The MX500 is Crucial’s current flagship consumer SATA SSD featuring their latest second generation 64-layer 3D TLC NAND. It’s available in 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB capacities in a 2.5-inch form factor. All but the 2 TB version will also be available in M.2 (2280) form in the future. The MX500 features a Silicon Motion SM2258 controller which is a change from the Marvell 88SS1074 controller featured in the MX300 (it’s nearly two year old predecessor). Performance is around 30% better than on the MX300 which currently retails at the same price. The MX500 has an SLC cache which increases with drive capacity. Consequently, the larger capacities are better able to sustain high sequential write speeds. The 250 GB version has 250MB of SLC cache, the 500 GB has 512 MB, the 1 TB has 1 GB and the 2 TB has 2 GB. Extended sustained write performance tests show that even though speed does drop off after the cache has been exhausted, it is still maintained at very respectable levels. The MX500’s five year warranty is in line with Samsung’s 850 Evo and exceeds it in terms of endurance (just 75 TBW for the 250 GB 850 Evo versus 100 TBW for the 250 GB MX500). It doesn’t quite match up to the Samsung’s 850 Evo’s performance (effective speed 8% slower), however at current prices it is about 20% cheaper, and on balance offers better value for money. [Mar '18SSDrivePro]
Crucial’s BX300 SSD is a 3D MLC entry level SSD, with debut pricing in line with the Samsung's 850 Evo, the current market leader. The BX300 is one of the faster consumer SSDs available, with a 2% performance improvement over Crucial’s older MLC based MX200 and a 25% performance improvement over the TLC based MX300 which are both from Crucial’s more expensive MX product line. MLC NAND offers more consistent performance and has higher endurance than TLC NAND. Although Samsung’s 850 Evo (which is based on proprietary TLC V-NAND) has a 10% effective speed advantage over the BX300 the BX300 wins on write consistency. The 240GB BX300 has a three year warranty or 80 Terabytes Written (TBW) compared to five years or 75 (TBW) for the 250 GB 850 Evo. This makes for an interesting choice between the BX300 and the 850 Evo. Each model has an SLC cache which is proportional to its capacity, as a result the larger capacities offer better performance. The 120 GB BX300 has a 4 GB SLC cache, the 240 GB has 8 GB and the 480 GB has 16 GB. SLC caches improve burst write performance beyond the already respectable MLC write performance. Unfortunately, at least for now, the BX300 only comes in modest capacities, with the largest being 480 GB. For write consistency, thanks to its MLC NAND, the BX300 punches well above its price point. [Nov '17SSDrivePro]
Welcome to our 2.5" and M.2 SSD comparison. We calculate effective speed for both SATA and NVMe drives based on real world performance then adjust by current prices per GB to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top SSDs. [SSDrivePro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.