What’s the difference between the Crucial BX500 and MX500?

Crucial currently has two choices if you are looking for a 2.5 in × 7 mm SATA 6Gb/s internal solid state drive with the BX500 and MX500. So, which of these two best fit your needs?

You can find out in this comparison guide between the two Crucial SSDs.

Quick Summary

The Crucial MX500 Internal SSD has slightly faster maximum sequential read speed and maximum sequential write speed when compared to the Crucial BX500.

The MX500 is also a little bit more durable in most capacity options in addition to having a longer warranty period.

The only real advantage of the BX500 is that it offers a 120 GB capacity while the MX500 does not.

Overall, we recommend the Crucial MX500 SATA 6Gb/s Internal SSD over the Crucial MX500 SATA 6Gb/s Internal SSD due to the slightly better speeds in addition to being generally more durable.

BX500 vs. MX500 Comparison Charts

You can take a look at Seeking Tech’s comparison tables for the Crucial BX500 and MX500 below.

240 GB Crucial BX500 vs. 250 GB Crucial MX500

480 GB Crucial BX500 vs. 500 GB Crucial MX500

1 TB Crucial BX500 vs. 1 TB Crucial MX500

2 TB Crucial BX500 vs. 2 TB Crucial MX500

Capacity Options

The Crucial BX500 comes with the five capacity options: 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. The Crucial MX500 is available in four capacities: 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB.

You can check out the model number for each size below:

Crucial BX500 SSD:

• 120 GB (Model Number: CT120BX500SSD1)
• 240 GB (Model Number: CT240BX500SSD1)
• 480 GB (Model Number: CT480BX500SSD1)
• 1 TB (Model Number: CT1000BX500SSD1)
• 2 TB (Model Number: CT2000BX500SSD1)

Crucial MX500 SSD:

• 250 GB (Model Number: CT250MX500SSD1)
• 500 GB (Model Number: CT500MX500SSD1)
• 1 TB (Model Number: CT1000MX500SSD1)
• 2 TB (Model Number: CT2000MX500SSD1)

Interface

Both the Crucial BX500 Internal SSD and Crucial MX500 Internal SSD utilize SATA 6Gb/s as the interface.

Form Factor

The two Crucial solid state drives have a form factor of 2.5 in × 7 mm.

NAND

Both products also use Micron 3D NAND technology.

Maximum Sequential Read Speed

The MX500 is slightly faster than the BX500 in terms of maximum sequential read speed.

You can find the specification below:

• Crucial BX500 Internal SSD: 540 MB per second
• Crucial MX500 Internal SSD: 560 MB per second

Maximum Sequential Write Speed

The MX500 is also a little better when it comes to maximum sequential write speed.

You can take a look at the spec below:

• BX500 Internal SSD: 500 MB per second
• MX500 Internal SSD: 510 MB per second

Life Expectancy (MTTF)

Mean Time To Failure (or MTTF for short) measures the average amount of time a solid state drive is expected to lasts until it suffers irreparable hardware failure. In this case, the Crucial MX500 is more durable than the Crucial BX500.

You can find the MTTF for both below:

• BX500 Solid State Drive: 1.5 million hours
• MX500 Solid State Drive: 1.8 million hours

Total Bytes Written (TBW)

Total Bytes Written (or TBW) measures how much data can be written to a SSD during its lifetime. When comparing the 1 TB capacity options, the Crucial BX500 and Crucial MX500 have identical total TBW although the MX500 has the slight edge when it comes to daily usage. The BX500 is more durable to the MX500 if you compare to the 2 TB versions.

You can check out the TBW specifications for all capacity options below:

• 120 GB Crucial BX500: 40 TB total or 21 GB per day for 5 years
• 240 GB Crucial BX500: 80 TB total or 43 GB per day for 5 years
• 480 GB Crucial BX500: 120 TB total or 65 GB per day for 5 years
• 1 TB Crucial BX500: 360 TB total or 195 GB per day for 5 years
• 2 TB Crucial BX500: 720 TB total or 390 GB per day for 5 years

• 250 GB Crucial MX500: 100 TB total or 54 GB per day for 5 years
• 500 GB Crucial MX500: 180 TB total or 98 GB per day for 5 years
• 1 TB Crucial MX500: 360 TB total or 197 GB per day for 5 years
• 2 TB Crucial MX500: 700 TB total or 383 GB per day for 5 years

Data Transfer Software

For Crucial cloning software, the two internal SSDs use Acronis True Image.

Operating Temperature

Both products have a recommended operating temperature of 0°C to 70°C.

Firmware

The two solid state drives also feature user-upgradeable firmware.

Features

In general, the MX500 has more features than the BX500.

You can find the features lists for both products below:

Crucial BX500 SSD:

• Active Garbage Collection
• Error Correction Code (ECC)
• Multistep Data Integrity Algorithm
• Self-Monitoring and Reporting Technology (SMART)
• SLC Write Acceleration
• Thermal Monitoring
• TRIM Support

Crucial MX500 SSD:

• Active Garbage Collection
• Adaptive Thermal Protection
• Device Sleep Support
• Dynamic Write Acceleration
• Error Correction Code (ECC)
• Integrated Power Loss Immunity
• Multistep Data Integrity Algorithm
• Redundant Array of Independent NAND (RAIN)
• Self-Monitoring and Reporting Technology (SMART)
• TRIM Support

Warranty

The Crucial BX500 SATA 6Gb/s Internal Solid State Drive comes with a 3-year limited warranty. The Crucial MX500 SATA 6Gb/s Internal SSD includes a 5-year warranty.

Resources:

• https://content.crucial.com/content/dam/crucial/ssd-products/bx500/flyer/crucial-bx500-ssd-productflyer.pdf?cm_mc_uid=65836777755815809276273&cm_mc_sid_50330000|www.crucial.com=37147501595561458124
• https://content.crucial.com/content/dam/crucial/ssd-products/mx500/flyer/crucial-mx500-ssd-productflyer-letter-en.pdf?cm_mc_uid=65836777755815809276273&cm_mc_sid_50330000|www.crucial.com=37147501595561458124