CONCLUSION

   When we get a brand new SSD model with a higher number than the previously released one we see a performance increase and as clearly shown from our charts this is exactly the case with the MX500 500GB drive when compared to last year’s MX300 480GB model. Now in some tests both drives seem to be trading blows but overall it seems that Crucial was right using a Silicon Motion NAND flash controller (and not the brand new SM2290 model aimed towards enterprise and industrial-grade models but the previous consumer oriented SM2280) with their latest MX500 model. Of course since the same SM2280 controller was used in the BX300 line (32 layer vs 64 layer 3D TLC NAND however) we don’t see large performance gaps between the MX500 500GB and the BX300 480GB (these two seem to be trading blows even more often) so we don’t see any real need (other than capacity and endurance – 160TBW/180TBW and 3/5 years warranty) for people who already own the latter to move to the former.

   According to Crucial the goal of the MX500 line of SSD’s is to hit the sweet spot between price and performance and so it’s no surprise that the 500GB model currently retails for just USD134.95 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 130Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). True the MX500 may not be the fastest and most durable SATA III SSD money can buy today but it does come really close and with such a price tag it represents one of the best choices currently in the market and for that it gets our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality / Durability (180TB TBW / 1.8 Million Hours MTBF)
- Very Good Performance
- Features (NANDXtend / Static Data Refresh / SLC Caching / DevSleep/ eDrive Support)
- Crucial Storage Executive Software
- 5 Year Warranty
- Price

CONS

- Small Performance Increase Compared To The BX300