On this review, we are taking a good look at Plextor’s M9PEY NVME PCI-E SSD. What we’ve got is the 512GB model in attached to an HHHL PCI-E form factor, featuring 3D NAND flash memory inside. This is technically the badass cousin of the M9PEGN we tested just recently.
The Plextor M9PEY has 3 main SKUs to choose from with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB models at bay. We got the 512GB variant, with transfer speeds rated up to 3200MB/s read and 2000MB/s write. Learn more from the official product page and get it at Amazon.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
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Specifications |
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| Model | PX-256M9PeY | PX-512M9PeY | PX-1TM9PeY |
| Capacity | 256 GB | 512 GB | 1 TB |
| Cache | 512 MB LPDDR3 | 512 MB LPDDR3 | 1024 MB LPDDR3 |
| Controller |
Marvell 88SS1093 |
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| NAND Flash |
TOSHIBA BiCS3 3D TLC |
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Performance (Under Windows NTFS) |
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| Sequential Read Speed (MB/s) | Up to 3,000 | Up to 3,200 | Up to 3,200 |
| Sequential Write Speed (MB/s) | Up to 1,000 | Up to 2,000 | Up to 2,100 |
| Random Read Speed (IOPS) | Up to 180,000 | Up to 340,000 | Up to 400,000 |
| Random Write Speed (IOPS) | Up to 160,000 | Up to 280,000 | Up to 300,000 |
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Environment and Reliability |
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| Power Requirement | DC 12V 1.0A (Max.) at PCIe Slot | ||
| Temperature | 0℃ ~70℃ / 32℉ ~ 158℉ (Operating) | ||
| MTBF | >1,500,000 Hours | ||
| Endurance (TBW) | 160 | 320 | 640 |
| Warranty |
5 years |
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Compatibility |
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| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1, 10/ Linux OS | ||
| Supported | UL, TUV, FCC, CE, BSMI, VCCI, RCM, KCC, EAC, ROHS, WHQL | ||
| Agency Approval | TRIM, S.M.A.R.T, IO queue, NVMe command | ||
| Command Set Support | M.2 PCIe Gen 3 x 4 with NVM Express | ||
| Interface | Supported | ||
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Form Factor and Connectors |
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| Form Factor | Standardized PCI Express Card with Half-Height/Half-Length | ||
| Power Connector | DC 12V PCI Express Slot | ||
| Data Connector | PCI Express Slot | ||
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Dimension and Weight |
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| Dimension (L x W x H) | 176.33 x 121.04 x 22.39 mm / 6.94 x 4.77 x 0.88 inch | ||
| Weight (Max.) | 200g / 7.05oz | ||
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Package Content |
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| Drive | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB SSD | ||
| Accessory | Half-Height Bracket | ||
Plextor provided all the necessary information to get us started with the drive. That being said, the M9PEY is definitely no slouch when it comes to technical specifications.
PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES:
The PCI-E SSD is packed inside a larger than usual Plextor packaging. It aint flimsy and comes with a cardboard internal packaging to keep everything together.
Inside, you’ll find a screw for the expansion slot mounting. There’s also a Half-Height, Half-Length (HHHL) bracket should you require the SSD to be mounted on a slim chassis. A manual is also provided.
DESIGN, LAYOUT AND CONNECTIVITY:
The Plextror M9PEY NVME PCI-E SSD is technically a PCB married to a solid block of aluminum. Think of it as the Plextor M9PEGN but a whole lot better in terms of styling and thermals.
Style meets function with the M9PEY’s heatsink. It’s a prettier sight compared to their older generation M8PE drives.
The back of the SSD is bare at best which is not bad considering that Plextor had the PCB coated in matte black.
Finally, we get to see the RGB light bar on the M9PEY. It’s rather slim but it just works. Do note that this is not compatible with motherboard lighting suites. No headers, nada. Just a working light bar that produces rainbows.
