Purchased 2 x 250GB to run as a RAID 1 cache drive for a network storage device. Whilst the drives work and achieve their claimed read/write performance figures they do have a few flaws, one of which was particularly concerning.
The first concern is the incomplete SMART health monitoring data set. The required data is there but a few fields are not correctly populated. Crucial do publish a table to convert the values to a more friendly format but that should not be necessary. This also means that some useful information cannot be read by automated health diagnostics, including the 'expected life remaining' value. Again, this can be worked around but the end user should not need to.
The second minor point is that the internal temperature sensor over-reads by around 4 deg C. Whilst I would rather have an over-read than under-read this does have an interaction with the final issue.
The third and more major point is that these drives run very hot, even at idle or just powered on. Whilst we are used to blazing fast NVMe drives running rather warm these are just slower SATA drives running without an enclosure. The drives ship with no heatsink or requirement to fit one but run at over 50 deg C with only power applied. Of course, when fitted in a more confined space (eg laptop or beneath a major component in a desktop) providing additional heatsinks is just not possible; but in my case the SSDs were fitted in a dedicated bay with 2 additional heatsinks. Adding large additional heatsinks and increasing the vent fan did help a little, but when under load the SSDs climbed above 72 deg C (reported value, 68 deg C actual), triggering a system safety shutdown.
I have since found other reviews on other sites noting the same issues experienced by my 2 drives. The 2 star review reflects the positives of price and read/write performance and the huge negative regarding temperatures. Given that the M.2 form-factor was designed for confined spaces it is difficult to recommend these drives. Even in my case, blessed with free space and airflow it is a challenge to keep these drives at a suitable temperature.
I have ordered 2x 256GB Samsung 860 Evo SSDs to replace the Crucial MX500s. Even without additional heatsinks the Samsung SSDs run over 20 deg C cooler than the Crucials. I understand that the WD Blue also run at a cooler temperature too.
A surprising misstep by Crucial and not typical of their products.
| Brand | Crucial |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 8 x 2.21 x 0.13 cm; 9.07 Grams |
| Item model number | CT500MX500SSD4 |
| Manufacturer | Micron |
| Series | Crucial MX500 M.2 |
| Form Factor | Crucial MX500 M.2 |
| Hard Drive Size | 2.0, 500.0 TB |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Item Weight | 9.07 g |