Crucial MX100 512GB

Crucial is a well-established player in the SSD market, way back since its RealSSD models in 2010. The market is a lot more crowded now than it was back then though, with every man and his dog eager to jump on the flash memory bandwagon.

So with the MX100, Crucial hopes it can make serious waves with a very aggressive stance on pricing, undercutting just about every other brand, and even its own M500 and M550 SSDs. As of writing the MX100 is priced at £159 (around US$255, AU$290) for the 512GB model, with cheaper 256GB (£83) and 128GB (£56) capacities available as well.

At £159, the 512GB model works out as 31p per gigabyte, while the 256GB model works out as 32p per gigabyte and the 128GB capacity as almost 44p per gigabyte. 512GB is definitely the sweet spot in terms of pricing then, but it's also a better capacity for performance as well.

While the 512GB model is rated for 500GB/s write speeds, the 256GB and 128GB capacities are quoted as being much slower, at 333MB/s and 150MB/s respectively, with lower IOPS too.

Both the 256GB and 512GB models (data wasn't available for the 128GB version) are quoted as capable of a lifetime 72TB of writes. This figure works out as almost 65GB a day over three years, which covers the warranty period, or 40GB a day for five years. With the exception of Samsung's 850 Pro, which benefits from a 3D flash arrangement, with much improved longevity, this is fairly competitive with other SSDs.