X-bit labs

Since 1999 X-bit labs has been a major hardware review web-site covering all kinds of technology they often relate their reviews to usage and practical applications.  In this review they covered the M5 Pro and M5S vs. Plextor M3 Pro and M3   although we will focus on the M5 Pro

Reviewed: M5 Pro 256GB

Won: Overall: Editor’s Choice Award.

Reviewer commented:

“So far this is the fastest SSD with SATA 6 Gbit/s interface in our lab” “It is among the fastest SSDs in reading and writing with a long request queue, so we have no doubts it is going to make any computer highly responsive and fast in real-life applications.” “ It means that Plextor SSDs are going to always deliver consistent and predictable performance in TRIM-supporting environments, e.g. in recent versions of Microsoft OSes”.

X-bit Labs Review Highlight  – Steady state testing for  real-life usage scenarios

Plextor M5 Pro delivers steady state performance for media applications
X-bit labs use the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit with the specially developed SSD benchmarking suite addon.  This not only tests the dives in their steady state, but gives a chance to test different usage scenarios.  The M5 Pro scored the best overall mark in the tests and also came top in the media based applications that are important for multimedia workstations.  Other drives tested included the OCZ Vertex 4, Intel 520, Samsun 830, Corsair Force GS, & Crucial M4

The media workstation vital areas where the M5 Pro came top: Video Transcode, Photo export, File Copy from disk, and Archiving.  In most other scenarios it was in the top three.
In multimedia workstation applications which benefit most from fat storage the Plextor M5 Pro delivers

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/plextor-m5-pro-m5s.html