UserBenchmark: Crucial M500 vs Intel 730 Series

SSD
RANKINGS

TEST
YOUR SSD

ADD TO PC
BUILD

IntelSSDSC2BP240G410

BUY • $250

CrucialCT120M500SSD1

BUY • $75

BenchYourSSD

Real World Speed

Performance profile from 23,847 user samples

Benchmark your SSD here

8,417 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 95% 50GB free
Worst Bench: 67% 198GB free (System drive)

Poor: 67% Great: 95%

SPEED RANK: 422^nd / 1072

15,430 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 77% 45GB free
Worst Bench: 47% 13GB free

Poor: 47% Great: 77%

SPEED RANK: 730^th / 1072


Effective Speed Effective SSD Speed		83.9 %	Faster effective speed. +27%		66 %


Read Avg. Sequential Read Speed	374 MB/s		397 MB/s	Slightly faster read speed. +6%
Write Avg. Sequential Write Speed	275 MB/s	Hugely faster write speed. +110%	131 MB/s
4K Read Avg. 4K Random Read Speed	30.6 MB/s	Much faster random read. +35%	22.7 MB/s
4K Write Avg. 4K Random Write Speed	86.3 MB/s	Slightly faster random write. +7%	80.5 MB/s
Mixed Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed	257 MB/s	Much faster mixed IO speed. +31%	196 MB/s
4K Mixed Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed	32.8 MB/s	Slightly faster random mixed IO. +8%	30.5 MB/s
SusWrite Avg. Sustained Write Speed	255 MB/s	Hugely faster sustained write speed. +148%	103 MB/s


Read Peak Sequential Read Speed	409 MB/s		432 MB/s	Slightly faster peak read speed. +6%
Write Peak Sequential Write Speed	292 MB/s	Hugely faster peak write speed. +109%	140 MB/s
4K Read Peak 4K Random Read Speed	35.3 MB/s	Much faster peak random read. +33%	26.6 MB/s
4K Write Peak 4K Random Write Speed	113 MB/s	+2%	111 MB/s
Mixed Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed	278 MB/s	Much faster peak mixed IO speed. +34%	207 MB/s
4K Mixed Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed	37.4 MB/s	+2%	36.8 MB/s
SusWrite Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average	289 MB/s	Hugely faster peak sustained write speed. +109%	138 MB/s

Market Share

Based on 75,737,158 SSDs tested

See market share leaders


Market Share Market Share (trailing 30 days)	0.01 %	Insanely higher market share. +∞%	0 %
Value Value For Money	5.29 %		6.11 %	Better value. +16%
User Rating UBM User Rating	53 %		53 %
Price Price (score)	$250		$75	Much cheaper. +70%


Age Newest	122 Months	Slightly more recent. +8%	133 Months
DQ Read Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed	370 MB/s	Much faster peak deep queue read. +43%	259 MB/s
DQ Write Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed	279 MB/s	Hugely faster peak deep queue write. +99%	140 MB/s
AS-SSD Total AS-SSD Total Score	1,102 Pts	Much stronger server IO. +46%	757 Pts
DQ Mixed Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed	277 MB/s	Much faster peak deep queue mixed IO. +74%	159 MB/s
ADQ Read Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed	323 MB/s	Much faster deep queue read. +31%	247 MB/s
ADQ Write Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed	247 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue write. +96%	126 MB/s
ADQ Mixed Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed	249 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue mixed IO. +84%	135 MB/s


Capacity Capacity			240GB			120GB

The 240GB Intel 730 is just two months old and the newest SSDs in our group test. The 730 uses Intel's own enterprise controller (rather than a Sandforce) and it's marketed by Intel as an enthusiast class drive with data centre reliability. Backed by a 50GB per day, five year warranty the 730 has the most generous warranty I have seen on a consumer SSD. Unfortunately when it comes to performance the 730 is seriously let down by its relatively feeble peak sequential write speed of just 286 MB/s. The 730 scored an effective speed of just 439 MB/s which is 17% below the average of the ten group leaders. I seriously doubt that Intel will sell many of these drives at their current price point which is 25% higher than the average of the leading 240GB SSDs. ^{[Mar '14 SSDrivePro]}

MORE DETAILS

The 120GB M500 is successor to the phenomenally successful Crucial M4. The M500 was poised to win loyal M4 customers but as it turns out the new M500 is worse for typical consumer use than the now nearly three years old M4. There are some cosmetic performance improvements over the M4 but they are purely synthetic. For example, deep queue speeds are significantly improved and the newer M500 handles mixed IO far better. Consumers require decent sequential read/write speeds which average 435/185 MB/s on the M4 vs 395/134 MB/s on the M500! Other manufacturers have come leaps and bounds over the last three years which has raised the performance bar is several notches. In today's market the new M500 simply cannot compete on performance, it doesn't even come close to the likes of the Samsung Evo or OCZ Vector 150. The M500, however, is one of the cheapest mainstream SSDs available at this time but it's easy to justify spending just a little more for a lot more performance. ^{[Feb '14 SSDrivePro]}

MORE DETAILS

Systems with these SSDs

Top Builds that include these SSDs

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

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]

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

Gaming

Desktop

ProGaming

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

USB

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?

How is the AS SSD read score calculated?

How is the AS SSD total score calculated?

ALL FAQs »

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $269	Nvidia RTX 4060 $295	Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $133	Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385	Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $177	Nvidia RTX 4070 $539	Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $45	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $37	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43	SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51	G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351	SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16

MORE DETAILS

MORE DETAILS

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

Group Test Results

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

Frequently Asked Questions

Best User Rated

Feedback