After we had already tested two current high-end models from the US memory manufacturer Micron and its brand Crucial with the P5 and the P5 Plus, we will now take a look at the MX500, which has been available for a longer time and is probably known to many. The MX series are SSDs in a 2.5″ form factor, which are connected via the SATA interface. The MX500 is the fourth generation of the series and has been available since the end of 2017 with capacities from 250 GB to 2 TB. In fall of last year, technically slightly modified new editions and a model with a capacity of 4 TB followed.
In the following review, we will clarify how the newcomer among the MX500 models performs in terms of performance and for whom or which application purpose the SSD is suitable.
Technical data
| Capacity | 4 TB |
| Interface | SATA 6.0 GB/s |
| form factor | 2.5″ |
| Flash type | Micron IKE2D NY135 (3D TLC) |
| Cache | 512 MB DDR3, dynam. SLC cache |
| Controller | Silicon Motion SM2259H |
| Max. Read/Write Speed (MB/s) | 560/510 |
| TBW | 1 PB |
| Guarantee | 5 years limited |
| Price | € 289.55 * |
The Crucial MX500 with 4 TB is visually as well as technically very reminiscent of the models already released in 2017 or their new edition. Crucial promises sequential transfer speeds of up to 560 MB/s read or 510 MB/s write and relies on the Silicon Motion SM2259H controller, a 3D TLC NAND from its own production as well as a 512 MB DRAM cache for this. The warranty period is up to 5 years, which is limited as usual for SSDs and ends here after one written petabyte, if this time comes earlier.
Read and write performance are thus in the good or even usual range, because quite generally the differences in the sequential specifications for SATA SSDs are only slight. While the warranty of 5 years is very long, other manufacturers offer partly higher TBW rates. However, this will be problematic for the fewest users. The available but small DRAM cache is more critical. While 1 GB of cache per TB of memory is common, Crucial only provides 512 MB for the MX500 with 4 TB. Considering that even the 1 TB model of the MX500 has 1 GB of DRAM cache, this is surprising.
Scope of delivery
Crucial ships the SSD in a compact cardboard box, using the typical design with white lettering and blue logo on a black background. There are no technical details or performance information, only the model and capacity are mentioned. Besides the SSD, a short manual and a spacer are included.
The SSD itself is silver, on the front we find the MX logo, on the back among other things the exact model name and serial number.
Test system
- ASUS ROG Strix B560-F Gaming WiFi Motherboard
- Intel Core i5-11400F processor
- 32GB G.Skill RipJaws V 3200 RAM
- INNO3D GeForce RTX 3060 Twin X2 graphics card
- TeamGroup T-Force Cardea IOPS 1TB SSD
- Crucial P5 2TB SSD
- Seasonic Focus GX-550 power supply
Performance test
For the performance test we use our usual benchmark course with the programs AS SSD, CrystalDiskMark, ATTO Disk and HD Tune Pro.
Performance test results
In the AS SSD benchmark, the SSD achieves a very good result in sequential read, while it lands just behind our top group in sequential write. As mentioned at the beginning, many current SATA SSDs offer similar performance here and are limited upwards by the interface. The Crucial MX500 falls behind a bit in 4K performance and is consistently in the midfield. A similar picture is seen in the other tests of the AS SSD benchmark. In the benchmark score, where the gap to the Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB is ~14%, and also in the copy benchmark, the Crucial MX500 lands in the midfield of the SATA SSDs we have tested so far.
In CrystalDiskMark, we achieve 561.74 MB/s in sequential read and 509.24 MB/s in sequential write. Thus, we are ~1 MB/s above or below Crucial’s specifications of 560 and 510 MB/s, respectively, and can thus confirm them. In the other benchmark tests, the SSD’s performance is in the midfield, just like in the AS SSD benchmark.
In the ATTO disk benchmark, the Crucial MX500 falls behind in both read and write tests with smaller blocks, but then approaches the top group with increasing size. All SATA SSDs are close to each other here as well. The Crucial SSD is in the midfield in terms of access time in AS SSD, but only reaches the lower ranks in HD Tune, which is also true for the benchmark.
