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The S3C comes in a simple, yet attractive, white box. In addition to the large "S3" series logo, the front advertises many of the drive's key features including its 256GB capacity, SATA 6Gbps interface, 3 year warranty and support for Plextor's PlexNitro, PlexTurbo, PlexCompressor and PlexVault technologies. The back of the box provides a bit more information regarding the S3C's features, specifications and box contents.
Plextor doesn't include a lot of extras with the S3C. Aside from the SSD, the only other thing in the box is a small, fold out guide containing warranty information as well as some brief installation instructions for both desktop and notebook computers in a number of different languages.
Physical Features:
Like Plextor's previous SSDs, the S3C is very well constructed. The drive's outer casing is made entirely out of metal. Along with it being strong and durable, it is very lightweight. On top of that, its brushed aluminum finish looks great.
The S3C is the first drive to use SMI's new SM2254 controller. According to various sources, the SM2254 is a custom version of the SM2258 that, for now, is specific to Plextor. The controller is powered by a 32-bit RISC CPU and offers support for 2D/3D MLC and TLC NAND flash from all the major NAND flash vendors. The SM2254 also employs SMI's proprietary NANDXtend error-correcting and data protection technology to triple the P/E cycles of TLC NAND. In addition, the controller features advanced Direct-to-TLC and SLC caching algorithms for optimal sustained read and write performance.
For the 256GB version of the S3C, Plextor has opted to use SK Hynix's 14nm TLC NAND flash. Looking at the pictures above, you can see that there are two 64GB NAND flash packages on either side of the PCB. The drive also has a single 512MB NANYA DDR3L memory chip that is used for caching.
