Crucial MX500 SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD
Capacity
Price
$340.63
Per TB$340.63
Buy on AmazonAlso available at
Reasons to buy
- Micron 3D NAND with published sequential speeds up to 560 MB/s read and 510 MB/s write
- AES 256-bit hardware encryption and integrated power-loss protection on supported models
- Five-year limited warranty with capacity-specific TBW ratings up to 1000 TB on the 4 TB model
- Includes 7 mm to 9.5 mm spacer for broader laptop and desktop bay compatibility
- Free Acronis True Image for Crucial cloning software download for migration workflows
Reasons to avoid
- SATA bandwidth caps throughput well below modern NVMe drives
- Large capacities such as 4 TB can cost noticeably more per gigabyte than smaller SKUs
- Amazon and marketplace stock for higher capacities fluctuates more than entry-level sizes
- Random write performance trails current PCIe Gen4 drives in heavy mixed workloads
Specifications
- endurance tbw
- 360
Researched and maintained by Hard Drive Prices Editorial Team. · Updated June 5, 2026
Specifications
- endurance tbw
- 360
Researched and maintained by Hard Drive Prices Editorial Team. · Updated June 5, 2026
User ratings
- Amazon4.8(110,418)
- Best Buy4.8(2,025)
What you're getting
The Crucial MX500 is a 2.5 inch SATA solid state drive built on Micron 3D NAND. It targets desktops, laptops, and small form factor PCs that still use a SATA bay rather than M.2 NVMe. Capacities in this family span 500 GB through 4 TB, so one line can cover boot drives, bulk storage upgrades, and older machine refreshes.
Crucial publishes sequential reads up to 560 MB/s and sequential writes up to 510 MB/s across the SATA models in this series. Random performance is rated up to 95,000 read IOPS and 90,000 write IOPS on 4 KB transfers. The drive uses a SATA 6 Gb/s interface and ships in a 7 mm z-height enclosure with a 9.5 mm spacer for thicker bays.
Micron backs the MX500 with a five-year limited warranty or the rated total bytes written (TBW) limit, whichever comes first. Hardware features include AES 256-bit encryption, integrated power loss protection, adaptive thermal protection, RAIN redundancy, and SMART monitoring. Rated MTTF is 1.8 million hours on Crucial's product materials.
The MX500 remains a practical choice when you need dependable flash storage without changing your motherboard layout. It fits any system with a standard 2.5 inch SATA slot, including many older Intel and AMD platforms, compact office PCs, and homelab nodes that prioritize capacity per dollar over PCIe Gen4 speeds.
Buying context
Typical value (not live pricing)
SATA SSD pricing moves with NAND supply and retail promos. At research time, Best Buy listed the 1 TB model near $90, the 2 TB near $160, and the 4 TB near $330, while Amazon showed a clear price only on the 500 GB listing. Check the live product page before checkout because marketplace sellers can inflate older ASINs.
Where this line often shows up
- Windows 10 or 11 boot drive upgrades
- Replacing a 2.5 inch laptop hard drive
- Older Intel and AMD desktop SATA refreshes
- Homelab nodes with only SATA bays free
- Secondary Steam or game library storage
- Office PC storage without NVMe slots
Features
SATA 6 Gb/s interface in a standard 2.5 inch form factor for broad desktop and laptop compatibility
Micron 3D NAND with dynamic write acceleration for consistent write performance
560 MB/s sequential read and up to 510 MB/s sequential write on supported capacities
AES 256-bit hardware encryption to protect data at rest without relying on software alone
Integrated power loss immunity helps preserve in-flight writes during unexpected shutdowns
RAIN and multistep data integrity algorithms for additional fault tolerance at the NAND level
Adaptive thermal protection adjusts activity to help keep the drive within its 0 to 70 degrees Celsius operating range
TRIM, SMART, and active garbage collection support for long-term SSD maintenance on modern operating systems