The Plextor M8Pe (512GB) SSD Review
by Billy Tallis on December 14, 2016 9:00 AM ESTRandom Read Performance
The random read test requests 4kB blocks and tests queue depths ranging from 1 to 32. The queue depth is doubled every three minutes, for a total test duration of 18 minutes. The test spans the entire drive, which is filled before the test starts. The primary score we report is an average of performances at queue depths 1, 2 and 4, as client usage typically consists mostly of low queue depth operations.
The Plextor M8Pe's random read speed cannot match Samsung's 3D MLC-based 950 Pro or 960 Pro, but it is otherwise very good. The 30% lead over the OCZ RD400 is particularly notable given that it uses the same NAND as the M8Pe.
Power consumption is again higher than the rest of the M.2 PCIe SSDs, but given the good performance it does manage to be more efficient than the OCZ RD400.
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It appears that there is a little bit of thermal throttling happening on the M8PeGN in the final phase of the test at QD32, but otherwise it scales well as queue depths increase. Samsung's SSDs mostly saturate at QD16 while the M8Pe continues to scale up, albeit with diminishing returns.
Random Write Performance
The random write test writes 4kB blocks and tests queue depths ranging from 1 to 32. The queue depth is doubled every three minutes, for a total test duration of 18 minutes. The test is limited to a 16GB portion of the drive, and the drive is empty save for the 16GB test file. The primary score we report is an average of performances at queue depths 1, 2 and 4, as client usage typically consists mostly of low queue depth operations.
The random write performance of the Plextor M8Pe is better than the Samsung 950 Pro but falls behind more recent MLC-based PCIe SSDs, and Intel's SSD 750 is still the best.
The M8Pe's power consumption is only slightly worse than the OCZ RD400, but its efficiency is still substantially worse. The Samsung 950 Pro had even higher power consumption and delivered what is now unimpressive random write performance, so the M8Pe isn't the least efficient of the MLC-based SSDs.
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Performance increases relatively slowly for the M8PeY in the second half of the test, and actually decreases for the M8PeGN, indicating thermal throttling as power consumption hits 4 W.
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Magichands8 - Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - link
This is amazing! Tiny 128GB SSDs for $0.64/GB! And look at that 1TB for $0.51/GB! We even get to use a crappy Microsoft bundled driver for these! Who knows, in 2017 we may even get to see consumer SSDs reach $0.80, $0.90 or even $1+ per GB... Time doesn't stand still and neither does the endless march of progress. Brace yourselves guys, the future's going to be an amazing place.ironwing - Thursday, December 15, 2016 - link
What is a the reason that PCIe SSDs consume more power than SATA SSDs? Is it simply the higher speeds? The review covered the sleep state issues with the PCIe drives but when the drives are in a similar state, the SATA drives appear to be much more power efficient.Billy Tallis - Thursday, December 15, 2016 - link
I think the biggest problem is that the NVMe power saving states I'm testing don't include reducing the PCIe link speed or width. Keeping a PCIe 3.0 x4 link lit up takes a significant amount of power. The SATA drives by contrast are being told to put the SATA link in a low power state and take that as the signal to engage internal power saving mechanisms.bbhaag - Thursday, December 15, 2016 - link
Thanks for the great review Billy. I've been holding off on buying the Plextor for my new build hoping that Anandtech would put up a review and you guys delivered. Looks like they are solid drives at a mediocre price point. I knew I should have bought the 512 version when the egg had it for 179...sigh...oh well I can wait.DigitalFreak - Thursday, December 15, 2016 - link
$50 price difference for a heatsink? Really?Bruce427 - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
I think that price includes a PCIe card as well.Bruce427 - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
At first glance at published specks, it appears that the New Corsair MP500 NVMe drive may outperform the PlextorM8Pe for about the same price.Bruce427 - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
Sorry, spell check got me. That should have been "specs."Bruce427 - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
"specs"Billy Tallis - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
The Corsair MP500 uses the Phison E7 controller. Next week I should have a review up of the Patriot Hellfire that is essentially the same drive. It's slower than the M8Pe on almost every test.