Model: Plextor PX-128M2S 128GB Solid State Drive
Manufacturer: Plextor
Provided By: Plextor LLC

As one of the biggest names in the storage industry, Plextor doesn't need much of an introduction. For more than a decade, they've produced some of the best optical drives the industry has seen. Known the world over for their quality, performance and features, these drives have become favorites among consumers and professionals alike. Today, Plextor continues to lead the way by bringing cutting edge storage technologies to market. Along with a vast assortment of high-performance DVD and Blu-ray drives, the company offers a growing number of NAS devices, external hard drives and solid state drives.

At the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, Plextor unveiled its new PX-M2 series SSDs. Designed by Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS), the PX-64M2S, PX-128M2S and PX-256M2S are powered by Marvell's 88SS9174 controller chip and packs 128MB of on-board cache as well as a SATA 6Gb/s interface. Plextor's PX-M2 series SSDs also feature support for the Windows 7 TRIM command, dynamic wear leveling and the company's own Instant Restore technology which overcomes the problem of slower performance after prolonged usage.

For this review, Plextor sent us the PX-128M2S. This 128GB SSD is capable of delivering up to 420MB/s sequential read and 210MB/s sequential write speeds as well as up to 15,000 random read and 9,000 random write IOPS.

   Plextor PX-128M2S 128GB Solid State Drive
General Specifications
Capacity 128GB
Flash Type Multi-Level Cell (MLC)
Controller Marvell 88SS9174-BKK2
Cache 128MB DDR3
Form Factor 2.5-inch
Interface SATA III 6Gb/s

Performance
Sequential Read 420 MB/s Max
Sequential Write 210 MB/s Max
Random Read (IOPS 4K) 15,000 Max
Random Write (IOPS 4K) 9,000 Max

Reliability
MTBF 1.5 million hours

Power Consumption
Active 0.75W
Idle 0.25W

Environmental
Operating Temperature 32 ºF to 158 ºF (0 ºC to 70 ºC)
Shock 1500G/0.5 ms
Vibration 7~800Hz, 2.17G (RMS)

Dimensions and Weight
Dimensions 2.75 x 0.3 x 4.0 inch
Weight 80g

Other Features
Instant Restore Function
Supports TRIM, SMART, NCQ, ATA/ATAPI-8
Supports data encryption
Firmware upgradeable
Dynamic wear-leveling
Includes Acronis True Image
Three year warranty

Needless to say, this is only a taste of what the PX-128M2S has to offer. To give you an idea of what to expect, we'll take a closer look at Plextor's new 128GB SSD and then see how well it performs.  Does the PX-128M2S have what it takes? Can it deliver the performance and features that we've come to expect from Plextor? Keep reading as we find out.


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