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 M3S is the second series of drives to ship with their 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 M3S'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. This had very little impact on the PX-256M3S's read speed. However, its average writing speed dropped to 100.9 MB/s when in this "dirty" state.
Plextor PX-256M3S - Dirty
To see how well the PX-256M3S 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 the drive's average writing speed had increased to 258.8 MB/s.
Plextor PX-256M3S - After Instant Restore and TRIM
Lastly, I used LtnSSD to pre-format the PX-256M3S. With the drive wiped clean, its read speed jumped back up to 289.4 MB/s.
Plextor PX-256M3S - Wiped
Final Thoughts:
If you're looking for the best bang for your buck, Plextor's new M3S series SSD just might be it. Based on the same Marvell 88SS9174 controller as the company's M2P series, the M3S combines Toshiba's 24nm Toggle NAND flash with Plextor's exclusive True Speed technology to deliver some great, all around performance. In our sequential read and write tests, the PX-256M3S was able to read at speeds as high as 508 MB/s and write at speeds in excess of 350 MB/s. These numbers aren't as high as what we've seen with some of the newer SandForce-based drives. However, the M3S performs equally well with compressible and incompressible data and, thanks to technologies like Instant Restore, Global Wear Leveling and Bad Block Management, is able to sustain these speeds, even after intensive use.
The M3S series is available now in 128GB and 256GB capacities and a 512GB version is coming later this year. The PX-128M3S currently retails for about $185 with the PX-256M3S reviewed here going for around $389 on Amazon or for as little as $365 at places like Newegg.
Highs:
- True Speed technology
- Available in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB capacities
- Fast sequential read speeds
- Performs equally well with compressible and incompressible data
- Consistent performance, even after intensive usage
- SATA 6Gb/s interface
- Toggle NAND flash
- Massive 512MB cache on PX-256M3S and PX-512M3S
- Exclusive firmware with Instant Restore, Global Wear Leveling and Bad Block Management
- Supports TRIM, SMART and NCQ
- Low power consumption
- Includes a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket
- Includes NTI SSD Utility Suite
- 5 year warranty
Lows:
- Not as fast as SandForce-based SSDs when reading and writing compressible data
- Slower than M2P series when doing sequential writes
