When we go to buy an SSD, the first thing we take into account is the capacity, being the first key factor in our search. In second place we could put the price, since the cost of GB/euro is always scrutinized, while in third place would be the performance. If we talk about the latter and at a similar price or capacity in a premium brand such as Crucial, is it one of its best? SATA or external SSD?
You need an SSD and it does not matter if it is internal in SATA format or external. A reality that more and more users are experiencing every day precisely because mobility is gaining ground by leaps and bounds and laptops have made the definitive leap to SSDs as such. So, and if we talk about Crucial, is it more worth buying an MX or an X6 with the same capacity?
Is it fair to compare a SATA SSD to an external SSD at Crucial?
Well, while you might think no at first, the reality is that yes, that’s absolutely right and we realize that these are different segments of the market. Needs change, so let’s imagine a scenario where you buy a mid-range or even upper mid-range laptop, where the SSD it integrates is 512 GB and no longer has internal expansion capacity, the typical current laptop.
But you need more storage capacity and you’re away from home all day, what kind of high capacity SSD would you choose? SATA or external SSD in Crucial? Well, that’s exactly where we’re going to come in to put white on black and to be more specific we’re going to go with two different representative abilities to see the pros and cons.
Crucial X6 2TB vs MX500 2TB
It doesn’t seem like a good comparison at first, but let us show you the data first. And it is that the 2 TB Crucial X6 boasts a speed of at least 540 MB/s
The 2TB MX500 has lower numbers despite being a typical SATA SSD 560 MB/s in sequential reading and nothing less than 510 MB/s in sequential writing, which is surprising since even in size it is physically larger. So the X6, in addition to being faster, is clearly a better option if you need to plug it into any device and have an all-in-one, but what if we increase the capacity to 4 TB on both models?
4TB Crucial X6 vs. 4TB MX500
As we well know from NAND Flash technology, in many cases, more capacity means better performance. This is the case of the X6 with 4 TB, since its speed is increased to 800 MB/s read and write, while the 4TB MX500 retains its smaller sibling’s 560/510MB/s in capacity, with no change in performance.
The choice here seems clear for the X6, but be careful because the factor we haven’t yet talked about comes into play: the price. The comparison takes us into the 2TB version to show the 228 dollars X6 2 TB for the 188 dollars of the MX500 at the same capacity, both prices without occasional offers.
Instead, the 4TB X6 approximates the 500 dollarswhile the 4TB MX500 can be found for around 400 eurobeing a much more palpable difference than in the lower capacity versions.
Logically this is left to individual taste or need and it seems the options are through portability + capacity versus price and not so much opting for a SATA vs external SSD within the Crucial range.