TEST SETUP AND METHODOLOGY:
Our storage device reviews revolves around the use of various storage benchmark tools and real world benchmarks. Our setup fills up the test drive to at least 50% of its capacity. This is done so to negate the FOB (Fresh Out the Box) performance of the drive; ensuring that we are testing the drive near its expected usage. The drive is formatted under NTFS and is attached to its natively supported interface. This is to ensure the system is at its optimal testing state.
| TEST SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS | |
| PROCESSOR | Intel Core i5-6600K |
| MOTHERBOARD | ASUS Z170-A |
| CPU COOLER | Cryorig C1 Top Flow |
| MEMORY KIT | Crucial Ballistix Tactical @ 2666MHz 4x4GB Kit |
| GRAPHICS CARD | ASUS GTX 1060 STRIX OC 6GB |
| INTERNAL STORAGE | Crucial BX200 480GB |
| POWER SUPPLY | CORSAIR RM850X 850W |
| DISPLAY | 27″ DELL U2715H + LG 43UF680T 4K UHD TV |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Microsoft Windows 10 Pro |
THROUGHPUT PERFORMANCE:
Throughput performance measured in MB/s is measured with CrystalDiskMark. First up on the test is the Sequential read and write performance, measured with a block size of 1MB, 1GB transfer size and 32 Queue Depth. This test is more in line with large file transfers; similar to watching a movie.
The second one is the Random 4K read and write performance, measured with a random block size of 4KB, 1GB transfer size and 32 Queue Depth. This test is more in line with small file transfers; similar to transferring installation files and reading game data.
The sequential transfer rate of the M9PEY is excellent – able to achieve 3199 MB/s for the read and 2035 MB/s for the write. Random 4K performance is great at 614 MB/s for the read and 525 MB/s for the write respectively.
IOPS PERFORMANCE:
Input/Output Operations per Second is is measured with AS SSD. The Random 4K-64Thrd read and write benchmark is used for this test. Performance is measured with a random block size of 4KB, a 1GB transfer size and 64-thread IO requests. This tests the storage medium’s ability to use Native Command Queuing (NCQ) at higher Queue Depth. A Useful metric for server side applications.
IOPS for the Random 4K-64Thrd read and write benchmarks are within NVME specs though we can’t reach the advertised speeds via our selected benchmark.
ACCESS TIME PERFORMANCE:
The read and write latency is measured with AS SSD using a 512KB block size. Access Time is just as important as the throughput and IOPS performance of the drive; allowing us to peak into how fast or slow a storage medium can access a given data. Latency is measured in milliseconds.
Read latency is recorded at 0.021ms, while the write latency is at 0.028ms. Excellent results for the Plextor M9PEY. The best access times we recorded vs the other drives tested.
REAL WORLD PERFORMANCE:
Our real world performance test consists of 3 file folders containing 6GB worth of text files, images and videos each. The files are copied within the drive using TeraCopy to evaluate the storage medium’s performance. File copy performance is measured in seconds.
The Plextor M9PEY recorded the fastest file copy performance we got from any drives. A testament of the SSD’s performance with large and small file transfers.
WRAPPING IT UP:
The Plextor M9PEY is a stupidly fast PCI-E x4 SSD. It is intended to function as a high performance storage solution with looks to back it up.
Plextor’s M9PEY is generally fast. Technically the fastest on our list considering all the test we did. Still, IOPS figures could be a little better. This is baffling since the M9PEY shares the same amount of cache, the same controller and 3D NAND with the M9PEGN. We tried different boards, chipsets and configurations as well. The cache on this drive is just weird.
The Plextor M9PEY sits at $275 USD. That’s about 40 dollars more than the bare model which is justifiable considering the SSD’s performance, cooling and aesthetics.
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Plextor M9PEY NVME 512GB RGB PCI-E SSD
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PERFORMANCE - 9/10
9/10
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BUILD QUALITY - 9/10
9/10
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FEATURES - 8/10
8/10
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AESTHETICS - 9/10
9/10
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VALUE - 7/10
7/10
Summary
The Plextor M9PEY sits at $275 USD. That’s about 40 dollars more than the bare model which is justifiable considering the SSD’s performance, cooling and aesthetics.
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