Final Thoughts
Pricing
As a performance drive targeted at the mid to high-end region of the consumer market, Plextor have taken a leaf out of Crucial’s book with pricing that is highly competitive; barely tipping over the $0.52/GB mark in the process. In the US M6S Pricing starts at around £80 for a 128GB drive, working up to $290 for 512GB whilst in the UK we see prices starting at £65 rising up to £250. In the case of the 256GB that we’ve got here, prices of £110 / $131 are available through the respective Amazon outlets.
Overview
Rounding off our look across the entire M6 product range that Plextor has to offer, the M6S has delivered the same hard drive that both the M6e and M6M did when we looked at them previously. Aside from the strong levels of performance right throughout the test range, the price point is one of the M6S’ strongest selling points, pitting it very close to Crucial’s Mx100 which took the SSD market by the scruff of the neck and gave it a good shake up earlier in the year.
Going by the performance that is available on the M6e, which uses the same component set, I do wonder if the M6 family has a little more to give on the native SATA platform. We can clearly see from the performance charts that a little more oomph is hidden inside this drive and perhaps Plextor are keeping another card hidden up their sleeves – maybe in the form of the M6Pro? Only time will tell on this one.
As for a cheaper drive in the consumer market, the choice between choosing the humble hard drive and the new-age SSD for a new build or upgrade is starting to become much easier. As the levels of performance seen on the cheaper drives start to become more of a common occurrence, in some respects the days of the hard drive in the consumer environment are certainly numbered.
Pros:
- Competitive price point
- Marvell controller
- Consistent levels of performance
Cons:
- The 512GB M6S is still rather expensive compared to the 128GB and 256GB SKU’s
“Plextor’s M6S has rounded off the M6 family with a hat-trick of goals being scored. Where some brands fail to hit the nail right on the head in each area of the market, the M6 line with its M.2, mSATA and SATA drive has claimed an outstanding victory.”
Thanks to Plextor for providing this review sample.
