Plextor M8V 512GB SATA III SSD Review

ATTO

Version and / or Patch Used: 2.47

ATTO is a timeless benchmark used to provide manufacturers with data used for marketing storage products. With ATTO, we are looking at maximum sequential performance with compressible data as well as the performance curve.

Compressible sequential read/write transfers max out at 564/527 MB/s. Both figures exceed factory specs. Keep in mind this is our OS volume, and it is filled to 75% of its total capacity.

Sequential Write

We would like to see a little smoother performance curve, but that may be the after effects of running this test within a couple of minutes of filling the drive. The M8V is delivering exceptional small file performance which is something we want to see. On the top end, the M8V is the best performing TLC equipped SSD in our test pool.

Sequential Read

We are looking for a nice smooth performance curve and good small-file performance. The M8V delivers a smooth performance curve, but only average small-file performance. Here again, we see the M8V delivering top-flight performance on the big end.

Anvil Storage Utilities

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1.0

Anvil's Storage Utilities is a storage benchmark designed to measure the storage performance of SSDs. The Standard Storage Benchmark performs a series of tests; you can run a full test or just the read or write test, or you can run a single test, i.e. 4K QD16. With Anvil's, we are focused on the total score.

We consider 10K IOPS at QD1 random read a milestone that very few SSDs are capable of delivering. Only the best can do it. We are hitting over 12K in this metric. However as with all SSDs that use an SLC buffer this type of performance only manifests itself when data is being read from the drive's SLC cache.

Scoring

Anvil's scoring typically provides us with a good indication of a drive's overall synthetic performance. We like to see a score of over 5,000, but the M8V doesn't quite get there. The M8V is outscored by the majority of the SSDs in our test pool.

(Anvil) Read IOPS through Queue Depth Scale

With a partition on the drive and 75% full, we are not quite able to hit factory max random read specs. Close enough though.

When reading random data, the M8V delivers performance that is on the lower-end of the spectrum. However, at QD1 which is by far the most important measurement, the M8V is really delivering the goods.

(Anvil) Write IOPS through Queue Scale

With a partition on the drive and 75% full, we are exceeding factory specs by almost 7K IOPS.

The M8V does well at QD1-2 but falls off at higher queue depths following closely the performance curve of Intel's 545s. Performance at QD1-2 is where it matters most, so with this in mind, the M8V is performing satisfactorily.