A price drop on the Crucial M550 SSD
Prices look good but are in USD.
Shipping is ~ $5 to AU.
Enjoy
CamelCamelCamel.
Well, naturally, they will just keep dropping like HDDs have done, and then capacity will increase and smaller drives will phase out.
its the historical low
THe price is kinda insane considering the not as good 512gbs MX100s were 189$ during black friday sales
why isnt this showing up in Camelx3 tho?
the 240gb m500s were still the best deal tho per gb. But this is fantastic for the specs
It's technology.
Give it a few more years and you'll have to pay people to dispose of it for you :p
Can these fit into the MacBook Pro?
Yes I have one in my 13inch 2012. I took out the disk drive out and replaced it with an ssd. Works a charm
not the retina versions!
Is it a good SSD?
Yes, very good. I am using Crucial M500, and this M550 is even better.
+1 this drive. Crucial are my go to SSD. I have one that is written to 24/7 in my server
"good" in terms of price/performance ratio. To date, if money doesn't bother you, Samsung 850 pro is the best performance SSD.
CMIIW.
Samsung 850 pro is the best performance SSD.
No one is going to notice the difference between an M550 and an 850 Pro.
For the price of a single 256GB 850 Pro you can RAID two 256GB M550s and comprehensively smoke the 850. The ridiculous price gap nowhere near justifies the miniscule, alleged performance benefits.
The M550 is an enterprise-grade SSD. Supercapicator, more over-provisioning, and better wear-levelling; features missing from virtually every similarly-priced SSD and many far more expensive ones including the Samsung 850 Pro. It's a no-brainer at this price point and nothing comes close at the moment.
m550 is quite fast and does well in random read and random write. Samsung 850 Pro is not 80% faster to justify the 80% extra in price. General day to day use, you won't really notice the difference.
However, in terms of the SSD lifetime, it gets a bit tricky. It depends on whether you believe 3D MLC NAND have a longer lifetime than 2D MLC NAND. Based on what Samsung claimed, 850 Pro's 3D NAND should outlast the 2D NAND by a significant margin (to the extend that the extra over-provisioning of the 2D NAND from Crucial makes very little difference - still no match for 3D NAND). However, the warranty offered by Samsung for 850 Pro (in terms of the total writes they are willing to guarantee) is quite disappointing.
m550 is a smarter buy (given the price / performance ratio) for consumers. However, let's not bash Samsung as they do have good products and ideas (using some SLC to accelerate / boost the performance is what makes EVO series and 850 Pro faster). Crucial has already "borrowed" the SLC caching idea in m600.
However, in terms of the SSD lifetime, it gets a bit tricky.
With most current-gen SSDs pushing endurance ratings of 100TB or more over their lifetimes (and those are conservative estimates as per TechReport's SSD torture test which revealed consumer SSDs often outlast their rated lifetimes by a magnitude of 10), it's still a moot point.
Unless your SSDs are going into SANs/NASs/Server racks; in which case most OEM Enterprise hardware favours Intel or Micron/Crucial.
The reality is that it is best not to keep on writing to SSDs. From a technology stand point, 3D/VNAND MLC should outlast 2D MLC by a wide margin. Just because the NAND is made by intel or Crucial instead of Samsung does not mean a 2D MLC will outlast 3D MLC.
Samsung 850 Pro Endurance: 150TB
Crucial m550 Endurance: 72TB
m550, at the end of the day, is still a drive that's designed by Micron USA, manufacturered in China, using a Marvell 88SS9189 controller. Furthermore, Crucial still chose sync MLC for m550, rather than toggle MLC.
m550 is a great drive and Samsung 850 Pro is probably an overkill for most people. However, 850 Pro is still one gen ahead (and it's not just faster, the endurance has improved).
@netsurfer: depends on what you use your ssd for, but the prices of ssd are coming down, so it's even getting cheaper to have a smallish SSD just for swap/pagefile and even logs.
I'm happy to be in an era where SSD is so affordable that having an extra or two lying around is okay. Plus reinstalling OS is no longer an overnight affair.
The reality is that it is best not to keep on writing to SSDs.
I guess the hundred something SSDs I have ordered and installed by now haven't gotten that memo as I've yet to actually see any SSD with a hardware failure (even across the smaller brands like OCZ, Kingston or Mtron), other than completely normal bad factory blocks, even after 10,000-15,000 power-on hours.
The reality is that it is best not to keep on writing to SSDs. From a technology stand point, 3D/VNAND MLC should outlast 2D MLC by a wide margin. Just because the NAND is made by intel or Crucial instead of Samsung does not mean a 2D MLC will outlast 3D MLC.
