Crucial BX500 or MX500? Basic, Periodical Use.

[geokilla]

I'm looking to buy a cheap SSD for my girlfriend's ThinkPad. It's a Core i3-4000M based laptop and since she uses it only few times a month, I'm thinking of the Crucial BX500 240GB. It's only $40CAD right now at Newegg. Or should I spend more and get a MX500 for $68CAD instead? I know both are fairly good drives and will probably outlast the life of the computer but is there a huge enough difference between the two given her use?

[hello_there_123]

This is the best option: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/vYQG3C/team-l5-lite-3d-240gb-25-solid-state-drive-t253td240g3c101

[Energycore]

Usually I don't love the SU800, but it's my recommendation because it's the only SSD I know in this price range and it's 512GB

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01K8A29CS/

 

Nowadays SSDs are really cheap. You should go with a 480-512GB since it's only CAD$65, and generally higher capacity SSDs are rated for longer lifespans.

[pizapower]

If you hate her then buy the BX500, but if you love her then buy the MX500.

BX500 = NO DRAM
MX500 = YES DRAM

[hello_there_123]

54 minutes ago, Energycore said:

Nowadays SSDs are really cheap. You should go with a 480-512GB since it's only CAD$65, and generally higher capacity SSDs are rated for longer lifespans.

For his use case i think most ssds would last longer than his lifetime , like the ssd i linked...

[Crunchy Dragon]

I have an MX500 in my main rig.

 

No problems with it at all so far.

[Energycore]

32 minutes ago, hello_there_123 said:

For his use case i think most ssds would last longer than his lifetime , like the ssd i linked...

Ok so for the purpose of low usage laptops, lifetime doesn't really matter, you're right.

 

The main advantage is the capacity. 240GB can run out if you start accumulating photos or videos and in my opinion, the 480GB is so cheap it's a no brainer. Keep in mind 2 years ago 4GB SSDs were no less than $110US.

 

240GB SSDs are cheaper for sure. I usually don't like to recommend SSDs I haven't seen reviews for, which is why I chose an alternative to the Team L5 3D.

 

1 hour ago, pizapower said:

If you hate her then buy the BX500, but if you love her then buy the MX500.

BX500 = NO DRAM
MX500 = YES DRAM

For someone who will use it almost only for office tasks, write speeds don't matter a lot, so the lack of DRAM buffer will not be a disadvantage.

 

In the end we're splitting hairs here - any SSD that's remotely good is a huge upgrade compared to a hard drive.

[hello_there_123]

1 minute ago, Energycore said:

240GB SSDs are cheaper for sure. I usually don't like to recommend SSDs I haven't seen reviews for, which is why I chose an alternative to the Team L5 3D

may not have that many reviews , but the l5 lite 3D is still an extremely well known ssd having the same controller as the su800 and mx500 , only thing is that it has worse binned nand and less slc cache (?) than the su800 , which i do not think will matter much to consumers...

[Energycore]

Just now, hello_there_123 said:

may not have that many reviews , but the l5 lite 3D is still an extremely well known ssd having the same controller as the su800 and mx500 , only thing is that it has worse binned nand and less slc cache (?) than the su800 , which i do not think will matter much to consumers...

It's probably a good drive. I hail from a time where there existed cheap SSDs that were terrible, worse than hard drives. But nowadays everyone is selling cheap nand and prices have dropped a lot. The 480GB l5 lite 3d is also worth considering.

[geokilla]

3 hours ago, Energycore said:

Usually I don't love the SU800, but it's my recommendation because it's the only SSD I know in this price range and it's 512GB

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01K8A29CS/

 

Nowadays SSDs are really cheap. You should go with a 480-512GB since it's only CAD$65, and generally higher capacity SSDs are rated for longer lifespans.

 

She doesn't store anything on her HDD so anything more than 120GB is honestly a waste. I checked her HDD and she used like 50GB out of 500GB, so I'm sure a 240GB SSD will be enough. She also has a MacBook she uses but I'm not gonna upgrade that for her since I'm not familiar with how Macs work.

 

The ADATA SU800 is a good drive though. My friend has the 128GB variant and hasn't complained about it yet. He's definitely not a power user either. Just a regular user who uses it for e-mails and Internet.

[geokilla]

I ended up ordering the ADATA SU800 256GB for $50 shipped, only to see Silicon Power A58 256GB is $45 shipped. Then there's the Crucial MX500 250GB for $60 shipped. I think the SU800 is a good compromise between the two? I currently ordered the SU800 but I can always cancel it and order the other ones instead.

[hello_there_123]

21 minutes ago, geokilla said:

I ended up ordering the ADATA SU800 256GB for $50 shipped, only to see Silicon Power A58 256GB is $45 shipped. Then there's the Crucial MX500 250GB for $60 shipped. I think the SU800 is a good compromise between the two? I currently ordered the SU800 but I can always cancel it and order the other ones instead.

I would have gotten the Team L5 Lite 3D instead. 

 

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B075JMJVZB/?tag=pcp0f-20

[atxcyclist]

1 hour ago, geokilla said:

I ended up ordering the ADATA SU800 256GB for $50 shipped, only to see Silicon Power A58 256GB is $45 shipped. Then there's the Crucial MX500 250GB for $60 shipped. I think the SU800 is a good compromise between the two? I currently ordered the SU800 but I can always cancel it and order the other ones instead.

I've been using an SU800 512gb in one of my computers for a while as the main drive, no issues. The computer I just put together has an SU800 1tb in it as the main drive. I've used several other ADATA SSDs in various builds and I've been more than happy with them, I think you made a good choice.