At the end of the benchmark course, we can clearly place the Crucial MX500 with 4 TB in the midfield of the SATA SSDs we have tested so far. Due to the interface’s limit, the gaps between the SSDs are often small, but overall it falls a bit short of our expectations. We would have hoped for a bit more from a new edition or a larger model that follows the original version after 4 years.
- AS SSD Benchmark
- AS SSD Benchmark Score
- AS SSD Compression Benchmark
- AS SSD Copy Benchmark
- Crystal DiskMark
- ATTO Disk Benchmark
- HD Tune
- Access Times
| wdt_ID | SSD | Seq (lesen, MB/s) | Seq (schreiben, MB/s) | 4K (lesen, MB/s) | 4K (schreiben, MB/s) | 4K-64-Thrd (lesen, MB/s) | 4K-64-Thrd (schreiben, MB/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB | 506,29 | 468,26 | 20,07 | 83,41 | 353,98 | 228,57 |
| 2 | Crucial BX300 480 GB | 516,37 | 472,97 | 32,40 | 113,85 | 376,93 | 349,97 |
| 3 | Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB | 526,20 | 498,49 | 45,57 | 129,23 | 377,11 | 340,89 |
| 4 | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB | 528,46 | 498,50 | 43,69 | 130,20 | 378,80 | 342,79 |
| 5 | SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB | 489,92 | 496,99 | 36,36 | 88,72 | 373,74 | 334,34 |
| 7 | Toshiba TR200 960 GB | 463,37 | 371,80 | 27,40 | 70,12 | 268,58 | 168,03 |
| 8 | Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB | 522,71 | 460,83 | 15,56 | 92,66 | 205,45 | 220,96 |
| 9 | Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB | 523,80 | 494,89 | 35,53 | 96,22 | 368,67 | 331,16 |
| 10 | LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB | 517,78 | 401,51 | 24,52 | 70,22 | 238,72 | 226,73 |
| 11 | Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB | 526,54 | 493,04 | 37,07 | 90,57 | 372,59 | 337,20 |
| SSD | Seq (lesen, MB/s) | Seq (schreiben, MB/s) | 4K (lesen, MB/s) | 4K (schreiben, MB/s) | 4K-64-Thrd (lesen, MB/s) | 4K-64-Thrd (schreiben, MB/s) |
| wdt_ID | SSD | Lesen | Schreiben | Gesamt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB | 425 | 359 | 1.004 |
| 2 | Crucial BX300 480 GB | 461 | 511 | 1.217 |
| 3 | Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB | 474 | 520 | 1.252 |
| 4 | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB | 475 | 523 | 1.256 |
| 5 | SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB | 459 | 473 | 1.180 |
| 7 | Toshiba TR200 960 GB | 342 | 275 | 798 |
| 8 | Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB | 273 | 360 | 774 |
| 9 | Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB | 457 | 477 | 1.178 |
| 10 | LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB | 315 | 337 | 816 |
| 11 | Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB | 461 | 477 | 1.183 |
| SSD | Lesen | Schreiben | Gesamt |
| wdt_ID | SSD | ISO (in MB/s) | Programm (in MB/s) | Spiel (in MB/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB | 380,64 | 193,10 | 244,38 |
| 2 | Crucial BX300 480 GB | 257,05 | 105,71 | 183,26 |
| 3 | Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB | 475,42 | 328,58 | 456,63 |
| 4 | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB | 460,70 | 327,49 | 440,99 |
| 5 | SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB | 561,93 | 416,23 | 505,09 |
| 7 | Toshiba TR200 960 GB | 252,77 | 131,44 | 146,53 |
| 8 | Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB | 267,41 | 109,81 | 196,38 |
| 9 | Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB | 269,89 | 118,24 | 243,96 |
| 10 | LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB | 215,69 | 103,90 | 186,73 |
| 11 | Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB | 472,84 | 309,70 | 438,83 |
| SSD | ISO (in MB/s) | Programm (in MB/s) | Spiel (in MB/s) |
