Crucial Teases Upcoming MX200 and BX100 SSDs

Just about everyone is announcing new SSDs at CES 2015 and Crucial is no exception with two new product families expected to reach the market later this quarter.

First up is the MX200, which just so happens to be the consumer variant of the Micron M600 that debuted last September. Like the M600 it features an internal NAND caching system where incoming writes are written to a fast SLC cache, then paged out to regular MLC NAND during idle periods. Such a caching setup is not unusual anymore, though it is more commonly seen with drives utilizing a mix of MLC and TLC NAND. Crucial dubs its version Dynamic Write Acceleration.

Curiously however, the spec sheet only mentions the 250GB model as even utilizing Dynamic Write Acceleration, as the 500GB and 1TB models simply states “not required”.  Performance of the MX200 is listed at a flat “up to” 555MB/s reads and 500MB/s writes with random I/O pegged at 100K / 87K IOPs respectively across all models., so it is likely DWA is being implemented solely to maintain consistent performance at smaller model capacities.

The 500GB model offers an endurance rating of 87GB per day for 5 years (160TB), with ratings for other models available in the product flyer. The MX200 will be available in 2.5”, mSATA, and M.2 2260/2280 form-factors and offered with a three-year warranty, with MSRP of $140 (250GB), $250 (500GB), and $470 (1TB). All drives support AES-256 encyption.

The BX100 makes a new addition to Crucial’s lineup and is aimed at the entry-level market. There are no performance figures given yet, but pricing is set at $70, $110, $200, and $400 for the 120GB, 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB models, respectively. The BX100 lineup retains the three-year warranty, however.

Crucial is also finally launching its own SSD utility software called “Crucial Storage Executive” that will provide health and usage monitoring, firmware updates, and the ability to reset the SSD’s encryption password. CSE will be compatible with M500, M550, MX200, and BX100 model drives at launch.