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]
The 860 Evo is the latest mainstream SATA SSD from Samsung. The 2.5-inch version of the 860 Evo will be available in several capacities ranging from 250 GB to a staggering 4TB. It’s also available in the slimmer M.2 and mSATA form factors. The 860 Evo demonstrates marginally reduced performance compared to its popular, but now three year old predecessor, the 850 Evo. In a head to head comparison the 860 looses by a very modest 6% in terms of effective speed. The 860 Evo is based on a refinement of Samsung’s consumer grade TLC V-NAND, this time featuring 256Gb and 512 Gb 64 layer V-NAND and it also features a new "MJX" controller. The 250 GB version can reach sequential write speeds of up to 520 MB/s, dropping to 300 MB/s once the SLC cache is exhausted (the 250 GB version has a 12 GB SLC write cache). Peak sequential read speeds of 560 MB/s are achievable across the different capacities. The 250GB version has a 512 MB LPDDR4 DRAM cache. All capacities have a five year warranty, but as a testament to the enhanced reliability of this new technology, the warrantied terabytes written (TBW) has doubled from 75 TBW to 150 TBW for the 250 GB 860 Evo. [Jan '18SSDrivePro]
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 freeware 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 upgrades.