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Both Samsung and Crucial are famous for manufacturing affordable and highly spec’d SSDs. That is why their products are often the best-selling ones in the market. The Samsung 870 QVO and the Crucial MX500 are no exceptions to that.
Trying to decide which one to buy between the two can be strenuous. That is why I have mustered the specifications, benchmarks, and prices along with a few other facts that you need to know about the different variants of the two SSDs in order to make an informed purchase decision.
1. Storage Capacity
One of the most important points to discuss before anything else are the storage options. The Samsung 870 QVO comes in 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB, and 8 TB variants.
Whereas, the Crucial MX500 comes in 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB variants.
If you do not require 1 TB of space, you can choose the Crucial MX500 and if you require more than 2 TB of space, you can choose the Samsung 870 QVO. But if you are looking for a 1 TB or 2 TB SSD, you should keep reading to find the differences between the models.
2. Theoretical Read/Write Speed (Sequential)
The following sequential read and write speeds have been sourced from the companies’ websites.
Theoretical Read/Write Speed of the Samsung 870 QVO (Sequential)
| Capacity | Sequential Read Speed | Sequential Write Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Without Turbowrite | With Turbowrite | ||
| 1 TB | 560 MB/s | 80 MB/s | 530 MB/s |
| 2 TB | 560 MB/s | 160 MB/s | 530 MB/s |
| 4 TB | 560 MB/s | 160 MB/s | 530 MB/s |
| 8 TB | 560 MB/s | 160 MB/s | 530 MB/s |
If a very small amount of data is written to the 1 TB variant, the write speed drops from 530 MB/s to 80 MB/s. Whereas, for the variants that have a capacity of 2 TB and above, the write speed drops from 530 MB/s to 160 MB/s. This happens because of the Intelligent Turbowrite feature. However, the read speeds are consistent across all the variants.
Theoretical Read/Write Speed of the Crucial MX500 (Sequential)
| Capacity | Sequential Read Speed | Sequential Write Speed |
|---|---|---|
| 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB | 560 MB/s | 510 MB/s |
The sequential read and write speeds of all the variants of the Crucial MX500 are identical. As the read speeds rise up to 560 MB/s, the write speeds cap at 510 MB/s.
With the data provided by the official manufacturers, we can see that there is not much difference between the two SSDs. Having said that, how well they are actually going to perform can be found out only in the benchmark results.
3. Benchmark scores
Benchmarking reveals the true potential of SSDs and that is why you must consider these scores in order to make a choice.
Benchmark Scores of the Samsung 870 QVO
| Variant | Sequential Read Speed | Sequential Write Speed | Random 4K Read Speed | Random 4K Write Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 TB | 476 MB/s | 387 MB/s | 33.5 MB/s | 89.9 MB/s |
| 2 TB | 488 MB/s | 425 MB/s | 34.8 MB/s | 94.6 MB/s |
| 4 TB | 492 MB/s | 435 MB/s | 35.5 MB/s | 89.6 MB/s |
| 8 TB | 478 MB/s | 423 MB/s | 34.2 MB/s | 84.7 MB/s |
With these benchmarking scores, we can observe that the SSD has an average sequential read speed of 483.5 MB/s and a write speed of 417.5 MB/s. The average random 4K read speed is decent at 34.5 MB/s and the average random 4K write speed stands at an exceptional 89.7 MB/s!
Benchmark Scores of the Crucial MX500
| Variant | Sequential Read Speed | Sequential Write Speed | Random 4K Read Speed | Random 4K Write Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 GB | 474 MB/s | 401 MB/s | 32.7 MB/s | 82.9 MB/s |
| 500 GB | 475 MB/s | 422 MB/s | 33.3 MB/s | 85.2 MB/s |
| 1 TB | 477 MB/s | 418 MB/s | 33.5 MB/s | 84.8 MB/s |
| 2 TB | 484 MB/s | 424 MB/s | 33.6 MB/s | 86.4 MB/s |
The Crucial MX500 has an average sequential read speed of 477.5 MB/s and a write speed of 416.25 MB/s. The average random 4K read speed is at a satisfactory 33.3 MB/s and the average random 4K write speed comes at an impressive 84.8 MB/s.
