Official Crucial M500 Series Thread

I got the Plextor m5s which is effectively the M4 installed on my Desktop and yes it does feel far snappier than when inside my W110er, however, it feels the same as the Intel 320 120gb I had before so theres definitely no CPU or platform bottleneck. The new Samsung 840 pro in my Laptop does feel slightly snappier than the M5s but the most tangible improvement was the boot time.
I think this may be something to investigate with the Intel drives since I also have an Intel 330 120gb installed in an old Dell inspiron and it definitely feels very similar to the 840 Pro I have in the W110er despite the laptop being Arrandale based with SATAII.

 

Marksman30k,

Thanks for your experiences.

Intel is kind of unique in that it markets their drives not as the 'fastest' w/regards to 'scores' - but in real world use.

I have found this to be generally true with their drives and this 'advantage' carries over for at least a generation or two into the future (I am still using the circa 2011 Intel 510 Series in my desktops, for example...).

I can hardly wait to pair a Haswell platform with a Crucial M500 (960GB) to get insane battery life and/or pair it with an 840 Pro (512GB) to get even better performance along with great battery life in the next few weeks. This combo may finally replace my 2010 U30Jc which still gets ~7-8 Hrs battery life with Win8x64, 8GB RAM and a SanDisk Extreme SSD (but Arrandale still feels LAGGY to me vs. the all powerful IB platform(s)!!! ).

I can also hardly wait for some of the newer 'performance oriented' SSD to become available locally so I can see if a simple upgrade or a completely new platform will bring the best productivity increase for my workloads.

Of course, if I can I would wait until Intel introduces it's next gen SSD's... but I'm only human and the performance promises that the newest Plextor, Seagate and Corsair models offer are tempting to at least taste/test (soon).


I have asked for this many times:

I would love to have a reviewer actually USE a 'test' system in an actual workload (and I really don't care which workload is 'his/hers') and then simply switch the component to be tested into the system/workload and see if there is a difference. They could even run the benchmarks they all seem to love (which I'll promptly skip, of course) - but what will be the most telling to me is; 'Is component 'X' worth buying if you have a similar system/workload?'.

With many/more than one such 'reviewer' - we would be able to pick the one which most closely matches our workflows/expectations and can then make solid buying/upgrade decisions.


Instead of the barrage of 'scores' we now have to sift through (most of them meaningless in real world use at best; at worst - grossly misleading our buying decisions).



Okay - anyone else with their 'story' to share?

 

See:
HARDOCP - Introduction - Crucial M500 480GB SSD Review



This is the review I was waiting for. And the 'steady state' Read Write mix 'score' shows it as I experienced it (ie. faster than the 840 Pro...).


See:
HARDOCP - Iometer & Steady State Testing - Crucial M500 480GB SSD Review

(Last graph on link above).

Too bad about the high idle power though - and remembering the limited time I had with the SSD - the temps were around 40C in my notebook (which seems to backup these high idle power numbers...).

See:
HARDOCP - AS SSD and Power Testing - Crucial M500 480GB SSD Review

(See end of page/link above).

I will be keeping an eye out for firmware upgrades that address the idle power usage of the M500 series... otherwise; for 'regular' notebook usage models, it is a pass at this time...


On a desktop setup though (or a notebook with no cooling/power issues), this would be an interesting SSD to test as a boot, O/S and program drive - as it should give better performance than an 840 Pro does in a mixed read/write workload (which is the 'normal' real world usage for an O/S drive - not solely write or solely read (aka 'benchmark) scenarios).


The performance of the drive is not in question (especially OP'd as I had it setup). Crucial simply needs to address the idle power with a firmware update, asap.






...

 

Hi folks,

Joined the Forum just to comment on this thread - I just purchased an M500 240GB to go into an HP Elitebook 6930p (SATA2 interface), and I've had all kinds of issues. Blue screens, automatic NTFS checks, and odd behavior from apps.

