Crucial's new M500 SSD is built on an upgraded Marvell flash controller with new 20 nanometer 128 Gbit die MLC flash. This combination makes for a very affordable drive that also provides excellent performance in both synthetic and real-life performance testing.

Great pricing; 7.5 mm thin-Ultrabook compatible; Adapter for 9.5 mm drives included; Supports TRIM; 3-year warranty

Can't find anything wrong

Crucial M500 Solid State Drive Review Micron Technology updates their product family with the new Crucial M500 solid state drive, which arrives in capacities ranging from 120GB-960GB for 2.5" SATA, mSATA, and M.2/NGFF form factors.

Very fast 539/445 MBps read/write speed with ATTO; TCG Opal 2.0 security with 256-bit AES hardware encryption; Marvell 88SS9187 controller supports TRIM; NCQ; and Windows 8 drive telemetry; 3-Year Micron Technology product warranty support; 120/240/480/960GB high-speed SSD storage capacities; Device

Some manufacturers offer five-year warranty; High-end performance only available from 480/960GB versions; Expensive enthusiast-level product

The Crucial M500 solid-state drive may be at the bottom of our lineup, but it can still hold its own. This SSD is quick and efficient and will do the job in just about any machine. A Marvell controller drives this device along with MLC flash-component technology and SATA 3 compatibility.

The Crucial M500 solid-state drive is fast; and Crucial has fantastic help and support options

This is a 2.5-inch form factor SSD that does not come with a 3.5-inch mounting kit

The drive itself comes in a shiny 7mm silver enclosure, so you can jam it into an Ultrabook. A 9.5mm spacer is also included, but there is no 3.5-inch adapter in the box, nor is there any software in the box or online aside from a firmware updating tool, which is disappointing.

Fastest drive in its class by a hair; great value

Bare-bones bundle; 3 year warranty

Prior to the m4, Crucial updated their flagship SSD products roughly every year, but that changed when m4 stretched the timeline. The m4 product series held a two-year stretch on the timeline and is still a popular product today, while the existing supply dwindles away.

The big news surrounding the Crucial M500 during CES this year was the shockingly low price per GB. The price of a 960GB for $599 brings the price per GB down to 63 cents. This is the lowest price on the market, and with Crucial's solid reputation in the SSD space it makes for a safe bet.

Crucial's M500 offers the lowest price per gigabyte for an MLC SSD with enterprise-class features not seen on typical consumer SSD data drives. With new 128Gbit MLC NAND paired with the Marvell 9187 controller the M500 should deliver great performance at a historically low price point.

The M500 Series from Crucial won't win any extreme performance awards but it's certainly fast enough for virtually anyone and the price per usable GB of the 480Gb and 960GB drives is extremely attractive.

The Crucial M500 fundamentally changes the math for SSD performance. It's not so much the drive as the underlying 128Gb NAND chips, which have double the capacity of the flash dies used in most other SSDs.

At the CES 2013 conference earlier this year Crucial announced the successor to its popular m4 series of SSDs. The new M500 series uses the new Marvell 88SS1987 controller and Micron 20nm MLC flash memory. We had to wait a few months, but now the new M500 is finally available.