How safe is to secure data in Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD up to 560MB/s? AES 256 bit hardware based encryption keeps data safe and secure from hackers and thieves. Save massive amounts of photos, music, and videos comfortably and securely. With fast access to your media, creations, and designs, you’re ready to share at the speed of your life. Find details in Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD up to 560MB/s review.
Pros & Cons
PROS
- Capacity options from 250GB to 2TB
- Excellent performance for a SATA SSD
- Available in 2.5-inch or M.2 SATA versions
- Long endurance rating
CONS
- Slightly slower write speeds than contemporaries
- Endurance rating low for usage cases involving heavy data writes.
Specs – Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD up to 560MB/s
- Type: 2.5-inch
- Height: 7mm
- Hardware-based AES-256 encryption engine
- Static and dynamic wear leveling
- Serial ATA: Transfer rate 6Gb/s (backwards compatible with 3Gb/s)
- Temperature: Operating (0°C to 70°C) Non-operating (-40°C to 85°C)
- Acoustics: 0dB
- Flash Controller: Silicon Motion SM2259H
- Flash Type: Micron 2nd Generation 64-layer 3D TLC NAND
- Mean Time To Failure: 1.8 million hours
- Drive Endurance: 700TB Total Bytes Written (TBW), equal to 383GB per day for 5 years
- Adaptive Thermal Monitoring
- TCG/Opal 2.0-compliant self-encrypting drive (SED)
- Dynamic Write Acceleration
- NAND-integrated Power Loss Immunity
- 5 year limited warranty
- Free shipping (Like all Crucial products)
Price
Crucial will only ship the 1TB model at launch, but it released pricing and specifications for all four capacities. The MX500 1TB will sell for $259.99. That’s roughly $40 less than Samsung’s 850 EVO 1TB.
Crucial will ship the 2TB ($499.99), 500GB ($139.99), and 250GB ($79.99) models soon. The 2TB and 250GB models are much less expensive than the 850 EVO, but the 500GB model has a comparable price point.
Compare Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD
| Crucial P2 SSD | Crucial P5 Plus SSD | Crucial MX500 SSD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity¹ | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB |
| Internal/External | Internal | Internal | Internal |
| Form Factor | M.2 | M.2 | 2.5 inch |
| Interface | NVMe PCIe | NVMe PCIe | SATA |
| Sequential Read Speed² | Up to 2400MB/s | Up to 6600MB/s | Up to 560MB/s |
| Sequential Write Speed² | Up to 1900MB/s | Up to 5000MB/s | Up to 510MB/s |
| Optimal For | Gamers, professionals, entry-level designers | Fast Gen4 NVMe storage for high-performance computing and hardcore gaming | Professionals, upgraders & college students |
Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD up to 560MB/s review
Design
It is 2.5-inch form factor and design of most SSDs, like the Silicon Power A55, it does stray away from a matte black finish. On one end is the SATA III 6GB/s port. Inside the SSD is Micron 3D NAND technology, utilizing a Silicon Motion SM2258 controller, which is also what the ADATA SU800 uses as well.
Controller
The Crucial MX500 SSD uses the 2nd generation Micron 3D NAND technology, paired with a Silicon Motion SM2258 controller. The 2nd gen 3D NAND chips features 64 layers with 256-gigabit component. Micron’s floating gate NAND is designed with CMOS Under the Array (CUA), which allows to minimize the footprint of the die. It measures 59 square millimeters, making it one of the world’s smallest 256-gigabit die.
Capacity
The Crucial MX500 will eventually come in four capacities and two form factors, but only the 1TB model will be available at launch. The 2TB model will only ship in the 2.5″ form factor while the 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB models will come in both 2.5″ and single-sided M.2 2280.
Read and write speed
All four capacities feature the same performance specifications. The MX500’s 560/512 MB/s of sequential read/write throughput is common for high-performance SATA SSDs. Random performance peaks at 95,000/90,000 read/write IOPS. Crucial lists the write performance as “up to,” but that’s also common in this era where advanced caching technology increases TLC NAND’s performance with an SLC buffer.