I started with Windows 7 Pro, but never could get SP1 to download and install correctly (kept saying checksum error), so I redid it with Windows 7 SP1 and am trying to get this thing stabilized. Couple of questions:

1. My firmware is MU02 and I can't seem to find any updates - I'm assuming crucial.com is the only place to find that (not Micron?)

2. Is there some sort of utility to issue a command to the drive to limit it's operation to SATA2? I realize that it downshifts "automatically" from SATA3 to 2, but some drives do better if they are explicitly told to be SATA2. You folks know of anything?

3. I've seen something about "aligning" the disk format correctly - What do I need to do to make it a better format? What tool does this?

Thanks very much!

MG

 

1. Crucial is the source of FW
2. Not that I know of
3. download AS SSD and it will tell you if the drive is aligned.

 

IF you mean a proper clean install of Win 7 (redid it with Windows 7 SP1 ) the alignment S/B fine ... but it certainly is not hard to check w/o 3rd party tools
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/Checking_SSD_Alignment

 

Thanks, folks. I'm a little unclear where it says whether the alignment is OK, I'm assuming it's the green text in the upper left.



I did a clean install and format from Win7 SP1, so I guess that's fine. Still, the occasional strangeness is a mystery. Seems stable now. Oh well, thanks again!

MG

 

Well, this is interesting. I switched to the Intel Rapid Storage Tech 11.7 ACHI driver (last to support the ICH9M ACHI controller) and my benchmark is quite a bit lower. Hasn't crashed yet though.

 

Anybody actually able to buy these at MSRP? I have seen some on ebay for 750-800.

 

I checked on Google and the only site that says they will have them soon (i.e. on June 15th) for $600 is this one, but I've never heard of this company before. Does anyone know who they are?

 

The 960GB keeps getting delayed and delayed and delayed. I was excited about this once, but this is getting old. If TRIM is really supported with RAID, I may just go two 480GB mSATA.

 

Anyone got a good link for the 480GB mSATA model? It seems Crucial/Micron cannot keep up with the demand or something else is going on.

 

If you want a Mushkin unit (slightly out of spec (too thick, so be careful)), you can get one now at $480 (+$5 shipping) via amazon 3rd party vendor.

Anyhow I've been checking both newegg and amazon for "480GB mSATA" for the last 2 months. And there are also very very few owner comments.

newegg has only shown the Mushkin Enhanced Atlas at the $440 price point, but been out-of-stock every time I've checked.

amazon now shows Mushkin/Vision-Tek/Axiom-Memory available at $485/$531/$602 (I didn't check V.T. or A.M. for shipping charges). I assume that the V.T. and A.M. units are also slightly out-of-spec (too thick) similar to Mushkin.

I only want one, but fortunately don't need one just yet.

I think it will be a few months before we see many owner comments, and maybe 6+ months before any real "deals" show up.

I suggest psyching up for Thanksgiving/Xmas time frame for deals.

 

I've also been watching out for this. I wonder if they have had a big order or two from notebook manufacturers for use in the Haswell ultrabooks which could appear within a few weeks.

John

 

Good point! That's about the only thing that makes sense of the slow appearance of any brand of 480GB mSATA units. Besides the M500 there's also the Mushkin and Vision-Tek and Axiom-Memory, for a total of 4.

Maybe things are finally stirring as I now see 2 active 3rd party vendors on Amazon for the Mushkin unit, and also 2 for the more expensive Axiom-Memory.

The Mushkin unit is also the only one that I've seen a review.

Besides the Mushkin, have you seen any reviews of any 480GB mSATA unit?

 

Newegg right now!

 

Wow you are exactly right!

With any luck @HTWingNut will order it before it goes out of stock again.

 

Thanks for the headsup, i really wish was amazon.... newegg doesnt take my international creditcards ='(

 

I pulled the trigger on one and I don't have a machine to put it in yet. XD

I guess I better get building/deciding on that Clevo, 2 SATA3, 2 mSATA3 1 SATA2 ODD bay. Decisions, decisions. Well, one bay is spoken for.

