Average Bench: 88.5% (356th of 1072)

Based on 2,451 user benchmarks.  Models: PLEXTOR PX-256M5Pro, PLEXTOR PX-256M5P

The Plextor M5 delivers fantastic value for money and sits within easy reach of the top handful of SSD's currently available. The M5's performance favours server type workloads where it takes joint fourth position in the AS-SSD total score benchmark. With a Real World Speed Index of 524.5 it will also cope very well with consumer workloads. Aside from its blistering performance we also like the fact that this drive uses the latest Marvell controller which hasn't suffered any of the reliability issues that plagued some of the early Sandforce based drives. When this drive first hit the shelves in September '12 it was overpriced but since then prices have dropped by nearly 40% making it currently one of top five value for money drives available. [Jun '13 SSDrivePro]

Very good average bench

The Plextor M5 Pro 256GB averaged just 11.5% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Plextor M5 Pro 256GB near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 179MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed 27.8MB/s

Average consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Plextor M5 Pro 256GB is 44.3%. This is a relatively wide range which indicates that the Plextor M5 Pro 256GB performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 283MB/s
Avg. Sustained Write Speed 361MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 2,451 samples)
Min Avg Max
335 Read 447 499
257 Write 377 432
223 Mixed 283 314
227 SusWrite 361 423
82.4% 367 MB/s
Min Avg Max
18.6 4K Read 27.8 34.5
35.9 4K Write 62.9 89
20.5 4K Mixed 32.2 41.5
117% 40.9 MB/s
Min Avg Max
33.3 DQ Read 307 379
76.8 DQ Write 263 336
39.2 DQ Mixed 179 222
163% 249 MB/s
User Benchmarks BenchSequentialRandom 4kDeep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
55GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 1.05
SusWrite @10s intervals: 384 421 392 409 427 397 MB/s
Read 490
Write 413
Mixed 173
SusWrite 405
83% 370 MB/s
4K Read 34.4
4K Write 93.1
4K Mixed 42.6
156% 56.7 MB/s
DQ Read 303
DQ Write 245
DQ Mixed 164
153% 237 MB/s
81GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 1.08
SusWrite @10s intervals: 374 419 420 383 414 406 MB/s
Read 447
Write 214
Mixed 300
SusWrite 403
76% 341 MB/s
4K Read 27.9
4K Write 74.3
4K Mixed 34.1
125% 45.4 MB/s
DQ Read 363
DQ Write 306
DQ Mixed 211
192% 293 MB/s
84GB free
Firmware: 1.08
SusWrite @10s intervals: 412 411 414 382 423 421 MB/s
Read 472
Write 406
Mixed 302
SusWrite 411
89% 398 MB/s
4K Read 27.4
4K Write 58.7
4K Mixed 33.2
115% 39.8 MB/s
DQ Read 373
DQ Write 303
DQ Mixed 208
191% 294 MB/s
145GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 1.03
SusWrite @10s intervals: 362 384 350 384 398 382 MB/s
Read 452
Write 347
Mixed 267
SusWrite 377
81% 361 MB/s
4K Read 25.3
4K Write 41.8
4K Mixed 26.6
94% 31.2 MB/s
DQ Read 286
DQ Write 261
DQ Mixed 170
156% 239 MB/s
2,451 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 75,664,780 SSDs tested

 Prices

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MSRP ≈ $211 @ launch in Sep '12
AmazonUS $1008 years
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Typical M5 Pro 256GB Builds (Compare 842 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings
Gaming
Gaming 23%
Surfboard
Desktop
Desktop 72%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 18%
Surfboard

Motherboard: Asus H81-PLUS - $180

EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 61% - Good Total price: $533

Popular M5 Pro 256GB compatible motherboards:

How Fast Is Your SSD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.

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How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchmark
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
  • - Identify the strongest components in your PC
  • - See speed test results from other users
  • - Compare your components to the current market leaders
  • - Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
  • - Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware
Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) April 2024 SSD Rankings

Welcome to our 2.5" and M.2 SSD comparison. We calculate effective speed for both SATA and NVMe drives based on real world performance then adjust by current prices per GB to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top SSDs. [SSDrivePro]

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Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

 Comments

Controller: Marvell 88SS9187-BLD2. NAND Memory: Toshiba 19nm Toggle Mode MLC

Super High Speed Profesionial SSD...

Added 11 years ago.

Liked

7 years ago.

Comment 

Faster than my Sandisk 240Gb in games (up to 2 seconds gaps in stages loading). Excellent product, no loss of speed after nearly 3 years of intensive use and many fomating. Plextor definetly took my heart with this one.—Sep '14


Disliked

9 years ago.


Poor

6 years ago.

Plextor is a very skilled SSD maker!


Excellent

10 years ago.

Review  hexus.net/...

Image  img.hexus.net/...
Dec '12 AS SSD Benchmark Speed Test

Dec '12 AS SSD Benchmark Speed Test

Review  thessdreview.com/...

Review  www.theregister.co.uk/...

Image  regmedia.co.uk/...
Oct '12 AS SSD Benchmark Test Score

Oct '12 AS SSD Benchmark Test Score


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1072 Drives (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list

See how consistently different SSDs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

 Best User Rated

The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $279Nvidia RTX 4060 $300Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $133Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $182Nvidia RTX 4070 $409Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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