Crucial MX500 M.2 1 TB

[W1zzard]

Crucial's MX500 is one of the most successful SSDs on the market due to its great performance at an amazing price point. At launch, only 2.5" SATA models were available, but now, the M.2 form factor drives are shipping, too - with no price increase.

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[dj-electric]

M.2 Version holding the same value of a SATA version.
This is where the revolution begins. holy crap.

 

[W1zzard]

M.2 Version holding the same value of a SATA version.
This is where the revolution begins. holy crap.

it's the same drive in a smaller form factor at the same pricing, why should the score be much different?

 

[dj-electric]

Ask other manufacturers... Some used to, and still take a premium for M.2 form
Crucial seems to lead the way in value, yet again. Their MX300 series were not hugely popular by no reason.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

M.2 Version holding the same value of a SATA version.
This is where the revolution begins. holy crap.

Hardly. M.2 SATA drives are typically within a few % of their SATA 2.5 counterparts.

The "revolution" will begin when NVMe speed drives can be had for similar prices as their SATA compatriots.

 

[xkm1948]

I see no point going m2 unless it is NVMe.

 

[RejZoR]

Cooling is a typical stupid thing no one seems to be bothered resolving with M.2 sticks. I had one too and it kept on triggering overheat warnings through SMART monitoring. It's absurd. If we are striving for top performance and everyone focusing on M.2 because SATA is dead, one would expect someone would bother to solve something as basic as overheating...

 

[VulkanBros]

I see no point going m2 unless it is NVMe.

Agreed - only when space/case or price sets the limit - otherwise it wont make much sence

 

[bug]

Hardly. M.2 SATA drives are typically within a few % of their SATA 2.5 counterparts.

The "revolution" will begin when NVMe speed drives can be had for similar prices as their SATA compatriots.

This very drive offers you NVMe speeds. Not the same sequential speeds, but almost the same random speeds. And guess which one you use most of the time?

Imho, M.2 is being pushed today mostly because of ultrabooks. For desktops it makes little sense. I do own a M.2 SATA drive, but that's only because I also own 3 other SSDs and one HDD and space was getting tight.

 

[Assimilator]

Finally a manufacturer that doesn't take the piss in terms of price for an M.2 SATA drive - kudos to Crucial! Now all we need is for the M.2 SATA drives to cost less than their 2.5" counterparts, since there is less packaging and whatnot.

@W1zzard, I feel it's time to retire "TLC not trusted by as many users as MLC" as a negative... pretty much all the budget drives have been TLC for a while now and there haven't been any reports of failures or anything untoward.

 

[W1zzard]

I feel it's time to retire "TLC not trusted by as many users as MLC" as a negative... pretty much all the budget drives have been TLC for a while now and there haven't been any reports of failures or anything untoward.

That's a fair point, will consider it

 

[newtekie1]

@W1zzard, I feel it's time to retire "TLC not trusted by as many users as MLC" as a negative... pretty much all the budget drives have been TLC for a while now and there haven't been any reports of failures or anything untoward.

I agree that TLC is widely used and really not an issue, but some people still don't trust TLC for whatever reasons, so I needs to be mentioned. But, I mean, honestly the arguments against TLC were pretty similar to the arguments against MLC when it became popular, and I don't see MLC and not SLC being listed as a con...

I have a feeling that it doesn't really affect the score any, so if you TLC doesn't bother you, don't worry about it.

 

[Chane]

I like the M.2 SATA form factor. I dont need the speed of an NVMe drive and it's one less power and data cable to run. At 250.00 I'm not quite ready to jump on a 1TB, i'll wait until it's at two dollars a terabyte or better.

 

[W1zzard]

I have a feeling that it doesn't really affect the score any

It doesn't, because I have never seen any data to support such claims. It's just mentioned, and to point out that the drive is TLC (to people skipping to conclusion only)

 

[bug]

That's a fair point, will consider it

Fwiw, original fears were about planar TLC. 3D TLC is about as durable as planar MLC. And nobody had much to complain about planar MLC (other than it not being SLC).
3D TLC is still slower than (any) MLC, but since it doesn't really show in benchmarks, that's another non-issue.