 

No problem, Sorry to hear that about Newegg and ICCs. Crucial also lists it in Stock and at least one other vendor (only list 1) through Google Shopping

 

Thanks for the heads up everyone. I checked for the 960GB earlier today and it was in stock from newegg as you suggested. As of now, out of stock. Wow they move fast. I almost ordered one too.

Never heard of VisionTek, anyone else?

I've seen EDGE RAM at work once, have you seen their EDGE Boost Pro 480GB mSATA SSD? These two are using SandForce controllers too.

 

Mythlogic is offering the VisonTek mSATA in their builds. Check with them for feedback on it.

 

I think the 960GB in stock at newegg is a glitch. I've seen it a couple times as in stock and added to cart and checked out and bam said it was not available. One time it showed as not available, I refreshed the page and it showed available, and I still couldn't order it.

 

You have to be fast(er).

@Bullrun got one yesterday. I assume for $600.

 

I just got my trackng number. In transit not just an electronic notice. They had it for at least 5 hours, limit 3 per.

 

Yes, OtherSongs, you assume correctly, $600

 

Weird. It has said auto notify all morning for me even after flushing my cache.

Which reminds me. I signed up for auto notify a few days ago and never got a notification.

EDIT: Ok, I see it was yesterday afternoon. I missed it completely. But I did sign up for auto-notify and it never notified me! Stupid newegg.

 

I signed up for auto-notify too and got nothing. I was looking at the Extreme II, got an e-mail sale, and happened to click 513GB-1TB link from the main SSD page and it was at the top of the page. Surprise, in stock! I got lucky!

shopblt.com shows 4 in stock in So. Cal. Never shopped there but good reviews on Google shopping.

 

I won't shop for stuff like this except at places I'm comfortable with like B&H, Newegg, Amazon etc. $600 is a lot of money and if CS sucks at the place you buy it from... Just stupid that it comes in very small increments.

I emailed Crucial to see when they might be getting them in stock and here's the response:

" Thank you for contacting Crucial. Unfortunately we do not have any estimates for when we will have any M500 drives availiable. I can understand the inconvienence that this causes as I am waiting on one of these drives my self."

 

I, certainly, agree with the 3 vendors you mentioned. I only recently had some issues at Amazon with TVs, trying to charge a restocking fee for a return of two damaged sets but their CS eventually got it right. Don't buy TVs online, lesson learned. And I, definitely, understand at this price point not trying someone new.

 

I come with good news, hope you guys get some, amazon is apparently getting a new batch very soon,

Crucial M500 960GB SATA 2.5-Inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT960M500SSD1 $599

says In stock but may require an extra 1-2 days to process, so they probably got the batch and is in the process of sorting, hope some nbr members get some.

 

Which model(s)? And how soon? Where'd you hear about this?

I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the 480gb msata.

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk 2

 

The Amazon price says $780.

I just got an auto-notify from newegg that the 960GB was in stock at 3:02PM. I clicked at 3:05PM and it was out of stock already. This is getting stupid.

I wouldn't mind a 480GB mSATA either.

 

again stock on amazon

 

Woot! Thanks. Just ordered (finally). Will probably be out of stock in the next couple of hours. Now all I need is an M500 mSATA and I'm set.

Finally a 1TB SSD. We'll see how it performs. Some idiot at Newegg said it can only handle 75TB of writes, so only 75 w/e cycles? I highly doubt that. At worse case 1000 cycles, but likely 3000, which means 3000TB Of course Anandtech's article states 72TB writes: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6884/crucial-micron-m500-review-960gb-480gb-240gb-120gb

 

I would expect the volume of writes to increase in proportion with the size. So if 72TB applies to 120 GB then it's 576 TB for 960 GB.

John

 

It's not just the amount of writes, it's the type of writes too.

After having played with the 480GB version, I would not be surprised if it is only capable of 72TB of R 4K R/W punishment...

