CONCLUSION
The Plextor M5Pro Xtreme represents the latest offering in the world of SSDs for Marvell-controlled drives. With Intel and Samsung enjoying their seat in the top of the line segment, a lot of contenders are still in this market jostling for that coveted title of the fastest SSD on the planet. The Plextor M5Pro Xtreme is off to a good start and we’re hoping Plextor integrates more improved technology into their product but right now let’s focus on the M5Pro Xtreme. Score breakdown is as follows:
Performance is undoubtedly top of the line, overtaking our current favorite SSD as the top performing drive in the majority of our tests specially sequential writes which people who need large file chunks like game data packs read fast will appreciate. Smaller file performance is a bit of a disappointment considering that we’ve seen the Mavell-equipped Corsair Performance Pro perform so much better in the same scenario. We dock half-a-point for this. Overall, performance is still excellent.
Build quality is kept simple and clean with the overall feel of the drive just lacking in that quality feel with the aluminium feeling not that hefty for the price you’re paying especially such a premium component which needs to be protected. Not much of an issue for this 7mm SSD. Excellent.
Plextor’s M5Pro Xtreme is available as an update to M5Pro owners which earns it some goodie points in the functionality department granting it the ability to be available to more people. In relation to drive functions, the drive is just fast storage and with the small file performance showing signs of needing improvement, situations where this matters gets hampered reducing it to more defined duties such as a game drive. Above average.
The SSD bundle includes everything an upgrade needs to setup his shiny new SSD particularly a fully licensed cloning software, a 3.5″ drive bracket, screws and cables. The full software alone gives it quite an edge in this category. Excellent.
Price isn’t really one of the things that SSD makers are proud of. As SSDs grow in capacity, so does their price/GB which skyrockets. This fact alone scares the bejeezus out of upgraders and leaves anything 256GB and above a very niche market. And in all seriousness, not many people need this performance. Relative to SSD prices, the Plextor M5Pro Xtreme 256GB retails for ₱10,830, with the 128GB model at ₱5,900 making them sit in the about the same spot as most other SSDs.  Value is average.
All in all, the Plextor M5Pro Xtreme busts out very impressive performance across the board. You won’t get a recommendation from us as its too hard to call basing on the stats we got a lone. If we’re comparing based on the data we have alone then the Plextor M5Pro Xtreme is a no-brainer if you’re after flagship performance. Chuck in the likes of Samsung’s 840 and there’s your tough call. This all boils down on what you need specifically and if you’re after ridiculously stupid-fast sequential read/write on a 256GB SSD that is a bit cheaper than Samsung/Corsair/Intel then Plextor is your choice. Â The Plextor M5Pro Xtreme is stupid-fast. Nuff said.
Plextor backs the M5Pro Xtreme with a 5-year warranty.