Crucial MX500 review is up **Updated with 500 GB review**

[UsandThem]

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12165/the-crucial-mx500-1tb-ssd-review

Looks like a really good product, and with a 1TB MSRP if $260, hopefully it will force down the price of other mainstream SSDs.

I also have to say I still can't believe all these years later, and no mainstream drive has yet to fully match the 850 EVO's performance. That said, the MX500 is close enough where I would buy it if it was cheaper than the EVO.

Edit:

It does look like $259.99 is the street price (Amazon, Newegg, and B&H Photo). The MX500 has a 5 year warranty, or up to 360TBW written. The 1TB EVO is 5 years, or 150TBW. So the MX500 undercuts the EVO by $30 right now.

Edit for 500 GB review

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12263/the-crucial-mx500-500gb-review

About $35 cheaper than the 860 EVO in the 500 GB capacity. Still much cheaper than the 1 TB 860 EVO.

 

[whm1974]

Thanks I am reading the review.

 

[dlerious]

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12165/the-crucial-mx500-1tb-ssd-review

Looks like a really good product, and with a 1TB MSRP if $260, hopefully it will force down the price of other mainstream SSDs.

I also have to say I still can't believe all these years later, and no mainstream drive has yet to fully match the 850 EVO's performance. That said, the MX500 is close enough where I would buy it if it was cheaper than the EVO.

Edit:

It does look like $259.99 is the street price (Amazon, Newegg, and B&H Photo). The MX500 has a 5 year warranty, or up to 360TBW written. The 1TB EVO is 5 years, or 150TBW. So the MX500 undercuts the EVO by $30 right now.

I grabbed one from Amazon. Should be here Friday.

 

[Elixer]

For what it is worth, here are the Crucial guys talking about some of the features / performance talk about this new SSD with PCper.

 

[UsandThem]

After reading various reviews on this drive, as long as Crucial keeps this drive priced below the 850 EVO (at least $20 for the 1TB version), I think this is now the new mainstream drive to buy.

Hopefully this drive will drive down the prices of the other good 3D Nand drives as well (like Sandisk/WD 3D drives, 850 EVO, maybe even the Intel 545s).

The last paragraph of the Anandtech article made me hopeful that we've seen the ceiling of the SSD price increases, and that they will soon move back down:

The NAND flash shortage is starting to ease as everybody (except SK Hynix) ramps up their 64-layer 3D NAND production. By setting an aggressive introductory price, it is clear that Micron expects SSD prices to be in decline, and they intend for the MX500 to remain an economical choice for the near future. If they can keep the MX500 ahead of the pace of price drops, they have a good chance at recapturing the broad market appeal that once made the MX100 such a clear-cut recommendation. Given how the recent Crucial BX300 is also aggressively positioned, they are probably going to keep up the pressure.

 

[Elixer]

Makes sense, they got their plants now going full steam.

They seem to have another winner here, much in the same way their MX100 was.
About the only thing I dislike about them is their software suite. It is using Java, and, bloated.

 

[UsandThem]

Makes sense, they got their plants now going full steam.

At least they have finally increased production of NAND, unlike the DRAM manufacturers have done while enjoying those fat profit margins because of "demand". 😉

The sad thing is while I think we have hit the price ceiling on SSD drives, I don't think we've hit the top on memory pricing yet. 😱

I'm just glad we're getting some newer performance drives released, instead of "the race to the bottom" drives over the last 12-18 months.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Sounds pretty sweet, and a lot similar to the Intel 545s, which is also using Intel/Micron 2nd-gen (or is it 3rd-gen) 3D NAND, the newest 64-layer TLC stuff, and an SMI 2258 controller. (SMI controllers have always been really solid, IMHO.)

I think that there's a lot to like about this drive; I might pick up a few 1TB models in Jan as upgrades to my rigs. Been holding off, wanting some bigger SSDs for a while now. (Still maxing out at 256GB in my client PCs, the few that need extra storage, get 3.5" HDDs. I do have a NAS or several to dump data to, so it doesn't stay on client machines.)

 

[Igo69]

Only 1 TB came out what bout 2 TBs?

 

[UsandThem]

Only 1 TB came out what bout 2 TBs?

Someone didn't read the article 😉

Micron's launch strategy for the MX500 is similar to their launch of the MX300. We get one capacity today (1TB) and the rest of the lineup will be unveiled soon. The MX300 will be phased out relatively quickly as the MX500 lineup makes its way through the supply chain, but the BX300 will stick around a bit longer. Specific discontinuation dates haven't been provided, but I expect the BX300 to remain in production for several more months at least. Micron hasn't disclosed any plans for a BX400 or BX500 and instead they will probably let the BX line drop again until another niche opportunity comes along like the MX300's weakness at lower capacities.

 

[Igo69]

Too much to read. 🙂 I hope the price will be cheaper with 2 TBs because two of 1 TB is $520 which is cheaper compared to other 2 TBs SSDs

 

[Topweasel]

Too much to read. 🙂 I hope the price will be cheaper with 2 TBs because two of 1 TB is $520 which is cheaper compared to other 2 TBs SSDs

No prices yet on other capacities as Micron has only just started shipping and this was their first product out. Which makes sense because 1TB for sub $300 is the probably the sweet point for margin and demand.

 

[UsandThem]

Anandtech did another review on the 500 GB version, and while it has lower performance than the larger versions, I still think it's the drive to beat this generation on price/performance.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12263/the-crucial-mx500-500gb-review

The only caveat to that recommendation is that power efficiency has taken a step backwards with the MX500, while Samsung appears to be setting new records in that department with the 860 series. We expect our upcoming testing of the 860 EVO to show it using less power than the MX500 and probably offering slightly better performance. But at the moment it looks like those probable advantages come at a pretty steep premium.