TBW
Crucial estimates that the 500GB model can sustain up to 180 terabytes written (TBW) before its cells begin to wear out. In absolute terms, that’s a relatively low figure, although it’s slightly better than the 160TBW that the 525GB version of the Crucial MX300 (the MX500’s predecessor) could sustain. The 512GB version of the Samsung SSD 860 Pro, in contrast, is rated for a whopping 600TBW.
Data Encryption
The drives feature self-encrypting drive (SED) and full disk encryption (FDE). Encryption always runs in the background, but you have to enable TCG/Opal or the ATA Security command via the system BIOS to take full advantage of the AES-256 encryption engine.
Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD up to 560MB/s performance review
We use the PCMark 8 Storage suite, which simulates how the drive can handle a wide variety of requests, including web browsing, editing photos, and playing video games. Most SSDs score within a few dozen points of 5,000 on this proprietary test, and the MX500 did not disappoint, coming in at 4,988.
On the Crystal DiskMark 6.0 sequential data access test, the SSD recorded read speeds of 563MBps and write speeds of 522MBps. Those are nearly the same results as the much more expensive Samsung SSD 860 Pro (564MBps read, 533MBps write), and they’re approaching the theoretical maximum of 600MBps for the current version of the SATA interface.
Finally, the MX500 is also adept at transferring large files between different locations on the drive. On the AS-SSD Copy Benchmark, it transferred an ISO file at 933MBps, a sample program at 444MBps, and a sample game at 874MBps.
Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD up to 560MB/s customer review
So far. So good
Replacement SSD for Ps4 Pro. I replaced a Seagatae 2tb SSHD FireCuda . While the SSHD did ok, I wanted to find out the SSD’s performance in comparison/operation. The price of the SSD is manageable compared to just a few years ago at the time of the Firecuda purchase. Operation and performance is doing well so far. I’m going to see how it handles with more games / functions on the Pro. It’s still in the very start of a PS4 Pro installation. We’ll see how it holds up in comparison.
By Jack at Best Buy
Alternate of Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD up to 560MB/s
Samsung 970 EVO Plus
Specs
- Capacity: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
- Controller: Samsung Phoenix
- Memory: Samsung 3-bit MLC
- Interface: M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4
- Seq. read: 3,500 MB/s
- Seq. write: 3,200 MB/s
Pros
+Samsung SSD technology+Outstanding real-world performance
Cons
-Could be better optimised for efficiency
The Samsung 970 EVO Plus offers a slight bump in write performance over the 970 EVO, all for the same price. There was a time when you could pick up the non-Plus version for slightly less, but those drives seem to have disappeared now. If you can find a straight 970 EVO for less, then go for it but they’re a rarity.
Both drives still use the same Samsung Phoenix controller, which means they can outperform the competition in real-world usage. If you want peak PCIe 3.0 performance, then the Samsung drives are hard to beat, but you have to pay for that little speed hike. Compared with the 512GB Addlink, the Samsung is a little quicker in real-world testing but costs another $20.
That’s not a huge issue at this half-terabyte level, but when the 1TB version comes in at close to $170, it does make the higher capacity 970 EVO drives a bit more of a difficult recommendation. The 500GB 970 EVO is still a great drive, smartly specced, well-made, and with a more competitive price.
Editor’s recommendations
- WD_Black 1TB SN850 NVMe internal gaming SSD solid state drive – Gen4 PCIe review
- Crucial P5 1TB 3D NAND NVMe internal SSD up to 3400 MB/s – CT1000P5SSD8 review
- Samsung 980 Pro 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen4 internal gaming SSD M.2 (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) review
- SK hynix Gold S31 1TB SATA Gen3 2.5 inch internal SSD review
- Samsung (MZ-V8V1T0B/AM) 980 SSD 1TB – M.2 NVMe interface internal solid state drive review
