TRIM and True Speed:
While SSD's offer many benefits, there are some downsides to using flash memory. One of the biggest issues people run into is performance degradation. Over time, an SSD will run out of fresh blocks and will have to write over data the file system has marked as deleted. This procedure is very complicated and can slow an SSD's write speeds considerably.
To fix this problem, most manufacturers have added TRIM support to their SSDs. The TRIM command allows an operating system, such as Windows 7, to tell an SSD which data blocks are no longer in use. Using this information, the drive pro-actively erases these blocks and adds them to the free block pool.
The PX-256M2P is one of the first drives to ship with Plextor's exclusive True Speed technology. By leveraging the power of advanced firmware, True Speed ensures that the SSD works at its full potential even after extensive use and long periods of operation. Along with support for TRIM, the PX-256M2P's firmware incorporates Plextor's Bad Block Management, Global Wear Leveling and Instant Restore technologies. Where Bad Block Management and Global Wear Leveling optimize the way data is written on the drive, Instant Restore maintains "like new" performance by reorganizing data to maximize the number of free cells.
Plextor's True Speed technology works very well as I saw very little performance degradation, even after hours of testing. I was finally able to overwhelm it by using Iometer to fill the entire drive and then running a random write test for 20 minutes. Looking at the screenshot below, you can see that the PX-256M2P's average write speed dropped to 142.2 MB/s when in this "dirty" state.
Plextor PX-256M2P - Dirty
To see how well the PX-256M2P could recover, I let the computer sit for a few hours and then reran the test. Looking at the screenshot above, you can see that Instant Restore had reorganized data on about a quarter of the drive and the average writing speed had increased to 212.3 MB/s.
Plextor PX-256M2P - Instant Restore and TRIM in Progress
By the next morning, the entire process was complete. While the PX-256M2P wasn't able to reach the factory fresh performance shown in our earlier tests, its average write speed jumped up to 274.2 MB/s.
Plextor PX-256M2P - After Instant Restore and TRIM
Lastly, I used LtnSSD to pre-format the PX-256M2P. With the drive wiped clean, its read speed jumped back up to 303.0 MB/s.
Plextor PX-256M2P - Wiped
Final Thoughts:
If the PX-256M2P is any indication, Plextor is looking to be a serious contender in the SSD market. Targeted at power users and gamers, this limited edition SSD combines Marvell's 88SS9174 controller with Toshiba's Toggle Mode NAND flash. Add in 512MB of on-board cache and Plextor's exclusive True Speed technology and you have a drive capable of some pretty impressive performance. In our sequential read and write tests, the PX-256M2P was able to read at speeds as high as 506 MB/s and write at speeds in excess of 400 MB/s. These numbers aren't as high as what we've seen with some of the newer SandForce-based drives. However, the PX-256M2P performs equally well with compressible and incompressible data and, thanks to True Speed, is able to sustain these speeds, even after intensive use.
What's really going to make or break Plextor's M2P series SSDs is the price. This is something that Plextor has had a hard time with in the past. However, if the suggested retail prices of the PX-128M2P ($249) and PX-256M2P ($449) are any indication, the M2P series will probably end up costing less than most of the SandForce-based drives currently on the market. Of course, we'll have to wait and see what retailers are asking when they ship at the end of this month.
Highs:
- True Speed technology
- Available in 128GB and 256GB capacities
- Excellent sequential read and write speeds
- Performs equally well with compressible and incompressible data
- Consistent speeds, even after intensive usage
- SATA 6Gb/s interface
- Toggle NAND flash
- Massive 512MB cache on PX-256M2P
- Exclusive firmware with Instant Restore, Global Wear Leveling and Bad Block Management
- Supports TRIM, SMART and NCQ
- Includes a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket
- Includes Acronis True Image
- 3 year warranty
Lows:
- Not as fast as SandForce-based SSDs when reading and writing compressible data
