Crucial MX300 SSD Review (750GB)

HDTUNE

HD Tune is a Hard Disk Utility with many functions from error checking, health testing (S.M.A.R.T.), and of course benchmarking. To build upon our real world write test we also looked to see where the write speeds leveled off to by using HD Tune Pro. If SLC caching is being utilized, this test will show it.

As can be seen above, the Crucial MX300’s base write performance of what looks to be about 285MB/s. From our other test results we can see that Dynamic Write Acceleration does a very good job at boosting these base write speeds to over 500MB/s. Therefore, we can conclude that one should see no lower write performance than this when running large sequential write transfers and more often than not, performance will be higher because consumer workloads typically occur in small bursts.

REPORT ANALYSIS AND FINAL THOUGHTS

In testing, it was able to achieve 535MB/s read and 516MB/s write speeds under ATTO. It also achieved 91K/75K read/write IOPS when benchmarking under AS SSD and reached over 80K IOPS write in Anvil Storage Utilities. The MX300’s 4K queue depth 1 results were decent and among average compared to the rest of the drives we have tested as well. This was rather disappointing though, considering that the Samsung 850 EVO with their 3D TLC is able to achieve much higher QD 1 results.

Moving on to our PCMark results, the MX300 put on a good show. It achieved over 84K points in Vantage, but performance under our PCMark 8 testing was nothing impressive. It was, however, much better than the previous MX200’s performance in the recovery phases, which is great to see considering that is the most representative to consumer use.

In addition, we threw a 30GB file transfer test at it to see how it compared to the competition. The result was very good, with the MX300 averaging 539MB/s write speed, which is on par with the Samsung 850 EVO. We also looked at power efficiency. At idle the MX300 consumes very little power, just 36 milliwatts. During the 30GB file transfer it even proved to be the most efficient SSD of the test group!

Finally, we did one final test with HDTune to see how low write performance may degrade without the use of its Dynamic Write Acceleration technology. Sure enough we saw it dropped down to around 285MB/s, which is decent, but does not outperform the Samsung 850 at this capacity.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Crucial’s latest addition to the MX series of SSDs, the MX300, is a welcomed improvement over the last model. At its core, the MX300 utilizes 384G-bit 32 tier 3D TLC NAND. This NAND is three times the density of current planar TLC and utilizes floating gate cells to ensure the quality and reliability of their design. Micron’s 3D NAND will soon bring with it greater capacity and lower cost SSDs to the market under its brands. Just weeks ago, during Computex, Micron even announced their 3D NAND powered 1100 and 2100 series client SSDs as well as the Ballistix TX3 with their latest 3D MLC. So, it won’t be much longer until we start seeing what else they have in store.

Overall, the MX300’s performance results showed similar to the stated specs and it and even proved to be a force to be reckoned with in terms of power efficiency. However, it did lag behind most of the competition in our PCMark 8 tests and showed performance that was more in line with planar TLC SSDs than MLC ones. This is a bit disappointing taking into consideration the price point and ever heated competition in the marketplace. At $0.26 per GB, the MX300 has a great MSRP of $199.99, but at around that price range you can also go out and buy multiple planar TLC SSDs at 1TB class capacities as well, though, at a cost of a bit lower performance and less features.

Speaking of features, there are a lot of them packed into the MX300 to increase its value. It has full hardware encryption that is compatible with Microsoft eDrive and many data integrity technologies with power-loss protection to keep your data safe. The inclusion of the 7mm to 9.5mm spacer and Acronis True Image HD for those who will be cloning also helps to increase value to the prospective buyer.

We look forward to seeing what other products with Micron’s 3D NAND will bring to the table in the upcoming months. 3D NAND is the future and this is just a glimpse of what is yet to come. The Limited Edition 750GB Crucial MX300 offers up a decent value for those in the market for a new high capacity SSD. For most consumer uses we have no qualms in recommending it to our readers. We just wish they would finally up their warranty to five years rather than three. If you are considering the MX300 for your next purchase, be sure to…

Checkout the Limited Edition 750GB Crucial MX300 on Amazon Today!