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CrucialCT250MX500SSD1
CrucialCT128M4SSD2
$116
▲ 61653 ▼

Controller: Silicon Motion SM2258. Flash Memory: Micron 3D TLC. Release date: Q4 2017.

VS
▲ 52407 ▼
 $116 

Controller: Marvell 88SS9174-BLD2. Flash Memory: Micron Synchronous 25nm MLC. Release date: Q2 2011.

Effective Speed 
+69%
Real World Speed
Performance profile from 111,693 user samples
Benchmark your SSD here
77,177 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 123% 74GB free
Worst Bench: 73% 64GB free (System drive)
Poor: 73% Great: 123%
SPEED RANK: 252nd / 1072
34,516 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 72% 34GB free
Worst Bench: 44% 119GB free
Poor: 44% Great: 72%
SPEED RANK: 803rd / 1072
Effective Speed
Effective SSD Speed 		101 % Much faster effective speed.
+69% 		59.8 %
Average Score 
+85%
Read
Avg. Sequential Read Speed 		451 MB/s +4% 433 MB/s
Write
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 		394 MB/s Hugely faster write speed.
+115% 		183 MB/s
4K Read
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed 		33.7 MB/s Much faster random read.
+39% 		24.2 MB/s
4K Write
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 		83.4 MB/s Faster random write.
+14% 		73.1 MB/s
Mixed
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 		386 MB/s Much faster mixed IO speed.
+75% 		220 MB/s
4K Mixed
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 		45.4 MB/s Hugely faster random mixed IO.
+205% 		14.9 MB/s
SusWrite
Avg. Sustained Write Speed 		352 MB/s Hugely faster sustained write speed.
+139% 		147 MB/s
Peak Score 
+93%
Read
Peak Sequential Read Speed 		514 MB/s Slightly faster peak read speed.
+7% 		479 MB/s
Write
Peak Sequential Write Speed 		466 MB/s Hugely faster peak write speed.
+139% 		195 MB/s
4K Read
Peak 4K Random Read Speed 		42.6 MB/s Much faster peak random read.
+49% 		28.5 MB/s
4K Write
Peak 4K Random Write Speed 		116 MB/s Faster peak random write.
+14% 		102 MB/s
Mixed
Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed 		450 MB/s Hugely faster peak mixed IO speed.
+91% 		236 MB/s
4K Mixed
Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 		58.3 MB/s Hugely faster peak random mixed IO.
+215% 		18.5 MB/s
SusWrite
Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average 		458 MB/s Hugely faster peak sustained write speed.
+135% 		195 MB/s
Value & Sentiment 
+288%
Market Share
Based on 75,720,645 SSDs tested
See market share leaders
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days) 		0.13 % Hugely higher market share.
+550% 		0.02 %
Value
Value For Money 		26 % Hugely better value.
+520% 		4.19 %
User Rating
UBM User Rating 		61 % More popular.
+17% 		52 %
Price
Price (score) 		$40 Much cheaper.
+66% 		$116
Nice To Haves 
+175%
Age
Newest 		76 Months Much more recent.
+51% 		156 Months
DQ Read
Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed 		384 MB/s Faster peak deep queue read.
+30% 		296 MB/s
DQ Write
Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed 		359 MB/s Hugely faster peak deep queue write.
+105% 		175 MB/s
AS-SSD Total
AS-SSD Total Score 		1,258 Pts Much stronger server IO.
+47% 		855 Pts
DQ Mixed
Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 		278 MB/s Hugely faster peak deep queue mixed IO.
+376% 		58.4 MB/s
ADQ Read
Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed 		329 MB/s Hugely faster deep queue read.
+110% 		157 MB/s
ADQ Write
Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed 		294 MB/s Hugely faster deep queue write.
+139% 		123 MB/s
ADQ Mixed
Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 		219 MB/s Hugely faster deep queue mixed IO.
+544% 		34 MB/s
Specifications 
Capacity
Capacity 		250GB 128GB
Conclusion 
Average Bench 101%
Average Bench 59.8%
ADVERTISEMENT

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 '18 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

The 128GB Crucial M4 is almost three years old, an extremely long time in SSD land. With peak and average sequential read/write speeds of 500/194 and 429/185 the 128GB M4 matches the group leaders at reading but lags by 60% at writing. Comparing the 128GB and 256GB versions of the M4 shows that the two drives have a very similar performance profile. This suggests that both drives have the same number of NAND channels which bodes well for the smaller capacity drive as a lot of other drives exhibit slower writes speeds in the smaller capacity varieties. Small file 4k peak and average read/write speeds measured at 27/87 and 21/52 MB/s which is only 13% below the average of the nine user voted group leaders. Considering its age the M4 is a very impressive drive but there is far better value for money available in today's market. [Feb '14 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

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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.
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.

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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

 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?
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ALL FAQs »

 Best User Rated
The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $273Nvidia RTX 4060 $295Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $133Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $177Nvidia RTX 4070 $539Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $45SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $37Corsair 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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