Plextor PX-256M5P 256GB SSD

The M5 Pro is nearly identical to the M3 Pro on the outside. Both drives use the new 7mm z-height form factor so they are designed for ultrabooks, but will work just fine in your regular notebook or desktop as well.

The drive is very light with its aluminum frame. All of the ID information for your drive is found on the back sticker.

The 7mm standard keeps the mounting points on the bottom and side of the drive in the same place as standard 9.5mm and even 15mm 2.5" form factor drives.

The SATA power and data connectors are also located in the standard 2.5" form factor locations. The included desktop adapter bracket offsets the drive to the side so these plug in points are in line with 3.5" form factor drives.

Getting down to business, the Marvell 88SS9187 controller is Marvell's latest offering and is the replacement for the aging 88SS9174 that Plextor used in the M2, M3 and M5S products.

The 9187 is an eight channel controller and Plextor used eight 19nm Toggle Mode NAND flash chips on the 256GB M5 Pro. On this side of the PCB we also see the dual Nanya DRAM chips that are 256MB each.

We couldn't let the Toshy 19nm pass through without a close up. We plan on abusing this flash over the next couple of days. We've yet to get official word from Toshiba on the endurance of this flash, but our unconfirmed report says Toshiba is specing 19nm out at 3000 P/E cycles.