| wdt_ID | SSD | Seq Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) | Seq Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) | 4K Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) | 4K Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) | Seq (lesen, in MB/s) | Seq (schreiben, in MB/s) | 4K (lesen, in MB/s) | 4K (schreiben, in MB/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB | 544,40 | 504,50 | 347,90 | 334,30 | 522,80 | 483,40 | 26,93 | 96,19 |
| 2 | Crucial BX300 480 GB | 552,90 | 514,20 | 377,20 | 356,30 | 535,30 | 499,10 | 32,73 | 143,10 |
| 3 | Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB | 560,40 | 529,40 | 398,40 | 357,20 | 537,90 | 514,80 | 49,47 | 151,30 |
| 4 | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB | 562,20 | 533,10 | 403,10 | 359,00 | 551,30 | 522,80 | 48,49 | 155,00 |
| 5 | SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB | 563,00 | 534,10 | 394,70 | 361,10 | 294,10 | 276,90 | 40,71 | 110,60 |
| 6 | Toshiba TR200 960 GB | 549,60 | 519,80 | 307,90 | 256,00 | 483,40 | 398,60 | 29,31 | 79,30 |
| 7 | Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB | 560,50 | 373,10 | 252,80 | 189,30 | 507,50 | 372,70 | 24,52 | 91,99 |
| 8 | Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB | 560,00 | 529,10 | 295,10 | 299,10 | 533,50 | 501,10 | 35,77 | 97,54 |
| 9 | LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB | 520,00 | 442,80 | 248,30 | 219,60 | 440,80 | 436,90 | 27,14 | 61,66 |
| 10 | Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB | 561,40 | 528,90 | 312,80 | 284,50 | 542,20 | 503,00 | 42,89 | 93,74 |
| SSD | Seq Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) | Seq Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) | 4K Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) | 4K Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) | Seq (lesen, in MB/s) | Seq (schreiben, in MB/s) | 4K (lesen, in MB/s) | 4K (schreiben, in MB/s) |
| wdt_ID | SSD | 512 B | 1 KB | 2 KB | 4 KB | 8 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 512 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | 4 MB | 8 MB | 12 MB | 16 MB | 24 MB | 32 MB | 48 MB | 64 MB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Toshiba Q300 Pro 1 TB | 6.194 | 13.212 | 24.778 | 93.499 | 143.382 | 223.665 | 283.402 | 343.344 | 404.103 | 438.584 | 467.424 | 479.349 | 482.580 | 478.281 | 481.498 | 482.031 | 479.349 | 480.835 | 481.498 | 481.532 | 481.498 |
| 6 | Crucial BX300 480 GB | 17.920 | 32.859 | 65.024 | 115.423 | 183.402 | 277.142 | 330.095 | 391.259 | 445.390 | 478.801 | 476.625 | 488.846 | 491.136 | 488.846 | 486.578 | 487.709 | 486.437 | 486.672 | 488.704 | 490.252 | 489.385 |
| 7 | Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB | 21.833 | 41.984 | 78.140 | 136.192 | 210.417 | 303.104 | 385.505 | 442.368 | 477.203 | 499.321 | 514.007 | 517.815 | 521.679 | 516.539 | 517.495 | 516.752 | 514.165 | 516.327 | 515.112 | 516.940 | 516.687 |
| 8 | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB | 21.248 | 40.960 | 75.399 | 122.880 | 213.439 | 291.992 | 377.474 | 437.988 | 468.114 | 493.447 | 507.784 | 512.751 | 515.270 | 513.378 | 511.188 | 511.292 | 512.281 | 511.292 | 511.812 | 511.783 | 511.991 |
| 9 | SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB | 31.490 | 61.280 | 124.510 | 250.980 | 392.580 | 489.740 | 515.630 | 528.610 | 535.710 | 536.990 | 479.620 | 497.510 | 537.630 | 536.910 | 537.270 | 535.480 | 534.580 | 533.690 | 527.360 | 534.730 | 534.810 |
| 10 | Toshiba TR200 960 GB | 10.518 | 20.327 | 40.448 | 99.852 | 172.356 | 234.635 | 352.256 | 409.600 | 473.754 | 480.998 | 504.123 | 472.331 | 460.912 | 464.485 | 480.172 | 486.578 | 485.873 | 487.143 | 488.206 | 489.763 | 492.542 |
| 11 | Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB | 10.086 | 17.698 | 38.114 | 70.970 | 117.899 | 187.478 | 220.632 | 291.992 | 326.862 | 359.101 | 434.192 | 469.161 | 486.578 | 498.135 | 505.033 | 506.966 | 508.863 | 509.842 | 509.326 | 510.415 | 386.846 |
