Crucial MX500 SATA SSD
A solid SATA upgrade for older PCs, now sold from remaining stock after Crucial's exit.
The short version
- Owners of older laptops or desktops that only take 2.5 inch SATA drives
- Anyone adding a large, quiet secondary drive for games or files
- People replacing a failed MX300 with the closest Crucial equivalent
- Your PC has an M.2 NVMe slot, which is much faster
- You want a product the maker will keep producing, since Crucial consumer sales have ended
What owners like
- A clear speed jump when replacing a spinning hard drive
- Read speeds about level with the Samsung 870 EVO
- Long track record as a steady, reliable SATA drive
- Large capacities make it a good game or archive drive
Common complaints
- Writes trail the Samsung 870 EVO by roughly 25 to 30 MB/s
- Firmware updates need a bootable ISO or USB stick rather than a simple in-Windows tool
- Crucial's companion software has been unreliable for some reviewers
- Smaller capacities run slower than the headline speeds
Based on XDA Developers and StorageReview reviews, the SSD Wiki entry, and the Newegg listing specs.
Research scores
Scored from the maker's specs and what owners report. Drew's own notes and photos will refine these.
Ownership
Drew's hands-on notes for this product are on the way. Long-term updates will be added to this timeline.
What it does
A 2.5 inch SATA solid state drive that is the current successor to the discontinued Crucial MX300 275GB, covered here in place of the original.
- Dynamic Write Acceleration uses part of the NAND as a fast SLC cache for bursts of writes
- Integrated Power Loss Immunity and multistep data integrity checks
- Hardware AES 256-bit encryption
- Spacer included so the 7 mm drive fits 9.5 mm laptop bays
- Acronis True Image cloning software offered as a free download for moving an old drive over
A dependable drive for reviving an older laptop or desktop that has a SATA bay, or for adding bulk storage to a PC, with a 5 year warranty and a DRAM cache. The trade-offs are that SATA caps it near 560 MB/s, Samsung's 870 EVO writes a little faster, and Micron has ended Crucial consumer sales, so what is left is remaining retail stock.
How it compares
Specs
- Form factor
- 2.5 inch, 7 mm, with a 7 mm to 9.5 mm spacer
- Interface
- SATA III, 6 Gb/s
- Capacities
- 250GB to 4TB
- Sequential read / write
- Up to 560 / 510 MB/s
- Random read / write
- Up to 95,000 / 90,000 IOPS
- Endurance
- 100 TBW (250GB), 180 TBW (500GB), 360 TBW (1TB), 700 TBW (2TB)
- Controller and NAND
- Silicon Motion SM2258 with Micron 3D TLC NAND; later and larger versions use SM2259H with 176-layer NAND
- MTTF
- 1.8 million hours
- Encryption
- AES 256-bit hardware encryption
- Warranty
- 5 years, limited
Worth knowing
- Smaller capacities are rated for less write endurance, 100 TBW on the 250GB model
Questions
What replaced the Crucial MX300?
The Crucial MX500. The 250GB MX500 is the closest match to the old 275GB MX300.
Is the Crucial MX500 discontinued?
Micron announced in December 2025 that it would stop shipping Crucial consumer products to retailers by the end of February 2026, so the MX500 is now sold from remaining stock. Micron said warranty service and support continue.
Is the MX500 faster than the Samsung 870 EVO?
No. Reads are about the same, but the 870 EVO writes slightly faster. In daily use the gap is hard to notice.
Does the MX500 have a DRAM cache?
Yes. StorageReview and SSD Wiki both list DRAM alongside the Silicon Motion controller.
Will the MX500 fit a laptop with a 9.5 mm bay?
Yes. The drive is 7 mm thick and comes with a spacer for 9.5 mm bays.
Sources
- Newegg: Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD
- XDA Developers: Crucial MX500 SSD review
- StorageReview: Crucial MX500 SSD Review (500GB)
- SSD Wiki: Crucial MX500
- heise: SSDs and DRAM, Crucial is at an end
- Blocks and Files: Micron makes Crucial decision, farewell
Researched 2026-10-01. We bought this product; our page is built from the maker's details and what owners report across reviews and forums. We never copy Amazon customer reviews.
