Plextor M5 Pro 256 GB Review.

The M5 Pro is a more performance-oriented product, and the hardware inside its chassis indicates that we should expect the M5 Pro to surpass our expectations of previous Plextor drives. For instance, the M5S we reviewed previously uses 25 nm synchronous NAND from Micron and Marvell’s 88SS9174-BLD2 controller, while the M5 Pro employs 19 nm Toggle-mode DDR from Toshiba and a more modern Marvell 88SS9187-BLD2 processor.
To see Toshiba’s 19 nm MLC flash in a retail product this early is remarkable. Mass production only started in July at the Yokkaichi plant in Japan. Of course, the question is whether an even smaller node negatively impacts the write endurance of Plextor’s latest and greatest, and we’ll get into that in more detail.
The M5 Pro also comes with Plextor’s customized firmware, which, as we saw in our M5S coverage, is both tweaked and tuned to augment performance in metrics that matter.
Beyond its performance advantage over the M5S, the M5 Pro also adds full drive encryption via AES-256 and the latest 128-bit error correction codes. A five-year warranty and accessory package round out the kit, reassuring customers of Plextor’s confidence in its handiwork, similar to what we’ve seen from companies like Intel.