IntelSSDSC2CW120A3
CrucialCT275MX300SSD1

Controller: LSI SandForce SF2281. Flash Memory: Intel Synchronous 25nm MLC. Release date: Q1 2012.

Controller: Marvell 88SS1074. Flash Memory: Micron 3D TLC. Release date: Q2 2016.

Real World Speed
Performance profile from 86,889 user samples
19,348 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 88% 17GB free
Worst Bench: 57% 37GB free (System drive)
Poor: 57% Great: 88%
SPEED RANK: 596th / 1074
67,541 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 95% 67GB free
Worst Bench: 53% 38GB free (System drive)
Poor: 53% Great: 95%
SPEED RANK: 494th / 1074
Effective Speed
Effective SSD Speed
74 % 79.4 % Slightly faster effective speed.
+7%
Read
Avg. Sequential Read Speed
392 MB/s 433 MB/s Faster read speed.
+10%
Write
Avg. Sequential Write Speed
156 MB/s 380 MB/s Hugely faster write speed.
+144%
4K Read
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed
32.1 MB/s Much faster random read.
+33%
24.2 MB/s
4K Write
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed
78.9 MB/s 84.7 MB/s Slightly faster random write.
+7%
Mixed
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed
209 MB/s 339 MB/s Much faster mixed IO speed.
+62%
4K Mixed
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed
36.4 MB/s Slightly faster random mixed IO.
+7%
33.9 MB/s
SusWrite
Avg. Sustained Write Speed
133 MB/s 217 MB/s Much faster sustained write speed.
+63%
Read
Peak Sequential Read Speed
446 MB/s 472 MB/s Slightly faster peak read speed.
+6%
Write
Peak Sequential Write Speed
179 MB/s 478 MB/s Hugely faster peak write speed.
+167%
4K Read
Peak 4K Random Read Speed
39.6 MB/s Much faster peak random read.
+40%
28.2 MB/s
4K Write
Peak 4K Random Write Speed
114 MB/s 117 MB/s +3%
Mixed
Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed
224 MB/s 402 MB/s Much faster peak mixed IO speed.
+79%
4K Mixed
Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed
45.5 MB/s Slightly faster peak random mixed IO.
+10%
41.4 MB/s
SusWrite
Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average
168 MB/s 273 MB/s Much faster peak sustained write speed.
+62%
Market Share
Based on 75,952,336 SSDs tested
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days)
0.02 % 0.03 % Much higher market share.
+50%
Value
Value For Money
3.29 % 11 % Hugely better value.
+235%
User Rating
UBM User Rating
53 % 55 % +4%
Price
Price (score)
$199 $100 Much cheaper.
+50%
Age
Newest
147 Months 95 Months Much more recent.
+35%
DQ Read
Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed
239 MB/s +1% 236 MB/s
DQ Write
Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed
169 MB/s 326 MB/s Hugely faster peak deep queue write.
+93%
AS-SSD Total
AS-SSD Total Score
792 Pts 972 Pts Stronger server IO.
+23%
DQ Mixed
Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed
191 MB/s 306 MB/s Much faster peak deep queue mixed IO.
+60%
ADQ Read
Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed
217 MB/s +0% 216 MB/s
ADQ Write
Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed
150 MB/s 257 MB/s Much faster deep queue write.
+71%
ADQ Mixed
Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed
164 MB/s 245 MB/s Much faster deep queue mixed IO.
+49%
Capacity
Capacity
120GB 275GB
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The Intel 520 Series was Intel's first SSD to feature a Sandforce 2281 controller. This controller has powered countless SSDs over the last three years but is now dated and is known to be limited in the area of incompressible write speed. The 120GB Intel 520 scored peak and average sequential read/write speeds of 514/157 and 421/133. These read speeds are good but the peak write of 157 MB/s lags the group leaders average of 313 MB/s by nearly 100%. This relative inability to write lowers the 520's overall effective speed to 403 MB/s or 15% lower than the 459 MB/s achieved by the group leaders. At two years of age the Intel 520 can no longer compete with newer drives, there is far better value available amongst the group leaders[Feb '14 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

The 275GB Crucial MX300 supersedes the MX200. Unlike its predecessor, the MX300 is TLC based and therefore suffers from weak write speeds in comparison to MLC drives. The MX300 utilises a sophisticated algorithm to enable fast burst write speeds provided that there is sufficient free space on the disk but as the drive fills up write performance drops to the relatively poor levels seen on other TLC drives (similar to mechanical drives). At current prices (70 USD) the MX300 competes well with other low end drives such as the OCZ Trion, Adata SP550 and Samsung 750 EVO. As stocks build the MX300 is likely to see further price cuts, so it could become a very interesting value proposition. See the current value leaders here[Sep '16 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) May 2024 SSD Rankings

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]

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Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.
How Fast Is Your SSD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

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.

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchmark
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
  • - Identify the strongest components in your PC
  • - See speed test results from other users
  • - Compare your components to the current market leaders
  • - Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
  • - Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware

 Frequently Asked Questions

 Best User Rated

The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $273Nvidia RTX 4060 $293Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-12600K $171Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i3-12100F $80Nvidia RTX 4070 $500Samsung 870 Evo 250GB $45
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $32Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $48SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $62G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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