| 12 | Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB | 15.360 | 29.952 | 56.690 | 102.654 | 171.602 | 253.318 | 330.908 | 349.102 | 401.871 | 455.336 | 493.447 | 502.914 | 505.337 | 501.711 | 502.612 | 500.712 | 506.100 | 508.708 | 506.941 | 509.734 | 510.697 |
| 13 | LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB | 11.080 | 20.378 | 41.671 | 66.064 | 114.401 | 200.704 | 281.788 | 312.076 | 373.601 | 443.238 | 484.330 | 483.214 | 471.270 | 502.311 | 493.447 | 508.195 | 502.311 | 508.297 | 509.403 | 509.432 | 510.166 |
| 14 | Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB | 14.208 | 27.068 | 51.200 | 96.804 | 166.154 | 228.286 | 276.627 | 321.126 | 367.393 | 432.507 | 481.498 | 494.811 | 498.256 | 501.748 | 504.104 | 504.462 | 505.290 | 504.462 | 506.481 | 506.937 | 506.481 |
| SSD | 512 B | 1 KB | 2 KB | 4 KB | 8 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 512 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | 4 MB | 8 MB | 12 MB | 16 MB | 24 MB | 32 MB | 48 MB | 64 MB |
| wdt_ID | SSD | 512 B | 1 KB | 2 KB | 4 KB | 8 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 512 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | 4 MB | 8 MB | 12 MB | 16 MB | 24 MB | 32 MB | 48 MB | 64 MB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Toshiba Q300 Pro 1 TB | 12.288 | 26.425 | 50.688 | 88.969 | 131.657 | 216.627 | 293.011 | 354.146 | 406.935 | 444.835 | 468.590 | 480.421 | 484.759 | 486.957 | 492.542 | 488.872 | 492.542 | 489.954 | 490.293 | 490.470 | 492.542 |
| 6 | Crucial BX300 480 GB | 16.302 | 29.802 | 55.158 | 91.701 | 124.616 | 155.847 | 176.690 | 370.350 | 207.580 | 218.453 | 243.289 | 246.144 | 302.183 | 381.647 | 420.481 | 446.677 | 458.018 | 472.242 | 476.354 | 477.849 | 480.488 |
| 7 | Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB | 21.067 | 40.091 | 74.240 | 131.766 | 212.460 | 304.158 | 387.404 | 444.311 | 483.066 | 504.123 | 515.270 | 520.385 | 524.288 | 526.922 | 524.615 | 524.506 | 524.124 | 523.960 | 524.369 | 524.192 | 524.016 |
| 8 | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB | 20.428 | 39.737 | 74.240 | 116.155 | 213.970 | 300.847 | 377.474 | 443.238 | 480.704 | 504.123 | 515.270 | 521.679 | 525.602 | 526.261 | 525.272 | 525.602 | 525.766 | 525.821 | 525.684 | 526.359 | 526.989 |
| 9 | SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB | 18.460 | 36.440 | 120.610 | 216.800 | 355.470 | 450.870 | 458.640 | 489.000 | 509.590 | 496.280 | 503.020 | 503.360 | 489.000 | 510.200 | 466.200 | 423.580 | 425.420 | 424.400 | 424.570 | 424.830 | 425.890 |
| 10 | Toshiba TR200 960 GB | 13.952 | 21.291 | 33.224 | 74.380 | 105.966 | 126.030 | 171.176 | 188.141 | 193.702 | 197.471 | 257.003 | 501.711 | 321.156 | 341.277 | 263.958 | 244.518 | 263.254 | 251.935 | 249.123 | 248.852 | 247.121 |
| 11 | Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB | 15.577 | 29.952 | 56.039 | 101.890 | 163.840 | 255.493 | 317.109 | 321.254 | 360.800 | 361.577 | 364.088 | 384.798 | 371.835 | 388.721 | 394.572 | 412.960 | 433.631 | 432.997 | 422.972 | 407.304 | 404.422 |
| 12 | Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB | 14.720 | 28.855 | 54.511 | 100.101 | 169.560 | 254.862 | 333.371 | 354.248 | 412.575 | 459.901 | 489.988 | 505.337 | 516.539 | 518.455 | 518.455 | 518.882 | 518.579 | 520.385 | 520.950 | 519.439 | 518.637 |
| 13 | LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB | 12.323 | 21.852 | 1.777 | 18.662 | 17.266 | 19.980 | 242.128 | 338.979 | 370.958 | 418.951 | 436.906 | 442.437 | 445.255 | 443.841 | 445.018 | 443.060 | 440.346 | 439.347 | 439.366 | 439.653 | 439.102 |
| 14 | Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB | 13.952 | 27.188 | 50.693 | 93.499 | 161.276 | 243.943 | 286.563 | 309.841 | 372.232 | 439.614 | 474.058 | 499.414 | 516.222 | 519.971 | 521.233 | 523.544 | 522.502 | 522.309 | 522.502 | 523.249 | 525.057 |
