Crucial MX500 1TB SATA SSD

I found an excellent deal at Best Buy on a Crucial MX500 1TB SATA SSD that I simply could not pass up. At the time of this writing, the SSD was on sale for $89.99. But to muddy things, the Samsung 860 EVO 1TB just dropped to $101.95 at Amazon. I strongly considered canceling the MX500 in favor of the 860 EVO, but decided to leave things alone. After all, 12 bucks is, well... 12 bucks.

After checking multiple reviews, I learned that the MX500 is very close in performance to Samsung's EVO line. The differences are so negligible for everyday use as to not matter. Considering that I will use the MX500 mainly for file storage, the differences will matter even less. My Windows operating system will continue to use the Samsung 850 Pro (256GB), which is currently divided in 2 partitions.

As far as endurance is concerned, the MX500 1TB is rated for 360 terabyte written (TBW), whereas the 860 EVO 1TB is rated for 600 TBW. So far, my Samsung 850 Pro is barely at 17 TBW after over 5 years of steady use, so I'm not concerned that 360 TBW might not be enough. Besides, both sport a 5-year warranty. Just for reference, the older 850 EVO 1TB is "only" rated for 150 TBW, which is the same as my 850 Pro.

I will install the new MX500 as a secondary drive to hold all my files, music, photos, videos, etc. I will repartition the Samsung 850 Pro into a single, dedicated drive for the operating system, and the new MX500 will take the place of D Drive. The MX500 will also allow me to replace a very old Plextor 128GB SSD. Remember that dinosaur?

After backing up the tar out of everything, I used the free version of AOMEI Partition Assistant. I have previously used it with good results, and today was no different. I merged the two partitions into one, and my Windows OS is now utilizing the entire Samsung 850 Pro SSD. For now, D Drive temporarily does not exist.

Once the MX500 arrives (it's currently out for delivery) I'll install it, set it as D Drive, and ensure the firmware is up to date. I'll follow up by recovering the backed up files to their new location. Hopefully the new SSD won't arrive too late in the day, and I can have the job completed before the night is over.


EDIT: The new drive is installed and all is well. The MX500 replaced the previous D Drive partition from the Samsung 850 Pro SSD, and completely replaced the Plextor 128GB SSD. You would probably not be surprised to learn that the MX500 burns circles around the old Plextor.

Since I had the computer opened up, it was an opportunity to blow the dust bunnies out. It looks (and acts) just like new again.

Do you not use Cloud backup or is the Cloud a backup for your data drive?  Why have all that "stuff" on your machine at all?

I use Dropbox and Google Backup, but more on that in another thread.

We have decades of scans, photos, videos, and at least a couple thousand music files. Some music includes FLAC, which is much larger than MP3. Not having those files locally would only increase our bandwidth usage, which is already strained. Not to mention that it's much faster to organize, access and modify local files.

My FIL sits in his bedroom all day, everyday, streaming Netflix and others. Then there's my 25-year-old daughter, who is also a heavy data user. My wife is right behind her with countless shows that she likes to stream. I get 250GB bandwidth per month, and that often gets pushed to the limit.

Ah the complications of having a family.  How easily I forget....