Plextor MP8eY 256GB PCIe SSD review – Great NVMe drive with reasonable price tag

In 2009, Plextor entered the SSD market with the introduction of the PX-M1 series SSD which are available in 64GB and 128GB capacities. After years of research and development, Plextor has launched its first M.2 with PCI Express Gen 2 x2 interface SSD. Plextor M8PeY PCIe SSD is the successor of the M6e, engineered with NVMe controller in order to take full advantage of PCIe lane.

I had a chance to review the Plextor M8PeY 256GB PCIe SSD together with our friends at Tech-Critter. I would like to give a big shout out to Plextor for making this review possible.

Unboxing the Plextor MP8eY

The M8Pe comes in a black box with some red gaming accent on it. Nothing much on the front except for Plextor’s True Speed and True Protect technology feature highlights. The M8Pe we got here is a 256GB in capacity, NVMe, and backed with a 5-year warranty.

Sequential and random transfer speeds are important when searching for a good SSD. On the back, Plextor has provided a brief explanation in a table, showing differences between transfer speed and capacities. That, along with more information on the SSD such as power consumption, weight, physical dimension and list of contents.

In the box we have the Plextor MP8eY PCIe SSD itself, a low profile bracket, user manual and screw.

Appearance

Instead of an aggressive design like its predecessor M6e(A) PCIe SSD, this new MP8eY comes with a sleek design along with LED lighting for better aesthetics.

Clean and smooth black PCB at the back, there’s nothing much except for the Plextor logo, label sticker, and a warranty void sticker.

On the top part, we can see the LED strips and a SATA power connector. Based on the details written on the back of the box, the MP8eY power consumption is 24 watts MAX as the X1 PCIe lane is just able to provide a maximum of 10W.

Specification

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Capacity	256GB
Controller	Marvell 88SS1093
Flash	Toshiba 15nm Toggle MLC
DRAM Cache	512MB LPDDR3
Form Factor	Standardized PCl Express Card with Half-Height/Half-Length
Interface	PCIe Gen 3 x4 with NVM Express
Power Connector	DC 12V PCI Express Slot
Data Connector	PCI Express Slot
Dimension (L x W x H)	182 x 121.04 x 22.39 mm / 7.17 x 4.77 x 0.88 inch
Weight	230g / 8.11oz (Max.)

[/table]

Testing Methodology

The Plextor MP8eY 256GB PCIe SSD is tested as a storage, operating system, and a drive for gaming. I ran several tests and some real world tests to determine the transfer speed and real world performances.

Test Machine

[table style=”table-hover”]

Processor	Intel i7 6900K
Motherboard	MSI X99A Xpower Gaming Titanium
Memory	Avexir Blitz DDR4 (4 x 8GB)
Power Supply	Aerocool 600W

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Before we tested the drive, we are told to make some adjustments on Windows settings to allow the SSD to perform at its peak performance.

Performance

Synthetics

Let’s start the benchmark with the most common SSD benchmark tool, CrystalDiskMark. Clearly, the Plextor MP8eY is a blazing fast storage solution.

AS SSD benchmark is said to be the best benchmark for SSDs. The result was a bit slower as the AS SSD tool simulates the worst possible scenario on transferring files.

Anvil’s Storage is the new tool that I decided to put in our benchmark list. The Anvil’s is said to have the complete set of tests that would be worthy to note for reviews.

Real world performance

A new addition for our reviews, we included several real world performances from yours truly. For the test, I tested game load times and file transfer speeds.

Game load test

Cost perGB

Conclusion

The Plextor MP8eY did very well in performance tests but it’s not one of the bests around. The price is reasonable at USD 199 (approximately RM829) and might be a good option for gaming system to boost the game load without any buffer time. It can also give a huge benefit for video editors, as loading the software and opening huge video files will not be a problem at all.

Compared to generic SSDs in term of price, it needs a more solid reason to justify why people should pick this over the rest. If I make a living with video editing, I might consider to get the Plextor MP8eY to improve my productivity as the price is reasonable for its performance. I awarded the Plextor MP8eY with the Silver Pokdeward.