| SSD | 512 B | 1 KB | 2 KB | 4 KB | 8 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 512 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | 4 MB | 8 MB | 12 MB | 16 MB | 24 MB | 32 MB | 48 MB | 64 MB |
| wdt_ID | SSD | Minimum (in MB/s) | Maximum (in MB/s) | Average (in MB/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB | 298,10 | 408,00 | 351,10 |
| 2 | Crucial BX300 480 GB | 323,60 | 443,30 | 428,40 |
| 3 | Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB | 438,00 | 460,30 | 456,40 |
| 4 | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB | 451,30 | 459,30 | 456,90 |
| 5 | SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB | 415,70 | 438,20 | 434,60 |
| 7 | Toshiba TR200 960 GB | 447,30 | 455,90 | 454,70 |
| 8 | Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB | 306,20 | 349,40 | 324,30 |
| 9 | Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB | 353,60 | 413,90 | 373,50 |
| 10 | LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB | 337,30 | 398,10 | 365,10 |
| 11 | Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB | 313,80 | 370,10 | 337,10 |
| SSD | Minimum (in MB/s) | Maximum (in MB/s) | Average (in MB/s) |
| wdt_ID | SSD | AS SSD (schreiben) | HD Tune Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB | 0,040 | 0,070 |
| 2 | Crucial BX300 480 GB | 0,050 | 0,028 |
| 3 | Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB | 0,025 | 0,028 |
| 4 | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB | 0,024 | 0,027 |
| 5 | SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB | 0,089 | 0,035 |
| 7 | Toshiba TR200 960 GB | 2,057 | 0,024 |
| 8 | Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB | 2,501 | 0,039 |
| 9 | Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB | 0,345 | 0,030 |
| 10 | LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB | 2,725 | 0,031 |
| 11 | Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB | 0,037 | 0,031 |
| SSD | AS SSD (schreiben) | HD Tune Pro |
Conclusion
Even if the conclusion of the performance test sounds negative at first, the Crucial MX500 with 4 TB is still a good and interesting SSD, depending on the application and budget. It achieves a solid result in terms of performance and usually lands in the midfield. Users who need or want maximum performance will hardly go for a SATA SSD nowadays. The NVMe standard as well as the M.2 slots required on the motherboard have established themselves in the meantime or can probably already be considered the current standard. These offer a much higher performance, but are still very expensive with capacities of 4 TB and more.
When looking at the price comparison, the cheapest NVMe SSD with 4 TB at the time of the test is at 430€, others follow at over 500€. In contrast, the Crucial MX500 attracts with its significantly lower price. The SATA SSD competition at similar prices is also manageable. Samsung offers a higher-performing alternative at a slightly higher price with the 870 EVO. Apart from that, the QVO SSDs are in this price range, but have known weaknesses, e.g. in continuous writing. Thus, the Crucial MX500 4 TB is mainly suitable as a second SSD, e.g. as an installation directory for games or for backing up data, since the performance only has a minor impact from a certain level.
Crucial offers a solid SATA SSD with a very large capacity in the MX500, which will probably primarily appeal to price-conscious buyers. However, potential buyers should keep an eye on the market and the current prices, since the competition partly offers a bit more performance.
Crucial MX500 4 TB
Access times
Transfer rate (read)
Transfer rate (write)
Value for money
83/100
Solid and inexpensive 4 TB SSD that is very interesting especially for games or as data storage.
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