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Crucial CT256M550SSD4

M550 SATA M.2 256GB

▲ 500 ▼

Release date ≈ Q3 2014.

Average Bench: 92.5% (301st of 1072)

Based on 143 user benchmarks.  Model: Crucial_CT256M550SSD4
Poor: 58%Average: 92.5% Great: 112%

Popular builds with this SSD

Excellent average bench

The Crucial M550 SATA M.2 256GB averaged just 7.5% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Crucial M550 SATA M.2 256GB near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 132MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 90MB/s

Below average consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Crucial M550 SATA M.2 256GB is 54.3%. This is a relatively wide range which indicates that the Crucial M550 SATA M.2 256GB performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sustained Write Speed 313MB/s
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 362MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 143 samples)
Rank 30192.5%
Min Avg Max
361 Read 459 521
342 Write 436 478
222 Mixed 362 490
92 SusWrite 313 439
88.2% 393 MB/s
Min Avg Max
14.8 4K Read 26.8 32.2
26.8 4K Write 90 123
12.4 4K Mixed 33.7 46.6
131% 50.2 MB/s
Min Avg Max
21.9 DQ Read 262 385
49.4 DQ Write 258 343
3.5 DQ Mixed 132 236
134% 217 MB/s
User Benchmarks BenchSequentialRandom 4kDeep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
95GB free (System drive)
Firmware: MU01
SusWrite @10s intervals: 430 371 287 274 264 263 MB/s
102% Outstanding
Read 444
Write 450
Mixed 330
SusWrite 315
86% 385 MB/s
4K Read 29
4K Write 119
4K Mixed 42.9
162% 63.6 MB/s
DQ Read 372
DQ Write 318
DQ Mixed 229
203% 306 MB/s
141GB free (System drive)
Firmware: MU01
SusWrite @10s intervals: 334 341 331 342 325 334 MB/s
89.4% Excellent
Read 435
Write 436
Mixed 303
SusWrite 334
85% 377 MB/s
4K Read 26.7
4K Write 62.2
4K Mixed 34.7
118% 41.2 MB/s
DQ Read 329
DQ Write 345
DQ Mixed 230
202% 301 MB/s
167GB free (System drive)
Firmware: MU01
SusWrite @10s intervals: 331 327 328 348 353 360 MB/s
72% Very good
Read 421
Write 420
Mixed 304
SusWrite 341
84% 371 MB/s
4K Read 21.6
4K Write 39.7
4K Mixed 25.2
86% 28.8 MB/s
DQ Read 209
DQ Write 135
DQ Mixed 162
124% 169 MB/s
21GB free (System drive)
Firmware: MU01
SusWrite @10s intervals: 206 217 201 214 212 214 MB/s
51.9% Above average
Read 255
Write 328
Mixed 233
SusWrite 211
58% 257 MB/s
4K Read 9.4
4K Write 52
4K Mixed 22.1
70% 27.8 MB/s
DQ Read 76.5
DQ Write 228
DQ Mixed 126
104% 144 MB/s
143 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 75,666,910 SSDs tested

 Prices

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AmazonUS $1685 years
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Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU GPU SSD HDD RAM MBD
Typical M550 SATA M.2 256GB Builds (Compare 257 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings
Gaming
Gaming 47%
Yacht
Desktop
Desktop 84%
Aircraft carrier
Workstation
Workstation 40%
Jet ski

Motherboard: Asrock Z97E-ITX/ac - $165

CPU
Core i7-4790KIntel  $348Bench 79%, 455,746 samples71x
Core i5-4690KIntel  $53Bench 70%, 229,359 samples36x
Core i7-4790SIntel  $60Bench 72%, 13,224 samples24x
GPU
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia  $117Bench 56%, 1,368,019 samples18x
HD 4600 (Desktop 1.25 GHz)Intel  $15Bench 3%, 230,189 samples16x
GTX 970Nvidia  $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples15x
SSD
M550 SATA M.2 256GBCrucial  $168Bench 92%, 143 samples1x
RAM
BLS8G3D1609DS1S00. 2x8GBCrucialBench 55%, 48,796 samples22x
Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x8GBHyperXBench 59%, 122,541 samples17x
TridentX DDR3 2400 C10 2x8GBG.SKILLBench 67%, 24,592 samples8x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 64% - Good Total price: $797

Popular M550 SATA M.2 256GB compatible motherboards:

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

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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
Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) April 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.

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Speed Comparisons

vs Crucial MX500 250GB
vs Samsung 850 Evo 120GB
vs Samsung 860 Evo 250GB
vs Samsung 870 Evo 250GB
vs Samsung 850 Pro 512GB
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vs HyperX Savage 240GB
vs Crucial MX300 275GB
vs Samsung 850 Evo 1TB

1072 Drives (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list

See how consistently different SSDs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Devices FAQ
What is sustained sequential write speed?
What’s the difference between SLC, MLC and TLC?
What is 3D XPoint and how fast is it?
What’s the difference between SATA, PCIe and NVMe?
What’s the difference between NAND and V-NAND?
What is sequential write speed?
What is sequential read speed?
What is incompressible data?
What is queue depth?
Solid State Drives
What is the SSD value for money rating?
What is 4K 64 thread write speed?
Can CPU power saving states (C1,C2,C3) impact SSD speed?
What is the effective SSD speed index?
How is the AS SSD write score calculated?
How is the AS SSD read score calculated?
How is the AS SSD total score calculated?
ALL FAQs »

 Best User Rated
The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $279Nvidia RTX 4060 $300Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $125Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $182Nvidia RTX 4070 $409Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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