The test system used in this review was an HP dc7900. The computer came equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz CPU, 2GB of DDR2 800MHz memory, Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB SATA hard drive, NVIDIA Quadro FX570 256MB PCIe graphics card and Intel 82567LM-3 gigabit network card. For the operating system, I installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 Enterprise.
To test the performance of the Plextor PX-128M1S, I ran a series of benchmarks using CrystalDiskMark 2.2, HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0, ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.02, HD Tune Pro 4.01 and Iometer.
CrystalDiskMark 2.2:
First, I ran a few quick tests using CrystalDiskMark. This benchmark tool measures the performance of a storage device by testing its sequential read and write speeds as well as its random read and write speeds using blocks 512K and 4K in size.
 Plextor PX-128M1S - Clean |
 Plextor PX-128M1S - Dirty |
Out of the box, the PX-128M1S performed very well. The drive exceeded its rated speeds when both reading and writing. After a day or two of usage though, the SSD's write speeds dropped off considerably.
HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0:
Next, I used HD Tach to test the PX-128M1S's read, write and burst speeds as well as its seek times and CPU usage.
Plextor PX-128M1S - Clean
Plextor PX-128M1S - Dirty
Looking at the screenshots above, you can see that the PX-128M1S performed very well in its "clean" state. Unfortunately, after continued use, the SSD's average write speed dropped from 84 MB/s down to less than 50 MB/s.
ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.43:
I also used ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the PX-128M1S's sequential read and write speeds. The tests are run using blocks ranging in size from 0.5KB to 8192KB and the total length set to 256MB.
 Plextor PX-128M1S - Clean |
 Plextor PX-128M1S - Dirty |
With the PX-128M1S in its "clean" state, the read and write speeds topped out at about 177 MB/s and 94 MB/s, respectively. The SSD was able to maintain these read speeds after continued use. However, its write speeds peaked at only 52 MB/s.
