For CES 2015, Crucial is unveiling two new SSDs aimed directly at the entry level and mainstream markets.
Crucial MX200
First up is the Crucial MX200, which is the successor to the Crucial MX100 unveiled back at Computex 2014. The Crucial MX200 is mostly similar to the the Crucial MX100 in that it’ll be using a combination of Marvell’s 88SS9189 controller paired with Micron’s latest 16nm 128Gb NAND; however, Crucial is adding Dynamic Write Acceleration (DWA) in the MX200, which is a dynamic write caching feature Micron first introduced with the Micron M600 SSD.
Performance wise, the Crucial MX200 will be capable of up to 555/500 MB/s sequential reads/writes and 100K/87K 4K random read/write IOPS across the board. In order to ensure performance parity, Crucial dropped the 120GB capacity drive to ensure adequate NAND parallelism using 128Gb NAND dies. As usual it’ll also have all the features we’ve come to expect from Crucial SSDs such as partial power loss protection, RAIN, TCG Opal 2.0, etc.
The Crucial MX200 will be offered in capacities of 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB in the 2.5″ 7mm, mSATA, and M.2 form factors. They will carry a warranty period of 3 years, and thanks to improvements in manufacturing at the 16nm node, the MX200 will carry an endurance rating of 80 TBW, 160 TBW and 320 TBW for the 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB drvies respectively. Pricing is expected to be $139.99 for the 256GB model ($0.55/GB), $249.99 for the 500GB model ($0.50/GB), and $469.99 for the 1TB model ($0.47/GB). The Crucial MX200 is expected to be available 1Q2015.
Crucial BX100
Next up is Crucial’s BX100, which is an all new SSD for Crucial aimed at the entry level/first time SSD buyer market. For the first time ever, Crucial will be using a Silicon Motion 2246EN controller paired with Micron’s latest 16nm 128Gb NAND.
Since the Crucial BX100 is an entry level drive, performance is rated at up to 535/450 MB/s sequential reads/writes and up to 90K/70K IOPS 4K random reads/writes for the 500GB/1TB capacities and even lower performance for the smaller capacity drives. The BX100 will also drop several key features available to the MX series or higher SSDs such as partial power loss protection, TCG Opal 2.0, RAIN, etc.
The Crucial BX100 will be offered in capacities of 120GB, 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB in only the 2.5″ 7mm form factor. It’ll carry a warranty of 3 years and an endurance rating of 72 TBW across the board. MSRP is very competitive at $69.99 for the 120GB model ($0.58/GB), $109.99 for the 250GB model ($0.44/GB), $199.99 for the 500GB model ($0.40/GB), and $399.99 for the 1TB model ($0.40/GB). The Crucial BX100 is expected to be available 1Q2015.
Crucial Storage Executive
Along with the two new SSDs, Crucial is also unveiling Crucial Storage Executive which is a new software suite designed for users with the Crucial M500, M550, MX100, MX200, BX100 SSD, or newer. The software suite will start with several features such as SSD health check, firmware update, PSID revert, SSD sanitize, SMART data check, etc. but we were told that Crucial will be looking into adding more features down the road.
Those with a Crucial M500, M550, or MX100 and a Windows OS can go ahead and download the software via Crucial’s website here.
