Crucial P2 500GB SSD Review and Test

SSD manufacturers have begun to pay more and more attention to drives with an NVMe interface and an M.2 connector. Simple connection, minimum space occupied and maximum data transfer rates have become the main criteria for the growth in popularity of these devices, first among enthusiasts, and later among ordinary users. Until recently, they were more expensive than their SATA counterparts and were used as the main drive for the OS or tasks requiring high speeds, while the usual 2.5″ solutions were assigned the role of a capacious information storage. Now, when their prices are almost equal, there is no need for SATA devices and now you can assemble a system with a minimum of extra wires, which will be relevant for compact PCs, and NVMe solutions may be the only option for laptops.

Considering that conventional drives have run into the limitations of the SATA interface, it is not surprising that manufacturers frequently update their NVMe SSD lineups. For example, Micron has been releasing a very successful Crucial MX500 line for a long time and has not yet offered a replacement for it, but the company offers new M.2 drives with enviable frequency. Introduced a few years ago, the P1 has now been replaced by the P5 and P2 models. The first is Crucial’s fastest solution and is designed for enthusiasts and gamers, while the second is already designed for a more mass user. In this review, we will get acquainted with the junior solution.

Crucial P2

Representatives of the previous P1 series were not particularly popular with the advanced public, primarily due to the QLC flash memory used, but the cost of such NVMe drives was comparable to SATA solutions, which, to some extent, became a decisive factor when choosing an inexperienced user. This time, Micron introduced an SSD already with TLC flash, which should positively affect the speed characteristics and the total amount of recorded information. In total, there are four models in the line, including capacities from 250 GB to 2 TB. They are all based on a Phison E13T quad-channel, single-core controller that communicates with 96-layer 3D NAND flash and do not have an address translation table buffer. Those. these are common budget solutions that can compete in price with SATA drives.

Sequential read and write speeds are similar to many entry-level NVMe solutions, but the declared characteristics of the 500 GB model are especially knocked out – sequential write is lower and is equal to only 940 MB / s. She also underestimated the random reading and writing of 4K blocks. The total number of recorded data is small and amounts to 300 storage volumes, only the younger representative of the P2 series has this figure exactly twice as high.

Declared support for proprietary technology Dynamic Write Acceleration, which is responsible for SLC caching, and Active Garbage Collection for offline garbage collection. There is Adaptive Thermal Protection and Autonomous Power State Transition power management, and Integrated Power Loss Immunity will allow you to correctly complete data recording in case of an unplanned power outage.

Crucial P2 500GB

The drive comes in a small box with branded design, which indicates the model and capacity of the drive, as well as the address of the page on the Internet where you can find instructions for installing the device and downloading related software.

There is also a brief instruction in several languages ​​in the kit. To protect against damage during shipping, the SSD is housed in a clear plastic blister.

P2 is a familiar 2280 format NVMe drive, made on black textolite. The latter will be a definite plus for someone, especially when the motherboard is of the same color (in principle, they are all like that now). The sticker shows the model, drive size, serial number and other service information. There is a warning to void the device warranty if the tag is removed.

The SSD is based on the Phison PS5013-E13 controller, which has average performance by modern standards, but sufficient for entry-level drives. Four lanes of the PCI Express 3.0 interface are used. The characteristics of the chip allow for 500 GB models to reach speeds of up to 2500 and 2100 MB / s for reading and writing, respectively, but why the difference is indicated for the P2 500GB is not for the better, equal to more than twice, remains a mystery. Perhaps because of the organization of memory.

Micron MT29F1T08EMHBFJ4-3R:B 1 Tbit chips are installed here, four pieces on one side, which allows you to easily install SSDs in any motherboards and laptops. As already noted, the controller is bufferless and there is no DDR4/LPDDR4 memory chip on the board.

After the drive is initialized and formatted using standard Windows OS tools, the user will have access to about 465 GB of free space.

After installing the drive, the user can download the Acronis software for disk cloning and backup creation from the manufacturer’s website.

The proprietary Crucial Storage Executive utility is designed to service the SSD, however, it is very clumsy and makes you wait when choosing a particular function.

In it you can get information about the system, installed drives, view the status of SMART, update firmware.

It is possible to activate Momentum Cache technology to speed up read / write operations, allocate a spare area to reduce cell wear, or perform SSD self-diagnosis.