The Plextor M8Pe (512GB) SSD Review

Sequential Read Performance

The sequential read test requests 128kB 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, and the drive is filled before the test begins. 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 heatsink makes a big difference for sequential read speeds: the M8PeY is essentially tied with the Samsung 960 Pro and EVO (both of which have the advantage of higher capacity). Without the heatsink, the M8PeGN delivers average performance for MLC-based PCIe SSDs.

The M8PeY with its large heatsink (and LEDs) draws significantly more power than any of the M.2 PCIe SSDs to deliver top-notch performance. Without the heatsink (but with thermal throttling) the M8PeGN is still one of the most power-hungry drives. Neither configuration offers great efficiency.

Plextor M8Pe(Y) 512GBPlextor M8PeGN (M.2) 512GBIntel SSD 600p 512GBIntel SSD 750 1.2TBIntel SSD 750 400GBOCZ RD400 512GB (M.2)OCZ RD400A 512GBSamsung 850 EVO 500GBSamsung 850 Pro 512GBSamsung 950 Pro 512GBSamsung 960 EVO 1TBSamsung 960 Pro 2TB

The sequential read performance of the M8Pe saturates at QD4 when the heatsink is used, but without the heatsink it is thermally limited for almost all of the test.

Sequential Write Performance

The sequential write test writes 128kB 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, and the drive is filled before the test begins. 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.

As with random writes and sequential reads, the heatsink makes a big difference for sustained sequential writes. Without the heatsink, the M8Pe's high power consumption leads to enough thermal throttling that it is the slowest MLC PCIe SSD in the bunch, but still substantially faster than SATA. With the heatsink, speeds are over 50% faster and the M8Pe is on par with the Intel SSD 750.

The power consumption situation is very similar to what we saw on the sequential read test. The thermally-limited M8PeGN draws a similar amount of power to the Samsung 960 Pro, while the M8PeY draws much more, and neither wins a prize for efficiency.

Plextor M8Pe(Y) 512GBPlextor M8PeGN (M.2) 512GBIntel SSD 600p 512GBIntel SSD 750 1.2TBIntel SSD 750 400GBOCZ RD400 512GB (M.2)OCZ RD400A 512GBSamsung 850 EVO 500GBSamsung 850 Pro 512GBSamsung 950 Pro 512GBSamsung 960 EVO 1TBSamsung 960 Pro 2TB

Without a heatsink, thermal throttling starts very early on this test, but the M8PeGN gets in enough of a burst at the beginning to have a noticeably better average at QD 1 than later in the test. With the heatsink, the M8PeY shows mostly flat performance across the entire duration of the test.