Crucial is calling time on its popular MX500 SATA SSD, a long-time favorite among PC gamers. This drive has consistently topped the charts for almost seven years and will be missed.
The discontinuation of the MX500 was confirmed by ComputerBase and, while not entirely unexpected due to the dominance of NVMe M.2 SSDs, it marks the end of an era.
Why the MX500 Was So Popular
The Crucial MX500 was a popular choice for its combination of performance and price, offering several advantages:
- It used faster TLC NAND memory chips, unlike cheaper SATA SSDs that rely on QLC NAND.
- It included a reasonable amount of DRAM, improving performance compared to DRAM-less drives.
- It consistently outperformed most competition, rivaling all but Samsung's pricey 850 Pro.
While SATA SSDs are slower than NVMe drives, the MX500 provided more than adequate performance for most gaming needs, especially once games were loaded.
What's Next?
While not all variants of the MX500 are discontinued yet, with the 500 GB, 1TB, and 2TB models still listed as available on Crucial's site, they will likely be phased out soon, as Micron stated it is "making room in the line for new products."
Micron’s intentions suggest new products offering larger capacities and more affordable prices in the future. With CES 2025 just around the corner, it is possible that Micron will announce the replacement for the MX500 at that event.
In the meantime, the author notes that those making warranty claims for 4TB MX500s may not receive a like-for-like replacement, as those versions were not as capable as the smaller variants.
"Was it a good SSD? No. It was the best."
