Crucial CT256M550SSD1

M550 256GB

▲ M550 256GB
BENCHMARKS (8,333)
MKT (0%)
BUILDS
(5)
$152

Effective Speed -6%Effective Speed -6%Average Score -7%Read -8%, Write 4%, 4K Read -18%, 4K Write -1%, Mixed -14%, 4K Mixed -10%, SusWrite 0%Peak Score -9%Read -8%, Write -3%, 4K Read -26%, 4K Write -2%, Mixed -21%, 4K Mixed -16%, SusWrite 10%Value & Sentiment User Rating -8%, Market Share -∞%, Price -69%, Value -88%Nice To Haves -8%DQ Read 6%, DQ Write 1%, DQ Mixed -23%, ADQ Read -4%, ADQ Write -2%, ADQ Mixed -16%, Age -28%, AS-SSD Total 1%

Average Bench: 90.5% (320^th of 1072)

Based on 8,333 user benchmarks. Models: Crucial_CT256M550SSD1, Micron_M550_2.5", Crucial_ CT256M550SSD3, Crucial_CT256M55, Micron_M Micron_M550_2.5", Crucial_ CT256M550SSD4, Crucial_ Crucial_CT256M55, Crucial_ CT256M550SSD1

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]}

Poor: 60%Average: 90.5% Great: 113%

Popular builds with this SSD

Excellent average bench

The Crucial M550 256GB averaged just 9.5% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Crucial M550 256GB near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 201MB/s

Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 37.9MB/s

See where your SSD ranks →

Below average consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Crucial M550 256GB is 52.9%. This is a relatively wide range which indicates that the Crucial M550 256GB performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 299MB/s

Avg. Sustained Write Speed 311MB/s

Average Bench

(Based on 8,333 samples)

Rank 32090.5%

Min	Avg	Max
298	Read 418	466
298	Write 416	470
232	Mixed 299	333
115	SusWrite 311	459
81.2% 361 MB/s

Min	Avg	Max
18	4K Read 27.1	31.9
40.7	4K Write 85	118
23.8	4K Mixed 37.9	46.4
134% 50 MB/s

Min	Avg	Max
50.7	DQ Read 311	387
87.1	DQ Write 282	361
46.6	DQ Mixed 201	240
177% 264 MB/s

User Benchmarks

Bench

Sequential

Random 4k

Deep queue 4k

The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%

CAN-User, 4 hrs ago.

28GB free (System drive)

Firmware: MU01

SusWrite @10s intervals: 347 183 144 146 146 145 MB/s

75.2% Very good

Write 405

Mixed 289

SusWrite 185

72% 321 MB/s

4K Read 21

4K Write 61.2

4K Mixed 32.3

106% 38.2 MB/s

DQ Read 334

DQ Write 327

DQ Mixed 234

202% 299 MB/s

FRA-User, 2 days ago.

32GB free (System drive)

Firmware: MU01

SusWrite @10s intervals: 260 148 148 149 143 147 MB/s

66.9% Good

Write 298

Mixed 258

SusWrite 166

60% 268 MB/s

4K Read 17.8

4K Write 58.1

4K Mixed 32.9

100% 36.3 MB/s

DQ Read 266

DQ Write 233

DQ Mixed 191

159% 230 MB/s

8,333 MORE »

Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 75,730,818 SSDs tested

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 256GB Builds (Compare 5,023 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings

Gaming 42%

Speed boat

Desktop 84%

Aircraft carrier

Workstation 36%

Jet ski

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A - $150

CPU
Core i7-4790KIntel $348Bench 79%, 455,746 samples	2,310x
Core i5-4690KIntel $53Bench 70%, 229,359 samples	1,186x
Core i7-4790Intel $135Bench 71%, 255,027 samples	420x

GPU
GTX 970Nvidia $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples	791x
GTX 1070Nvidia $132Bench 80%, 1,459,281 samples	342x
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia $117Bench 56%, 1,368,019 samples	307x

SSD
M550 256GBCrucial $152Bench 90%, 8,333 samples	1x

RAM
Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x8GBHyperXBench 59%, 122,541 samples	248x
Fury DDR3 1600 C10 2x8GBHyperXBench 54%, 77,652 samples	151x
Vengeance DDR3 1600 C10 2x8GBCorsairBench 54%, 43,127 samples	120x

EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER

Value: 55% - Above average

Total price: $850

Popular M550 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

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

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.

Comments

SSDrivePro

level
1,859

Controller: Marvell 88SS9189. Flash Memory: Micron Synchronous 20nm MLC

Do more, faster longer...

Added 10 years ago.

USA-User

level
9,840

Liked (edit your comment) Add link

6 years ago.

JPN-User

level
3,408

Poor

7 years ago.

My rating was for the M550 512Gb SSD because Crucial Website says (AFTER I ordered one from Amazon) that it is not compatible with an ASUS Sabertooth Z87 motherboard. I mean. Why in F**K would a very recent SSD not be compatible with a very recent high-end motherboard? What nutter markets SSD`s which are (otherwise) secretly not going to work on modern PC`s ???

CZE-User

level
3,344

Poor

7 years ago.

I have one M550 / 256GB, one M500 / 240GB and old M4 /128GB. M550 is very good, very fast SSD.

SVN-User

level
2,052

Poor

8 years ago.

Great drive. I have m550 512gb and is crazy fast

SSDrivePro

level
1,859

Outstanding

10 years ago.

Your
opinion?

▲Like ▼Dislike

Ready to retire
Age: 10 years

Speed Comparisons

vs Crucial MX500 250GB
vs Samsung 860 Evo 250GB
vs Samsung 870 Evo 250GB
vs Samsung 850 Evo 250GB
vs HyperX Savage 240GB
vs Crucial MX300 275GB
vs Crucial MX200 250GB
vs SanDisk Extreme Pro 240GB
vs Samsung 850 Pro 256GB

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 »

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 $178	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

Crucial CT256M550SSD1

M550 256GB

Average Bench: 90.5% (320^th of 1072)

Popular builds with this SSD

Excellent average bench

Strengths

Below average consistency

Weaknesses

Average Bench

Market Share (See Leaders)

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A - $150

Popular M550 256GB compatible motherboards:

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

Group Test Results

Comments

Official site www.crucial.com/...

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Poor

Outstanding

Speed Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Best User Rated

Crucial CT256M550SSD1

M550 256GB

Average Bench: 90.5% (320th of 1072)

Popular builds with this SSD

Excellent average bench

Strengths

Below average consistency

Weaknesses

Average Bench

Market Share (See Leaders)

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A - $150

Popular M550 256GB compatible motherboards:

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

Group Test Results

Share a related link

Comments

Official site www.crucial.com/...

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Poor

Poor

Poor

Outstanding

Speed Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Best User Rated

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Average Bench: 90.5% (320^th of 1072)