 

I find it hard to believe that there would be less than 100 W/E cycles on an MLC NAND. That's absurd. That's almost worse than having a DVDRW.

 

I'm looking to buy a 240 GB M500. What scares me off is the idle power consumption is over 1W as per Anandtech's review

Is there something I'm missing here? I was expecting the m500 to consume less power than the m4 (and for the most part it seems to be true) but the idle performance is what I need the most for battery life.

 

My own take (so far), is that of the 2.5" M500 units, only the 480GB and 960GB units are worth considering.

There's plenty of competition at the 240GB/256GB size, so I'd pick something other than a 2.5" M500 for that size.

It's possible that a future firmware update may help with lowering idle 2.5" M500 power consumption, but I'm not holding my breath on that. You and tiller and others are bothered by the high idle power consumption. I'm keeping an eye on what happens with future firmware update(s).

When the 480GB mSATA M500 is finally easy to buy at $400 (or less), I'll likely get one. I simply want one, but don't need one, so I can play the waiting game, however many months that takes.

 

That would actually be far worse than TLC NAND. Hell, we have USB Flash drives that have higher W/E cycles than 100...

 

It is possible that DIPM was not enabled. Many newer drives with HIPM and/or DIPM enabled it will drop the power consumption considerably. Unfortunately, you have to do a registry edit in order to enable dipm, but it's worth it.

See here: http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120968

That article says saves 7-8% on battery life, but I've seen it save considerably more.

 

Thanks HT - I have an Intel x-25 so for other Intel owners this is relavent ABXZone Computer Forums - View Single Post - TIP: how to enable DIPM for SSDs on Windows 7
Your latest review is outstanding - looks like a very viable replacement for my Dell D610.

 

thats not even close to the work that I had to yesterday to enable trim on linux

 

In the anandtech review the first paragraph on the power consumption page mentions DIPM was enabled.

I've been looking around but haven't seen any other reviews to support Crucial's claims. If it is indeed around 100 mW, then this is a winner for me

 

Some folks at XS->Storage performed some intense hammering of various SSDs to see their endurance in constant random 4K writes over several days, max. speed.
Most of them reached 1TB of writes before clunking down. And it wasn't certain the NAND got hammered on all, since some just stopped appearing all together
Those were tests on minimal SSD sizes, i.e. 40-60GB. The 960GB, which is ... 16x larger can do at least 16x more. It does not scale that low however, since the random speed is quite similar, yet the time between the reuse of the same cell is higher with bigger SSDs.

I reckon the 960GB, were it in the same process as the tested SSDs, would be able to handle 16PB (16.000TBs) of constant max. speed random 4K writes.
Unfortunately, it is a smaller manufacturing process, os it can handle somewhat less, but still - should be way more impressive than a measly 72TB.

 

I guess I should read the article then, eh? lol. The testbed likely may have an affect on the power draw, and Anandtech article (actually read this time) says it likely could be an issue with their test setup. The nice thing about SSD's is that you can set them to turn off after just a couple minutes and they power on almost instantaneously, so at least on battery, you can set it up so that it turns off after 2 minutes or something.

If you hammer a system with 4k writes it's not indicative of actual longevity of the drive. It's not realistic. It's like if you pushed your CPU to the max temperature and speed 24/7, it will likely fail much sooner than if you totaled the entire time the CPU was a max heat and speed with regular use.

And looky what I got in the mail today.

 

I didn't say it was indicative, rather a worst case scenario - which is far from bad.

GRRRR at the picture :d

 

Im so going to your house, eat a sandwich and steal that drive

 

Only if you take one of my kids with you.

I'm debating if I put this in my current laptop and swap the 256GB mSATA + 512GB SATA (both Crucial M4) into my upcoming Clevo W230ST or just use the 960GB in my W230ST. I'm thinking I might just want a single drive in my W230ST for power concerns. Makes more sense to have a single drive I think. But I will at least install it and check for performance.