I'm afraid the OEMs collective experiences in terms of number of RMAs and DOAs annually per millions of products sold as well as SLA warranty claims speak far greater volumes as to the actual, real-world longevity and reliability of particular types of NAND and SSD manufacturers, as opposed to fancy, marketing buzzwords concocted to justify price premiums. That is what their particular hardware preferences are based in, and I know for a fact that all the major players from HP, Dell, Lenovo, IBM, Acer and so forth touch no other SSD manufacturers with a barge pole aside from Intel or Crucial.
Samsung 850 Pro Endurance: 150TB
Crucial m550 Endurance: 72TB
Both of which are figures the average consumer will not come within a galaxy of approaching.
at the end of the day, is still a drive that's designed by Micron USA, manufacturered in China,
And the significance of that is? Samsung manufacture in China as well. The 850 Pro is produced in Korea. Whoop-de-doo.
However, 850 Pro is still one gen ahead (and it's not just faster, the endurance has improved).
I never disputed this, but with every reduction in lithography and the pursuit of higher data rates there have been prices to pay in terms of reliability; it has been a steadfast rule with SSDs throughout their history. With the Evo 840's well-publicised firmware issue, I suspect we may see similiar occurrences with other top-tier SSDs as well.
@Amar89: Micro had firmware issues with their SSDs too. I had Micro SSDs, and I had to update the firmware.
Generally, I feel that Intel, Samsung, and Micron (Crucial) are three of the good ones. As a owner of all 3 brands of SSDs, I tried to offer an objective view, but if you clearly feel Intel and Micron are way better, in terms of reliabity, then with your experience, that's a more accurate view.
Don't cut off my sentences when quoting, the Marvell 88SS9189 controller got removed. I was trying to point out, an SSD would be using parts from other companies. Some intel SSDs use Sandforce based chipset. Micron basically uses its own NAND, improved on Marvell's reference design, and that's basically m550. Samsung SSD comes with a drive copying software. While it is not important, my colleague found it quite useful.
You are obvisouly very lucky with SSDs (100+ of them with zero defect). I had an OCZ SSD died after just 2 months of very little use (but that's OCZ). The drive just gone completely dead (unable to recover anything). In terms of firmware issues, OCZ had the most (took them years to fix the Sandforce BSOD issue). I generally put important data on traditional hard drives. I do put a working copy of files on an SSD, but with regular backup. It's not I don't trust Intel/Micron/Samsung, it is just the nature of NAND technology.
USD is already in title
Crucial M550 SSD 128GB $55, 256GB $95, 512GB $175 USD Delivered @ Amazon
oh yep true, that'll teach me for posting when tired sorry
or perhaps you stopped reading the title when you reached the 256GB mark and though 'awesome price' (like me)…. if only the USD was placed earlier in the title….
Tempting price
~$225AUD shipped for the 512GB using Amazons currency converter.
Not a bad conversion. As of 2nd Jan (it's not Monday in US yet) MasterCard has $180US = $222.17 AU. The price you'd pay using a 28 Degrees CC.
God dammit AUD!
This is actually more than it was at the start of the year
The 128GB one does not ship to Australia, would have to use a freight forward.
Apparently neither does the 512GB one.
Strange that all sizes don't shop
Sorry, this item can't be shipped to your selected address.
Yea can't seem to get it to ship to my address. :(
Amazon just changed it to CircuitCity for the 128GB and TigerDirect for the 512GB.
Saved me from purchasing :)
Waiting till the 1TB is sub $250 USD to purchase.
I would say you are dreaming on the 1TB but geez in 6 months who knows where these will be priced at.
Are you sure the seller is Amazon.com ?
guys, i have a MBP early 2011 using mountain lion.
how hard is it for me to re-install the mountain lion onto this SSD ?
PS: i believe i should have no problem with hardware installation, but the operating system installation might be a bit problem ????
prefer to stick on mountain lion, instead of the new yosemite and mavericks… any comments ?
Pretty easy with software already on the Mac. Google it up.
I have changed many SSD's on Macs, and they are easy, only once was there an issue, and i had to use some third party trial software.
I should just add for MBP you will need a USB to SATA adapter, these are cheap on ebay if you do not have one.
easy just make a mountain lion bootable usb stick, boot up your mac and it will give you the option to install.
Its much faster to image the SSD, no need to reinstall programs and settings again.
I should just add for MBP you will need a USB to SATA adapter, these are cheap on ebay if you do not have one.
true, although usually when an OS installs it will detect that it's an SSD and will turn of TRIM and defragmentation, which are only for conventional HDDs. I guess you could turn these of manually if you decide to migrate. Alternatively you could replace your macbook cd drive with the SSD, which is what ive done in mine.
Thank you guys for the comments.
One last question from a beginner…
assuming if i have this SSD + the original HDD on my MBP, and i removed the CD ROM drive…
am i be able to create the following situation :
(1) partition into 2 separate drive on my original HDD : 1 partition for bootcamp Windows, another partition for space saving some files
(2) SSD bootcamp to start OSX
is this possible?
