Plextor M6E PCIE SSD - 256gb for $299

[handheldgames]

Available here:
http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=20-249-043

Reviewed here:
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6147/plextor-m6e-256gb-pcie-ssd-review-breaking-the-chains-of-sata-iii/index.html

The first round of NGFF M.2 PCIE ssd's are finally available for the pre-2014 cMP's.

It's the first, not the fastest, better than sata3. A nice option for early adopters.

 

[mikeboss]

I installed mine a few days ago and I'm loving it. can read at up to 700MB/Sec. and it works flawless! I have also a SAMSUNG XP941 on order which should run just fine in the PLEXTOR adapter card...

 

[handheldgames]

I installed mine a few days ago and I'm loving it. can read at up to 700MB/Sec. and it works flawless! I have also a SAMSUNG XP941 on order which should run just fine in the PLEXTOR adapter card...

Congrats! It's great to hear more users are jumping in nMP class storage for their cMP! Which slot are you running in? I had issues with slot 2 on my '09. Relocating to slot 3 solved the issue. I'm in the process of relocating a FL1100 usb3 controller to my mPCIE slot to make room for more flash.

 

[mikeboss]

SLOT 4: KT4004 USB 3.0
SLOT 3. PLEXTOR M6e PCIe SSD
SLOT 2: AXXON RS-232
SLOT 1: ATI Radeon 5770

I wish there were more slots so I didn't have to sacrifice my third ethernet interface (need it for testing of network appliances). luckily I still have a bunch of Apple USB ethernet adapters around. I never tried the PLEXTOR in slot nr. 2. what kind of issues did you expirience when the PCIe SSD was in 2nd slot?

did I get this right, you found a mini-PCIe USB 3.0 controller with the fresco-logic chipset? where??? what model? I don't need the AirPort card.

 

[HuntingPudel]

It looks like a nice product for the casual user, according to the article. Their tests were very Windows-centric, though. Do any of y'all have a seat of the pants evaluation or any benchmarks to share under Mavericks? Do you think that this PCIe solution will work in a 1,1 Mac Pro?

 

[handheldgames]

The trick is to use an adapter to go from mini pcie to express card. There are plenty of express card solutions with the FL1100 chipset. Although it costs $59 + 15, it's worth freeing up a PCIE slot. I had wake from sleep issues with slot 2.

SLOT 4: KT4004 USB 3.0
SLOT 3. PLEXTOR M6e PCIe SSD
SLOT 2: AXXON RS-232
SLOT 1: ATI Radeon 5770

I wish there were more slots so I didn't have to sacrifice my third ethernet interface (need it for testing of network appliances). luckily I still have a bunch of Apple USB ethernet adapters around. I never tried the PLEXTOR in slot nr. 2. what kind of issues did you expirience when the PCIe SSD was in 2nd slot?

did I get this right, you found a mini-PCIe USB 3.0 controller with the fresco-logic chipset? where??? what model? I don't need the AirPort card.

 

[RamCity]

I installed mine a few days ago and I'm loving it. can read at up to 700MB/Sec. and it works flawless! I have also a SAMSUNG XP941 on order which should run just fine in the PLEXTOR adapter card...

Mike - have you tried installing the XP941 in the Plextor M6e adapter card yet? It's impossible to tell (at least from the Plextor documentation) if the adapter card itself supports PCIe x4 or just PCIe x2. The Toms hardware review says it's a x4 adapter though, so I'm hopeful it will work with the XP941.

thanks, Rod

 

[mikeboss]

rod,

I'm pretty sure that the Plextor card is a 4 lanes adapter. according to your very helpful "M.2 (NGFF) SSD Compatibility List" it should be PCIe x4. unfortunately the dealer over here in switzerland was not honest about having the samsung in stock... and, according to others, they are not very well mannered either when it comes to refunding. so, I'm still waiting for my XP941 to arrive.

regards,
michael

 

[RamCity]

Unfortunately the dealer over here in switzerland was not honest about having the samsung in stock... and, according to others, they are not very well mannered either when it comes to refunding. so, I'm still waiting for my XP941 to arrive.

Michael,

That's a bummer. Let me know if you need an alternative source. Other than ourselves I have a colleague in Ireland who can service your region and always carries stock of the xp941. Pricing on them has fallen quite a bit now too that the Plextor P6e is at retailers. Rod

 

[Hellhammer]

Mike - have you tried installing the XP941 in the Plextor M6e adapter card yet?

I'll be able to try this in the next few days

 

[mikeboss]

Mike - have you tried installing the XP941 in the Plextor M6e adapter card yet? It's impossible to tell (at least from the Plextor documentation) if the adapter card itself supports PCIe x4 or just PCIe x2. The Toms hardware review says it's a x4 adapter though, so I'm hopeful it will work with the XP941.

thanks, Rod

rod,

after almost a month of waiting, the SAMSUNG XP941 SSD (256GB) has finally arrived.

just like I assumed: the PLEXTOR PCIe adapter card is fully compatible with the SAMSUNG XP941 and the system-profiler shows a 4x connection. sequential read goes up to 990 MB/Sec

regards,
michael

 

[RamCity]

rod,

after almost a month of waiting, the SAMSUNG XP941 SSD (256GB) has finally arrived.

just like I assumed: the PLEXTOR PCIe adapter card is fully compatible with the SAMSUNG XP941 and the system-profiler shows a 4x connection. sequential read goes up to 990 MB/Sec

regards,
michael

Good to know! Thanks for reporting that Mike.

With a 512GB XP941, you can get even higher transfer speeds, about 1150MB/s as reported by barefeats.com here, and very soon on anandtech.com once Kristian (aka Hellhammer) has finished writing up his review.