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CrucialCT240M500SSD1
CrucialCT256M550SSD1
$152
▲ 547,995 ▼

Controller: Marvell 88SS9187. Flash Memory: Micron Synchronous 20nm MLC. Release date: Q1 2013.

VS
▲ 527,484 ▼
 $152 

Controller: Marvell 88SS9189. Flash Memory: Micron Synchronous 20nm MLC. Release date: Q1 2014.

Effective Speed 
+18%
Real World Speed
Performance profile from 40,112 user samples
Benchmark your SSD here
31,779 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 91% 121GB free
Worst Bench: 57% 90GB free (System drive)
Poor: 57% Great: 91%
SPEED RANK: 551st / 1080
8,333 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 113% 106GB free
Worst Bench: 60% 231GB free
Poor: 60% Great: 113%
SPEED RANK: 328th / 1080
Effective Speed
Effective SSD Speed 		76.6 % 90.5 % Faster effective speed.
+18%
Average Score 
+24%
Read
Avg. Sequential Read Speed 		413 MB/s 418 MB/s +1%
Write
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 		256 MB/s 416 MB/s Much faster write speed.
+62%
4K Read
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed 		22.9 MB/s 27.1 MB/s Faster random read.
+18%
4K Write
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 		81.1 MB/s 85 MB/s +5%
Mixed
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 		291 MB/s 299 MB/s +3%
4K Mixed
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 		31.9 MB/s 37.9 MB/s Faster random mixed IO.
+19%
SusWrite
Avg. Sustained Write Speed 		194 MB/s 311 MB/s Much faster sustained write speed.
+60%
Peak Score 
+28%
Read
Peak Sequential Read Speed 		442 MB/s 466 MB/s Slightly faster peak read speed.
+5%
Write
Peak Sequential Write Speed 		276 MB/s 470 MB/s Much faster peak write speed.
+70%
4K Read
Peak 4K Random Read Speed 		26.5 MB/s 31.9 MB/s Faster peak random read.
+20%
4K Write
Peak 4K Random Write Speed 		116 MB/s 118 MB/s +2%
Mixed
Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed 		310 MB/s 333 MB/s Slightly faster peak mixed IO speed.
+7%
4K Mixed
Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 		38.4 MB/s 46.4 MB/s Faster peak random mixed IO.
+21%
SusWrite
Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average 		272 MB/s 459 MB/s Much faster peak sustained write speed.
+69%
Value & Sentiment 
+62%
Market Share
Based on 77,538,671 SSDs tested
See market share leaders
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days) 		0.05 % Hugely higher market share.
+150% 		0.02 %
Value
Value For Money 		12.2 % Much better value.
+40% 		8.68 %
User Rating
UBM User Rating 		54 % +4% 52 %
Price
Price (score) 		$73 Much cheaper.
+52% 		$152
Nice To Haves 
+20%
Age
Newest 		140 Months 127 Months Slightly more recent.
+9%
DQ Read
Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed 		328 MB/s 387 MB/s Faster peak deep queue read.
+18%
DQ Write
Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed 		264 MB/s 361 MB/s Much faster peak deep queue write.
+37%
AS-SSD Total
AS-SSD Total Score 		1,011 Pts 1,240 Pts Stronger server IO.
+23%
DQ Mixed
Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 		188 MB/s 240 MB/s Faster peak deep queue mixed IO.
+28%
ADQ Read
Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed 		296 MB/s 311 MB/s Slightly faster deep queue read.
+5%
ADQ Write
Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed 		238 MB/s 282 MB/s Faster deep queue write.
+18%
ADQ Mixed
Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 		166 MB/s 201 MB/s Faster deep queue mixed IO.
+21%
Specifications 
Capacity
Capacity 		240GB 256GB
Conclusion 
Average Bench 76.6%
Average Bench 90.5%

We had high expectations for the Crucial M500. Crucial have a long history of producing outstanding Solid State drives. Both the RealSSD 300 and the M4, three and two years old, were almost legendary in terms of reliability and performance. The M500 falls far short of our expectations. The drive is relatively cheap and as such we were expecting to compromise on performance but the M500 just falls too far short. With a Real World Performance of 377.5 MBps which is in the bottom 40% and an AS-SSD score of 901 points (50th percentile) the M500 demonstrates relatively weak real world and average server performance. The M500 is competing with the Sandisk Ultra which manages to squeeze out significantly more performance despite sitting in the same price bracket. [Jun '13 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

The 256GB Crucial M550 is a welcome improvement over the 240GB M500. The new Marvel 88SS9189 controller has addressed our primary concern with the M500 which was poor sequential write speed. With sequential read/write speeds of 510/478 MB/s the M550 has a healthy core performance profile. Comparing the M550 and M500 shows that the new M550 leads on nearly every single performance metric. Unfortunately the M550 is priced significantly higher than the M500 but prices will likely drop as retailers build up stocks of the new M550. A key comparable for the M550 is the similarly priced market leading Samsung Evo. Comparing the Evo and M550 shows that the Evo is around 11% slower in terms of effective speed. [Mar '14 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

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Welcome to our 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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 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?
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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?
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The Best
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Intel Core i5-12400F $111Nvidia RTX 4070 $500Crucial T700 M.2 4TB $370
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