In the State of Solid State 2011 we predicted that Plextor would be the first to market with a Marvell 88SS9174 controlled SSD and what do you know, we were right. Plextor is claiming that the new M2 is now shipping in the US with speeds up to 480MB/s read and 330MB/s Write. This new controller is the final version of what we tested from ADATA several months ago, the difference being that the controller is now ready for retail.

Personally I can't wait to get my hands on the new drive to see if it lives up to the hype we've been hearing since last June. The timing couldn't be better either since there is now a shortage of 3Xnm flash and many companies are moving their SandForce SF-1200 production to 25nm flash modules. The 25nm flash will work out really well for next generation SSDs but are causing headaches for unsuspecting owners who are finding their SF-1200 drives with 25nm flash to perform slower than the drives we've tested over the last year and two months. Look for a full story in the coming days as we are wrapping up putting the pieces together.

Plextor's New SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive Available Now

Plextor's M2 Series SSD is one of the first to support SATA 6Gb/s and one of the fastest SSDs in the market

(Fremont, CA - February 8, 2011) - Plextor LLC (http://www.plextor.com/), a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, announces the immediate U.S. availability of its new M2 Series SSD. Supporting the latest SATA 6Gb/s, the M2 Series SSD is currently one of the fastest SSDs available in the market.

Utilizing a Marvell 88SS9174 controller, this 2.5 inch SSD is available in three capacities: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. The 128GB and 256GB models each provide sequential read rate up to 480MB/s and sequential write rate up to 330MB/s, allowing users to read and transfer data much faster compared to other SSDs with SATA II interface.

"Plextor is pleased to continue building its presence in the SSD market by offering a new and faster generation of SSD," said Kathy Huynh, Product Marketing of Plextor. "The M2 Series SSD is ideal for any demanding gamer, system integrator or user who demands dependability but won't sacrifice speed."

By incorporating Plextor's Instant Restore technology and Dynamic Wear Leveling algorithm along with Windows 7 TRIM command support, the M2 Series SSD is able to manage memories ever so efficiently to overcome the performance loss typically associated with prolonged usage.

Also featured, are the 128MB DDR3 cache buffer resulting in even faster response times for consumers, and the large cache also helps ensures each drive will provide reliable and sustained performance over time.

With a MTBF rate beyond 1.5 million-hour, the M2 Series SSD comes with Plextor's three (3) year warranty and is bundled with Acronis True Image software which gives users instant tool for disk cloning and backup.

The M2 Series SSD is available now with the following MSRPs: 64GB ($179.99), 128GB ($329.99) and 256GB ($699.99).