally I’m really curious to see how the M6S does both against its immediate competition and the M5Pro 256GB SSD model which we had the chance to test slightly over a year ago.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plextor ships the M6S inside a yellow and black box with a product picture at the front, their logo, model name, model capacity and True Speed logo.

 

 

The drives serial number, installed Firmware version and factory roll-out date are placed on the left side of the box.

 

 

At the rear we see a product description printed in 22 languages, the specifications table and several certification logos.

 

 

Plextor has placed just the quick installation guide inside the box to accompany their drive.

 

 

THE PX-256M6S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The silver housing of the PX-256M6S follows the typical 2.5" 7mm design.

 

 

Still remember seeing the Plextor name on my first SCSI CD Burner in the late 90's.

 

 

Although Plextor uses regular screws to secure the housing there's a security tape at the rear which will void your warranty if broken.

 

 

Printed on the large bottom sticker are the products barcodes, serial number, manufacture date, firmware version installed from the factory (we updated the firmware to v1.03), model name, electrical specifications, drive capacity and several certification logos.

 

 

At the rear we find the usual SATA power and data connectors.

 

 

As mentioned already removing the bottom cover is extremely easy.

 

 

Although the bottom end of the PCB is empty on the 256GB variant the 512GB model has 8 more NAND flash modules each 32GB in capacity.

 

 

A total of 8 Toshiba 19nm MLC Toggle Mode NAND flash modules are placed at the front side of the PCB (each 32GB in size).

 

 

Next to the NAND flash modules we find a 512MB DRAM cache memory module manufactured by SK hynix (there's one extra spot right above it possibly for the 512GB variant) and the Marvell controller.

 

 

The first thing you should do is to visit the official Plextor support page and download the latest FW update.

 

 

However unlike other SSD manufacturers Plextor requires you to burn the image onto a CD and boot from it in order to perform the FW update.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

   After roughly 6 years of testing sold state drives i have concluded that it's almost impossible for any single benchmark suite to accurately measure their performance and that's why in certain benchmark suites we see amazing read/write performance numbers with some drives while in others things are quite different. The reason behind this is that some benchmarking suites are configured to read and write random chunks of data while others read and write constant (sequential) ones. So that's why i always use a very wide selection of benchmarking suites including AIDA64, HD Tach RW, HD Tune Pro, Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoftware Sandra Pro, AS SSD, IOmeter and ATTO. To get the most accurate results each test gets repeated a total of 6 times with the average performance numbers recorded into our charts.

 

   Many people made inquiries about the charts ever since the last comparison so once again please do keep in mind that the Charts have the average performance numbers of each drive recorded and not the peak (highest) ones. Also although every single one of these programs can help potential buyers choose the right drive for their needs you should also remember that from any kind of benchmark up to real world usage the gap is not small (and usually most differences will go unnoticed by most people). All tests were performed in a fresh Windows 7 Ultimate x64 installation with every update installed up to July 19th 2014.

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TUNE PRO / HD TACH RW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AS SSD / IOMETER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   After wrapping up all tests of the PX-256M6S (M6S) we all sat down and tried to figure out what Plextor did wrong this time over since although marginally better compared to the previous generation PX-256M5Pro model (M5 Pro) it didn't do so well against its immediate competition like the M550, 840EVO and even the Slim S55 by Silicon Power. Of course the performance difference between these models and the M6S sits at around 5-10% so it's not what we'd call game breaking but still having used the Marvell 88SS9188 4-channel NAND flash controller these results should be expected by Plextor and that's why we don't understand why they deliberately chose the 4-channell 88SS9188 controller over the more advanced 88SS9189 8-channel controller (perhaps they want that controller to be used just by their upcoming M6Pro model?). The 3 years warranty is certainly a nice touch (although the M5Pro came with 5 years) and we all know what kind of support one can expect from Plextor but for people who place performance above all else these just might not be enough.

 

   Up until just 10-15 years ago Plextor products used to cost a lot more compared to their immediate competition largely because of their superior build quality and excellent support something which most consumers didn't enjoy. For good or bad things have changed since then and so currently Plextor products cost roughly the same as their competition and the PX-256M6S 256GB SSD is certainly not an exception since it currently retails for USD138.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 140Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). However even at that price tag Plextor still has to deal with the slightly better priced M550/840EVO models since they offer better performance and more features (including native AES-256 hardware encryption and support for TCG Opal 2.0/IEE-1667). Overall Plextor can still have a winner in their new M6S if they manage to cut down the price a bit further (even a 10% should do the trick) but as things are although it still gets recommended by us to people looking for a good performance SSD it simply falls behind its immediate competition.

 

PROS

- Build Quality (Toshiba 19nm Toggle-Mode NAND Flash/Marvell Controller)
- Good Performance
- 3 Years Warranty

 

CONS

- Overall Performance (Compared To The Competition)
- Price (Compared To The Competition)