Plextor Announces Speedy M6e PCIe SSD

While this is not the first time we're seeing Plextor's M6e PCI-Express SSD, it is not until now that Plextor has officially announced it.

The M6e SSD is actually an M.2 SSD that is slapped into a PCI-Express to M.2 adapter. While for newer motherboards this might not be all that interesting, it is very interesting for those who want more performance than a SATA3 (6 Gb/s) SSD can provide, but don't have a supporting M.2 slot.

The drives will come in capacities ranging from 128 GB to 512 GB. Read speeds for all the units are rated to be up to 770 MB/s, while sequential write speeds will range from 335 MB/s to 625 MB/s, depending on the capacity.

Plextor has also built the drive with AHCI support, meaning you won't have to mess around with drivers in order to get an operating system installed in the unit.

Regarding warranty, the unit has been given a five year warranty by Plextor. This is partly thanks to the extremely long MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of 2.4 million hours.

There has been no word on exact pricing yet, however, the unit will be available worldwide starting April 13. The week before that it will only be available through NewEgg USA, as they have an exclusivity week on the unit.

Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

  • SirKnobsworth
    Only 770 MB/s one PCIe x4 (it looks like)? That's not much faster than what SATA can achieve. Maybe it's an x2 card in an x4 adapter but that still seems a bit underwhelming.
    Reply
  • nekromobo
    The problem with PCIe-cards is that they add long wait on boot when the raid-controller firmware booting and checking its drive (might be even 2-3minutes). Thus it negates the benefits vs normal sata, that just boots. Its not a problem if you dont ever boot your machine but I do boot.How much this card adds to boot time?
    Reply
  • spentshells
    handle files is the point of this drive, not booting from it
    Reply
  • AlistairB
    Plextor 512GB pci ssd: $599 --- 700MB/sSeagate 480GB SSD: $240 --- 550MB/sYou decide!Enough said (-:
    Reply
  • AlistairB
    Plextor 512GB pci ssd: $599 --- 700MB/s Seagate 480GB SSD: $240 --- 550MB/s You decide! Enough said (-:
    Reply
  • AlistairB
    sorry... can't edit... can't use the enter key with these forums... sigh...
    Reply
  • thebigt42
    The problem with PCIe-cards is that they add long wait on boot when the raid-controller firmware booting and checking its drive (might be even 2-3minutes). Thus it negates the benefits vs normal sata, that just boots. Its not a problem if you dont ever boot your machine but I do boot.How much this card adds to boot time?
    I really don't care about the bit of increased boot time...my PC stays on most of the time anyway. I want access speed. 700 is a bit better than 550 but not for the cost
    Reply
  • SeanPabloTorres
    Not for the cost and not for a 2 minute boot time after getting used to fast start that is so 90's...
    Reply