Everything that decides whether the Crucial MX500 is the right drive: controller, DRAM, NAND, rated endurance, PS5 and laptop fit, and how it compares with the obvious alternatives. Hardware facts are taken from the reviews and datasheets listed at the bottom; capacities and speeds come from our comparison of 60 drives.
Who it’s for: Upgrading a laptop or desktop that has a 2.5-inch bay or an M.2 SATA slot: TLC with a DRAM cache keeps speed steady when the drive is full, unlike DRAM-less SATA drives. Skip it for: Any machine with an M.2 NVMe slot, where an entry NVMe drive costs about the same and is many times faster.
| Controller | Silicon Motion SM2258 (4-channel) |
| DRAM cache | Yes — DRAM cache that scales with capacity |
| NAND | Micron 3D TLC |
| Interface | SATA 6 Gb/s, 2.5-inch (also M.2 2280 SATA up to 1TB) |
| Heatsink version | Not in our data — sold bare |
| Capacity | Seq. read | Seq. write | Endurance | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 TB | 560 MB/s | 510 MB/s | 360 TBW | 5 yr |
| 2 TB | 560 MB/s | 510 MB/s | 700 TBW | 5 yr |
Rated endurance is 100 TBW at 250GB, 180 TBW at 500GB, 360 TBW at 1TB, 700 TBW at 2TB. Speeds are the manufacturer’s sequential ratings.
Every Crucial MX500 capacity in our comparison, smallest first.
| $/TB | $/GB | Price | Capacity | Interface | Gen | Read | Write | NAND | Warranty | Cond. | Product |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $369.00BEST | $0.369 | $369.00 | 1 TB | 2.5 SATA | SATA | 560 MB/s | 510 MB/s | TLC | 5 yr | New | Crucial MX500 1TB· 3rd-partyAmazon ↗ |
| $140.00 | $0.140 | $279.99 | 2 TB | 2.5 SATA | SATA | 560 MB/s | 510 MB/s | TLC | 5 yr | New | Crucial MX500 2TB· 3rd-party· ships laterAmazon ↗ |
The Crucial MX500 is a SATA drive: it fits a 2.5-inch drive bay or, in its M.2 version, an M.2 slot keyed for SATA. It will not work in an M.2 slot that only supports NVMe, and it does not meet the PS5’s NVMe requirement. If your machine has an NVMe slot, an entry NVMe drive is many times faster for about the same price per terabyte.
How to identify your slot: cheapest SSD for a laptop · all SATA SSDs.
Samsung 870 Evo: the other SATA drive with DRAM and TLC, with higher rated endurance.
| Crucial MX500 | Samsung 870 Evo | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | 2.5 SATA | 2.5 SATA |
| Seq. read | 560 MB/s | 560 MB/s |
| Seq. write | 510 MB/s | 530 MB/s |
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM cache | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | 5 yr | 5 yr |
WD Black SN7100: what to buy instead if your machine has an M.2 NVMe slot.
| Crucial MX500 | WD Black SN7100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | 2.5 SATA | PCIe Gen 4 |
| Seq. read | 560 MB/s | 7,250 MB/s |
| Seq. write | 510 MB/s | 6,900 MB/s |
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM cache | Yes | No (HMB) |
| Warranty | 5 yr | 5 yr |
We show retail prices only while we can refresh them at least every 24 hours. For market context: TrendForce’s 16 Oct 2026 retail sample runs $133–$250 per TB for mainstream 1–2TB drives, and NAND contract prices are forecast +15 to +20% for 4Q26. Check any listing against that range with the price per TB calculator, and see the SSD price chart for the trend.
Hardware facts on this page come from:
Where reviews disagreed (for example on NAND layer counts or a capacity’s endurance rating) we state only what the sources agree on.