Crucial MX300 750 GB

[W1zzard]

Crucial's MX300 introduces TLC flash to the MX Series. We tested the 750 GB version, which delivers decent performance at incredible pricing of only 23 cents per gigabyte. Performance per dollar is also fantastic, claiming a top spot in our charts.

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[Chaitanya]

Maybe too little and too little to stop onslaught of Samsung. Also editor's choice for this drive maybe too much. Its another example how Crucial ran their good product lineup into ground.

 

[W1zzard]

Also editor's choice for this drive maybe too much

But the pricing

 

[natr0n]

Great pricing.

 

[ERazer]

been looking to replace my 1tb HDD 2nd drive this looks promising, mainly for steam library.

Sweet local microcenter has it

 

[Divide Overflow]

What are the concerns with TLC chips? I get that users are wary of them, but are there really significant issues? Reliability? Longevity?

 

[xkm1948]

mx200 beats mx300 in performance, that is pretty good.

Now i have multiple WD black for data storage, I don't feel like getting SATA based SSD ever. My next upgrade will be a good m2 NvME drive.

 

[human_error]

Had this drive since it was in the Amazon Prime sale over the summer - great drive for games, especially as load time differences are minimal compared to much more expensive drives.

 

[newtekie1]

Doesn't this drive have power loss protection? I thought that was a feature of the MX300 line of drives over the others, and something worth pointing out. That's what all those surface mount caps are for in the middle of the PCB.

 

[W1zzard]

Doesn't this drive have power loss protection? I thought that was a feature of the MX300 line of drives over the others, and something worth pointing out. That's what all those surface mount caps are for in the middle of the PCB.

Power Loss Protection completes write commands even if power is lost

Yup

 

[ERazer]

microcenter selling it $169 then theres TR150 960gb for $209

 

[newtekie1]

Power Loss Protection completes write commands even if power is lost

Yup

Probably worth mentioning in the review, no? Maybe even a Pro.

 

[bug]

Maybe too little and too little to stop onslaught of Samsung. Also editor's choice for this drive maybe too much. Its another example how Crucial ran their good product lineup into ground.

$175 for 750GB? That's everyone's choice.
I feel concerns over TLC are blown out of proportion (at least for the current manufacturing node). There were worries before related to planar TLC. But 3D TLC has been tested to match the endurance of previous generation planar MLC and no one had any concerns about planar MLC. There's a performance penalty, sure, but realistically speaking regular users will only see it in benchmarks.
And again $175 for 750GB*!

*well, not exactly 750GB as we don't even get 700GB, but still...

 

[theeldest]

... But 3D TLC has been tested to match the endurance of previous generation planar MLC and no one had any concerns about planar MLC. ...

This is a pretty important bit when talking about 3D NAND. When the different manufacturers went from planar to 3D they also went from a 16 nm process to a 40-ish nm process. This results in 3D TLC having better endurance numbers than the most recent planar MLC NAND.

In the next couple years, we'll see 3D QLC from some vendors and these will be similar to the SMR rotating drives. Made to write once and leave it.

Endurance on 3D TLC is fine. This drive has 220TBW over the life of the drive. If you break that down to 5 years it's a 125GB daily write allowance. I see no issues here.

 

[Exeodus]

I am using this as my main drive for Windows 10, and I am happy with it's performance so far. Feels just as fast as any other SSD brands I have used (Samsung\Intel\Sandisk)

 

[biffzinker]

microcenter selling it $169 then theres TR150 960gb for $209

$250 for the 1TB at Microcenter sounds alright to me. Still put off by the OCZ name even though it's Toshiba now.

 

[Chaitanya]

But the pricing

If it had BX series label then yes for MX series not worth it, better skip and pay extra for 850 EVO from Samsung.

 

[Vayra86]

Maybe too little and too little to stop onslaught of Samsung. Also editor's choice for this drive maybe too much. Its another example how Crucial ran their good product lineup into ground.

No. Mx100 was the better price/perf choice at its time compared and closely trailed the Samsung 830, but offered the powersafe caps.

Mx200 was for the same reason a choice and alternative for the 840. Then crucial started pushing for price/GB king with the BX line.

MX300 still offers what it always did, good price/perf and powersafe caps which are still USPs. Add the price/Gb king on top and similar reliability and I simply cant understand your statement at all.

These SSDs all belong to consumer entry level/mainstream storage. MX100 was no different and neither is 850 EVO

 

[newtekie1]

If it had BX series label then yes for MX series not worth it, better skip and pay extra for 850 EVO from Samsung.

I don't really see any point in paying extra for the 850 EVO over the MX300 when there would be no noticeable performance difference and only a very marginal measurable difference and the MX300 offers better features.

Then when you consider the 750GB MX300 is the same price as the 500GB 850 EVO, picking the MX300 is a no brainer.

 

[Tomorrow]

Power Loss Protection completes write commands even if power is lost

Yup

Power-Loss Protection

Data that has been written to the NAND in the SSD is called “data at rest.” Data that is in the process of being written by the host computer is called “data in motion.” Because these are live operations, the SSD has to be concerned with power loss. If power is lost while these (and other) operations are in progress, there is a potential for data loss.

In most client-class SSDs, only data at rest is protected against power loss; data in motion is not. Enterprise-class SSDs, like Micron’s M500DC, employ additional hardware and firmware features to ensure that both data at rest and data in motion are protected against power loss.

MX300 like other non-enterprise SSD-s has Data at Rest protection. Only enterprise SSD-s have full data loss protection.

EDIT: Source: http://www.wsta.org/publications/ticker-e-zine/issues/2014-issue-3/choosing-right-ssds-data-center/

 

[bug]

I don't really see any point in paying extra for the 850 EVO over the MX300 when there would be no noticeable performance difference and only a very marginal measurable difference and the MX300 offers better features.

Then when you consider the 750GB MX300 is the same price as the 500GB 850 EVO, picking the MX300 is a no brainer.

Actually, the rule for buying any SSD is "get the biggest one you can for the money you have". Because size is still at a considerable premium, while speed differences are mostly non-existent.
Sure, specs will show you various metrics where one drive is faster than another, but the simple truth is you only after the access speed. That is what makes an SSD run circles around a HDD. Random 4k performance can help, too, but I think the difference between the fastest and slowest drive on the market is something like 30%. Noticeable, but hardly game changing.