BX and MX Crucial SSDS?
I’ve seen many articles about the benefits of SSDS, and I understand using one is an easy way to improve performance. So, I’ve been thinking about fitting an SSD as my main drive, and using my hard drive for file storage, in my Windows 10 desktop PC. You’ve mentioned Crucial drives positively numerous times over the years, so I’ve been looking at these. As a pensioner I don’t have a lot of spare cash, so the 500GB BX model caught my eye because, at a shade over £37, it seems good value. However, Crucial also has the MX range, with a 500GB drive that’s about £20 more. What’s the difference? I understand that the costlier one will be faster, but is it worth the extra money? It might not seem much, but £20 to me means a couple of nights in the pub!
QThere could be very many differences between any two SSDS, from minor to major.
Here, though, you’re asking about a comparison between two specific drives, so we can give specific answers. And, while there are plenty of underlying technical distinctions, from the user’s perspective the differences boil down to, yes, speed – but also durability.
In particular, according to the respective specifications, the BX500 drive (www.snipca.com/43927) reads data at up to 550MB/S and writes it at 500MB/S, while the MX500 (www.snipca. com/43928) is fractionally faster on both fronts – reading at 560MB/S and writing at 510MB/S. Whether you’d notice any difference is perhaps a more pertinent point. On the whole, we don’t believe that most people would – certainly not for day-to-day computing tasks.
Durability might be more of a concern. The BX models are designed to last for up to 120 terabytes written, or TBW, while the MX ups this to 180TBW. Crucial’s warranties also reflect this, with three years on BX models and five years for MX. Again, though, in the real world these figures translate to years of reliable use – and, typically, considerably more than the warranties might suggest.
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