discussion Crucial MX300 750GB SSD Review

[SKYMTL]

Partial and Full Drive Performance

Partial and Full Drive Performance

<i>While it is important to know how a drive will perform under optimal conditions, more realistic scenarios are just as important. Knowing if a solid state drive will behave differently when partially or even nearly full than when it is empty is very important information to know. To quickly and accurately show this crucial information we have first filled the drive to 50% capacity and re-tested using both synthetic and real world tests. After the completion of this we then re-test at 75% and 90% of full capacity. </i>

Synthetic Test Results

<i>For our synthetic testing we have opted for our standard PCMark 7 test.</i>

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Real World Results

<i>For a real world application we have opted for a modified version of our standard Windows 7 Start Up test. Unlike our standard Windows 7 image this image is based on a working system that has been upgraded numerous times of the past few years and represents an even more realistic real world test.</i>

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This is one area that Marvell controller based models never excelled at and the next generation NAND does little to help things along. With that said there is a silver lining to these results. While the overall performance drop does cause this model to fall way down the charts, the actual percentage of performance loss is actually better than the previous MX200. Basically this new generation TLC NAND actually responds with planar MLC NAND performance levels, and it is just that this model is slower than its predecessor that causes the drive to fall so far down the charts.

When – not if – next gen <i>MLC</i> IMFT NAND is paired with a more powerful controller the results should be outstanding. In the meantime, we cannot wait to see what this TLC NAND does when paired with a different controller running more refined firmware. We once again do have to question the motivations behind the change in controller as the MX300 LE does not showcase this new NAND to the best of its abilities.

 

[SKYMTL]

Conclusion

Conclusion

The MX300 750GB Limited Edition SSD is easily the most divisive model Crucial has released in a long, long while. It is obvious that Micron and by extension Crucial is using this SSD has a proving ground of sorts, strives to accomplish great things with new technology but doing so carefully. This leads to a truncated launch of a single drive regardless of sometimes-questionable performance. But does that make the MX300 a disappointment? Absolutely, positively not!

The MX300 won't right for everyone nor every scenario. Regardless of whether you are looking at the single drive or RAID configurations the MX300 really can't be considered a direct successor to the MX200 like its name would lead you to believe. But then again, what's in a name? Of course the MX200 was easily one of the most impressive and versatile models Crucial had ever released so one-upping it while still using a SATA interface was indeed an insanely difficult task. That SATA interface is key since it provides a true ceiling for storage interface performance.

Some of our tepid opinion of the MX300 750GB LE is due to its lackluster performance in single and dual drive configurations. Some is simply due to the fact the MX200 is just that good and Crucial are simply a victim of their own success. Most however is simply due to the fact that the last of any technology is always more refined and impressive than the first generation of its replacement. This was true when gasoline engine based 'horseless' carriages replaced the horse and buggy, it was true when LCD replaced CRT, and it is true now that 3D NAND has replaced 2D NAND.

All is not doom and gloom though. If you do exclude the MX200 from the equation the MX300 does appear to be a much better drive than its direct competitors in some aspects. The performance certainly is not stellar, but at this price you aren't getting enthusiast-class throughput anyways. Instead it offers very good performance compared to most recently released models. Looked at from this perspective the MX300 is just as innovative and ground breaking as the original MX100 was – and the MX100 did set the stage for the cult-classic MX200.

In many ways, comparing the MX300 to the MX100 actually provides a much clearer understanding of what Crucial's long term goal is for this series. Much like the MX100 was not that much of an improvement over the M550 it replaced, it did introduce newer MLC NAND to the world. So too is the MX300 a bridge model between the past and the future, one that introduces a game changing technology. Hence why this is a Limited Edition and not meant to have the same amazingly long product cycle as the MX200. Its meant to simply introduce 3D NAND and give consumers a taste of what this new NAND can do – while also giving Crucial's firmware team time to refine the algorithms for this new technology.

This is the actual rock upon which the MX300 750GB LE first founders and then breaks as this is a move a company can only do once before consumers get wise to their 'tick-tock' tactic. We know based on these results that 3D NAND has a lot of potential to offer massive drives with excellent NAND interleaving. We also know that MLC 3D NAND would be better and alleviate a lot of our concerns over performance - and yes IMFT are making MLC 3D NAND. We also know this a limited edition model and the standard models may be radically different.

As such there is very limited incentive for consumers to opt for it over the still widely available MX200. Yes, you will have to either step down to the cheaper MX200 500GB or step up to the MX200 1TB. Yes, both MX200 models use 'older' planar NAND, but either will provide similar performance levels <i>and</i> do so at a similar price point as the MX300 750GB LE. As such we recommend that buyers take a wait and see approach to the new MX300 series. Unless for whatever crazy reason you absolutely need to have a 3D NAND-based drive we would wait for the larger MX300's to appear before rushing to upgrade to this new technology. Some may even wish to wait for either the upcoming SATA 3D MLC NAND based Crucial Ballistix TX3 series, or the enterprise grade Micron branded 2100 NVMe series; both of which may shed more light on Crucial's future lineup – which may not have an MX model as its flagship.


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