Links International announced this week that Plextor's new M2P Series SSDs will be released in Japan on October 8th. Originally unveiled at Computex 2011, the PX-128M2P and PX-256M2P are powered by a server-grade Marvell 88SS9174 controller and share many of the same features found on the M2S Series, including a SATA 6Gb/s interface, TRIM support and Plextor's own Instant Restore technology. The M2P Series even appears to use the same Toshiba 32nm Toggle Mode NAND flash chips found on the PX-128M2S and PX-256M2S.
Despite the similarities, the M2S and M2P Series are quite different. Along with a totally redesigned 2.5-inch PCB and new features like Plextor's True Speed technology, the M2P Series has gotten a considerable speed increase. The 128GB PX-128M2P comes equipped with a 256MB DDR3 cache and is capable of delivering up to 500 MB/s sequential read and 300 MB/s sequential write speeds. The PX-256M2P packs twice the cache (512MB) which helps the drive reach a sequential write speed of 440 MB/s.
The PX-128M2P and PX-256M2P will be avaialble through Japanese retailers on October 8th and are expected to cost about 21,800 Yen ($284US) and 48,600 Yen ($632US), respectively. Plextor has not said if or when the M2P Series will be available in other markets. As we find out more, we'll let you know.