Edit: What I'm trying to say, maybe use that con only for drives that may still use planar TLC.

 

[xorbe]

Just got mx500 1tb for $236. Went for sata drive format for better temp management. If both are using sata, why cram the drive up next to the toasty motherboard by cpu and gpu area, when previously it was remotely located by a fan grill opening for better cooling.

 

[theeldest]

I agree that TLC is widely used and really not an issue, but some people still don't trust TLC for whatever reasons, so I needs to be mentioned. But, I mean, honestly the arguments against TLC were pretty similar to the arguments against MLC when it became popular, and I don't see MLC and not SLC being listed as a con...

I have a feeling that it doesn't really affect the score any, so if you TLC doesn't bother you, don't worry about it.

Whether or not it bothers people shouldn't really be a pro or con if there isn't data to backup those concerns.

 

[newtekie1]

Whether or not it bothers people shouldn't really be a pro or con if there isn't data to backup those concerns.

I agree, that's why I said it needs to be mentioned. It doesn't need to be in the cons section though. It is mentioned in the flash type area under the specifications on the first page, and as far as I'm concerned that's enough.

 

[Imsochobo]

Just got mx500 1tb for $236. Went for sata drive format for better temp management. If both are using sata, why cram the drive up next to the toasty motherboard by cpu and gpu area, when previously it was remotely located by a fan grill opening for better cooling.

Bought a 860 evo 1tb for 35$ a few weeks ago, gotta love typo's in prices
Anyways
3x gpu Ram heatsinks on m2 drives is all you need, problem solved, looks a bit wonky but I don't mind.
Function over form all day long for me.
One heatsink alone over the controller dropped the temp by 20C on my 960 evo (500gb) and it doesn't throttle anymore and pretty much match Sata 2.5" drive temperatures now.
I have two m2's and 3x 2.5 sata ssd's in my setup.
the 2.5" have the benefit of easily using them in all kinds of setups and not really any major drawbacks other than the two cables.

 

[bug]

^^^ Usually these things only throttle when doing massive sequential reads and/or writes. If your drive throttles under normal usage it's either faulty or you have really poor airflow in your case.

 

[Imsochobo]

near 500GB of writes were enough in one go.
I have watercooling and for most uses I run at 500rpm so yes I do not have a lot of airflow.

A gpu memory heatsink solved it, had a bunch laying around and stuck one on and viola

 

[Assimilator]

Bought a 860 evo 1tb for 35$ a few weeks ago, gotta love typo's in prices

I hate you a little.

 

[bug]

near 500GB of writes were enough in one go.
I have watercooling and for most uses I run at 500rpm so yes I do not have a lot of airflow.

A gpu memory heatsink solved it, had a bunch laying around and stuck one on and viola

But do you write 500GB of data often enough to need those heatsinks?
I mean, you had them readily available and you fixed your problem. But general public doesn't usually need to worry about this. I mean, massive reads/writes will be slower sometimes (still faster than most drives). If you can fix that for cheap ok. Just don't fret out spending big bucks for a problem that barely affects you.
And of course, that is also influenced by what you do. If you backup/restore your system a lot or edit video, then you absolutely need both NVMe end cooling to go with it.

 

[jsfitz54]

New Firmware UPDATE:

Firmware M3CR022 has been tested and qualified for immediate release in the Crucial factory, including 2.5-inch and M.2 models of the MX500 SSD. The update from M3CR010 to M3CR022 is an optional update for SSDs in the field, but is recommended if the MX500 is experiencing any of the following issues:

• Improved ready time from DEVSLP low-power state.
• Improved TRIM and Wear Leveling performance.
• Improved SATA error handing.
• Improved compatibility with some TCG Opal 2.0 third-party encryption utilities (this change does not affect MS BitLocker).

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/support-ssd?cm_re=us-support-_-main-_-firmware-update-link

 

[bug]

^^^ That's some atrocious English.