With all this information we can conclude that the read and write speeds of the Samsung 870 QVO are moderately more than that of the Crucial MX500. And the extraordinary average of 89.7 MB/s in the 4K write speed tests serves as a cherry on top.
It is to be noted that performances vary with configurations but if you have a decent spec’d computer with SATA III protocols, you can expect similar results.
4. Endurance
The endurance of SSDs is fairly difficult to determine practically. The usage and environment heavily impact an SSD’s life. Nonetheless, these are the figures that are furnished by the companies.
Endurance of Samsung 870 QVO
| Variant | TeraBytes Written (TBW) | Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 TB | 360 | 1.5 million hours |
| 2 TB | 720 | 1.5 million hours |
| 4 TB | 1440 | 1.5 million hours |
| 8 TB | 2880 | 1.5 million hours |
Endurance of Crucial MX500
| Variant | TeraBytes Written (TBW) | Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) |
|---|---|---|
| 250 GB | 100 | 1.5 million hours |
| 500 GB | 180 | 1.5 million hours |
| 1 TB | 360 | 1.5 million hours |
| 2 TB | 700 | 1.5 million hours |
The endurance level of the 1TB variants of both SSDs is identical. The 2TB variant of the Samsung 870 QVO has more durability. So by comparing the data provided by the companies, the 870 QVO comes out to be on top.
You can know more about TBW and SSD Endurance here.
5. Price Difference
As you are now aware of the performance and durability of both the SSDs, it is time to compare them in terms of their prices.
Note: The prices of any product vary depending on the time of your purchase and your location among other factors. The prices are sourced from official websites on the date of the writing of this article.
Prices
There are only two storage capacities that are mutual for both SSDs i.e. 1TB and 2TB. The prices of both are almost similar. When comparing their prices overall, the 1TB Crucial MX500 is cheaper than the 1TB Samsung 870 QVO. Whereas, the prices of the 2TB variants of the two SSDs are identical.
6. Other Features and Differences
1. Form Factor
Both the Samsung 870 QVO and the Crucial MX500 are SATA III SSDs that come in the 2.5” form factor.
2. Controller
The Samsung 870 QVO comes with the Samsung MKX Controller with these configurations (Tri-core, 8-ch, 8-CE/ch). Whereas the Crucial MX500 comes with the SMI SM2258 Controller with these configurations (Single-core, 4-ch, 8-CE/ch).
3. NAND Type
The Samsung 870 QVO is based on the Samsung 1Tbit 92L 3D QLC NAND and the Crucial MX500 is based on Micron’s 256GB 64-layer 3D TLC NAND.
4. Cache Type
Samsung 870 QVO Cache Storage
| Variant | Cache Storage |
|---|---|
| 250 GB | Samsung 1 GB Low Power DDR4 SDRAM |
| 500 GB | Samsung 2 GB Low Power DDR4 SDRAM |
| 1 TB | Samsung 4 GB Low Power DDR4 SDRAM |
| 2 TB | Samsung 8 GB Low Power DDR4 SDRAM |
Crucial MX500 Cache Storage
| Variant | Cache Storage |
|---|---|
| 250 GB | 250 MB SLC Cache |
| 500 GB | 500 MB SLC Cache |
| 1 TB | 1 GB SLC Cache |
| 2 TB | 2 GB SLC Cache |
4. Warranty
The Samsung 870 QVO comes with 3 years of warranty whereas the Crucial MX500 comes with 5 years of warranty.
Verdict: Which one should you choose?
Both the SSDs have lots of positive reviews about them on the internet. But then at the end of the day, you have to choose between the two.
Even though the Crucial MX500 is a great SSD, the Samsung 870 QVO comes out to be on top when pitted against it. It performs better and is more reliable. Hence, the price difference is justifiable. That is why I strongly recommend you go with it.
But, if you have a limited budget, MX500 will also not let you down.
I hope that this article has cleared your doubts and made it easy for you to make a decision. You can get in touch if you have any queries.
Thanks for reading!