The Plextor M8Pe (512GB) SSD Review
by Billy Tallis on December 14, 2016 9:00 AM ESTMixed Random Read/Write Performance
The mixed random I/O benchmark starts with a pure read test and gradually increases the proportion of writes, finishing with pure writes. The queue depth is 3 for the entire test and each subtest lasts for 3 minutes, for a total test duration of 18 minutes. As with the pure random write test, this test is restricted to a 16GB span of the drive, which is empty save for the 16GB test file.
With a relatively low queue depth, this test is mostly about the access latency of the flash itself, and it's no surprise that the heatsink makes no difference to the M8Pe's performance. The M8Pe is slightly faster than the older Intel SSD 750 and Samsung 950 Pro, but is slower than the OCZ RD400 and Samsung 960 Pro.
Power consumption is again higher than the competition, giving the M8Pe in either configuration a poor efficiency score.
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Performance increases relatively slowly as the proportion of writes increases; this is unsurprising given that we've already seen the M8Pe's strengths lie in its read speeds. The spike in performance in the final all-writes phase of the test is respectable and brings the average up to a typical score for this product segment.
Mixed Sequential Read/Write Performance
The mixed sequential access test covers the entire span of the drive and uses a queue depth of one. It starts with a pure read test and gradually increases the proportion of writes, finishing with pure writes. Each subtest lasts for 3 minutes, for a total test duration of 18 minutes. The drive is filled before the test starts.
The data rates on the mixed sequential I/O test are high enough that thermal throttling becomes a factor, and the presence of a heatsink improves the M8Pe's average by 11%. Performance in either configuration is a bit sub-par for an MLC-based PCIe SSD, but it's still at least twice as fast as any SATA SSD.
Power consumption is again the highest of any M.2 PCIe SSD, and efficiency isn't great.
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There appears to be a little bit of thermal throttling during the first phase of this test, but most of it occurs at the end when the workload is all writes.
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MrSpadge - Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - link
Considering your ADATA is quite small at just 1 GB, these will be a noticeable upgrade. Starting from a 1 TB drive, though, will likely not be noticeable (unless you're running significantly I/O limited workloads).Ratman6161 - Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - link
Assuming you meant 1TB rather than 1 GB. Can the majority of humans tell the difference? I can't speak to what the majority can tell but I can state my personal experience. My main system drive is currently a 250 GB 850 EVO. I've also had an opportunity to (though briefly) to use a system with a 950 Pro in it. For anything that I personally do, no, I could not tell the difference. Of course I don't do anything particularly storage intensive either. I'm most concerned with boot up time and how fast programs open, etc.To me, given pricing as it exists today, there are only really three drives mentioned that I would even think about. Assuming you need an m.2 form factor (which I currently don't so will stick with my 850 EVO) 960 Pro if you want the best performance available, 960 EVO if you want great upscale performance at a reasonable price, and the Intel 600 P if you don't need great performance but do need the M.2 form factor. But if the prices change it may well be possible to just buy the cheapest in the particular performance class you want.
sinPiEqualsZero - Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - link
Thanks to both of you. I did mean 1 TB, my bad. I have one of the DAN cases and will be building it out in Jan/Feb, that's why I asked. Looks like I'm sticking with SATA unless prices come down. Mayyyyybe the 960 EVO.Bruce427 - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
** [get] the Intel 600 P if you don't need great performance but do need the M.2 form factor. **Currently, the MyDigital BPX NVMe drives will significantly outperform the 600Ps, and for less money.
They also use MLC flash and have a full 5 year warranty.
I have several 950 Pros. I recently bought/installed a 240GB BPX for benchmarking/testing and at $107.85 (what I paid) it's a great little drive.
Death666Angel - Sunday, December 18, 2016 - link
MyDigital doesn't have European retailers it seems? At least nothing but one listing in Germany for a BP4. :/ddriver - Saturday, December 17, 2016 - link
No, 99% of the use cases won't show tangible improvement. SATA SSDs are already fast enough to eliminate storage as a bottleneck. You may have TB\sec and it will still not make a difference if the bottleneck is somewhere else.peterfares - Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - link
Why is there a power connector on top?Billy Tallis - Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - link
I think it's just an alternate power delivery path for situations where the PCIe slot doesn't provide enough. I didn't bother using it, since I was measuring power consumption through the PCIe slot.XabanakFanatik - Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - link
When are you going to redo new drives like the 960 Pro/Evo and RD400 with the angelbird wings PX1 so we can see how and if oerformance improves with a heatsink?Last year AT had redone benches from the 950 pro this way.
Billy Tallis - Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - link
At the moment, I'm more concerned with putting together an updated test suite for 2017. Once that's ready and everything's been re-tested, I'll go back and test the 960s with a heatsink. It'll probably be February, and probably won't be worth an article of its own.We already have the RD400A results in Bench, and the one thermal pad behind the controller that it uses was enough to eliminate thermal throttling (with one possible exception).