Thank you, do appreciate your valuable comments…
i will start google for more in depth details. :)
@gandhi28152: just thought I'd let you know that this is exactly what ive done on my macbook, coincidentally also a 2011 pro. Works wonderfully, hope it goes well for you!
Thank you for the advise. Do appreciate it :) spiderbite88
Ive noticed the 128gb mSata version of this is the same price. Good for those looking for something to put in a nuc
has anyone tried plugging one of these into a external USB enclosure and if it worked?
Yes it will
I have plugged SSDs into external enclosures with no issues but not this model in particular.
thanks for pointing that out, i'm wondering if that has to do with the power requirements.
The 256GB and 1TB are still in stock and shipping from Amazon. They ship to Australia.
The other sizes must be sold out and the liks for those pages are pointing at other sellers who do not ship to Australia.
That was no reason to neg the deal.
The comment above is correct regarding reasoning to negative vote a deal.
Please use the report function underneath the body of the post if a deal is out of stock, or ineligible, but this is neither at this stage.
If you go to other sellers and select Amazon it says it is on back order till the 7th
But looks like it shIps to Australia
Can't find Amazon on the list of other sellers. I was looking at the 128GB one.
I only checked the 512.
Naa, it doesn't show Amazon when I'm at TigerDirect, CircuitCity and J-electronics' page… for the 512GB
Just back-ordered a 512GB drive like this, estimated to be in stock on the 12th. Thanks!
512GB still can be bought from Amazon with delivery to AU from this page http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KFAGCUM/ref=ox_sc_act_ti…
This is MX100, different specs.
The link points to the MX100 model (not M550)… and for US$199
The low AUD really makes a lot of amazon deals not so appealing.Orz
Let's watch the AU dollar drop down to 75 cents and even potentially lower (70 cents or even 60 cents if the world economy goes through a GFC2)..
While a low AU$ means more expensive imports, perhaps it will rejuvenate local manufacturing and production (perhaps car manufacturers reversing their pull out decisions?). The policies of the previous government while increasing debt, effectively cushioned our country and resulted in us being unscathed compared to the rest of the world.
It will be interesting to see if the policies of the current government will protect us in a GFC2. I read a document a while back that compared the results of the current and previous governments policies if implemented in a GFC and the current governments policies would have resulted in Australia being much worse off.
The market is of course cyclic and now I'm expecting to see consumer electronics start to increase in price and the golden age of cheap ebay/amazon days behind us for the time being.
I could be totally wrong..
</rant>
it will be more expensive for the car companies to reverse their decisions anyway.
the fact of the matter is, australia had a shot during the resource mining boom, but everyone that had the power to tap on it to pad up a nice buffer for the nation, squandered it.
and there is no 'golden age' of electronics. anything made in china is cheap/er to make (sometimes sans quality).
people in first world countries are mostly sitting there playing the blame game while the hungry ones from developing countries eat up your pie.
sad fact of game of globalisation, there always will be someone out there that works harder for far less than you.
The 1TB M550 is STILL $us445 (incl $5 delivery).
Nowhere near the lowest price of $us395 a few months ago. I've been waiting and waiting since I missed that deal…
thanks mate! of course exchange rate is no good, but comes down to a good price anyway, time to upgrade
Is it just me or is it saying now
"Sorry, this item can't be shipped to your selected address"
Read the above comments on that point. :)
Ok, this year is the year of price wars,
Perhaps this is the sign of that …
ok
apparently the MX100 has significant improvements over M550 and it's only 10USD more, what do you guys think?
They're not significant in the slightest. The MX100 has newer lithography but that's about it really. Performance remains neck-and-neck with the M550.
Crucial have kind of screwed up their line-up considering the MX100 is supposed to be the M500's replacement and yet they're not pricing it anywhere near low enough to make it a slam-dunk buy over an M500 (which there's plenty of stock left and which is still a perfectly good SSD). The M550's price has dropped so much that it's now undercutting Crucial's own budget-end SSDs.
OK, whatever it is, it's going to be better than my existing Kingston SSD V300
Assuming it's the gimped V300 with the asynchronous NAND; then hell yes.
you can also get the M550 512 mSATA unit for $169 + shipping here…
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IRRDJ9C/ref=amb_link_426…
Seem to be back in stock on Amazon
Just ordered a 512gb For $225.11 AUD delivered
Get in quick would suggest guys
Estimated delivery 22nd. To the 26th
To buy or not to buy?
What to do with the 3 spare 128GB crucial M4's?
has the price gone back up for this?
Looks like it has unfortunately
The price for the 256GB has gone down. It's now $122.12 delivered.
Looks like I was lucky last night, They had all sizes for delivery to Australia
So I bought a 512gb and when I checked again a few minutes later was out of stock on Amazon
maybe I got one that someone cancelled their order
Orders been posted
256GB & 512GB are back in stock.
Installed and cloned my ssd that arrived this week this morning, boys amazingly fast
Makes me wonder how much lower they can go.