Good, however not nice storage on your PC

There was a time when including massive portions of storage to your PC would require utilizing 3.5-inch onerous drives. Nonetheless, they’re massive, clunky, and gradual, so it felt such as you have been dragging your recordsdata by means of a molasses swamp. However they obtained the job performed.

Happily, when you can nonetheless purchase mechanical onerous drives, they’re higher suited to one thing like a NAS than a desktop PC or a laptop computer. That is partly as a result of reasonably priced nature of the most effective SSDs proper now. The quicker the storage, the extra you will pay for smaller capacities. However SATA SSDs are nonetheless very a lot a factor, and that is the place the Essential MX500 SSD comes into play. Here’s a 2.5-inch SSD that runs silently and has no shifting components, with as much as a whopping 4TB capability. Different sizes can be found which can be extra attractively priced.

It wasn’t that way back that such a storage system would have been exceptional, however is it value your time now?

About this assessment: This assessment was carried out utilizing a Essential MX500 4TB offered by Essential for the needs of this assessment, and the corporate had no enter into its contents.

Essential MX500 SSD

An honest however gradual SATA SSD

This can be a good high quality SATA SSD that is excellent for mass storage, although its write speeds do fall behind among the competitors.

Storage capability

250GB – 4TB

{Hardware} Interface

SATA 3.0

Model

Essential

Switch charge

~560 MB/s

Guarantee

5 years

Execs

• Good worth
• Inexpensive
• As much as 4TB capability

Essential MX500 SSD Pricing and availability

The 4TB model we’ve got right here is the best capability and most costly of the MX500 vary. It is obtainable proper now at Amazon for round $219. For most individuals, the 2TB model can be the one to go for at round $80. The MX500 does go down as little as 250GB for $35 if you happen to simply want a bit further storage, with 500GB and 1TB variations obtainable in between.

Efficiency and software program

Good, however not nice

The MX500 is a reasonably unassuming product. It is a SATA SSD, so you are not shopping for it for the quickest efficiency. That is the brand new technology mass storage, many occasions quicker than a mechanical HDD whereas being smaller and extra dependable. Within the field, apart from the SSD, you additionally get a plastic bracket. There’s nothing to let you know what it is for, however given the adhesive on one aspect, it might seem like some form of spacer. Repair it to one of many panels in your PC case and it will present a non-metallic mattress for the SSD to relaxation upon.

For efficiency, you are restricted by the SATA 3.0 specification. Absolutely the most is round 600MB/s, so ideally, you wish to be as shut as potential to that. The picture beneath exhibits the outcomes of a benchmark in CrystalDiskMark 8, testing each sequential and random efficiency.

For learn speeds, the MX500 is up there with the likes of the Samsung 870 EVO, arguably the most effective SATA SSD you should purchase. The write speeds are a bit disappointing, although, coming in decrease than Samsung by about 25MB/s in our checks. This is not an enormous deal and never one you will discover in on a regular basis use. However the competitors remains to be quicker. The identical is true of the random learn and write scores, each handily behind Samsung’s efficiency.

The story is far the identical within the ATTO Disk Benchmark, too. It is not dangerous by any stretch, however simply would not match the tempo of the 870 EVO all through your complete curve of various file sizes with regards to write speeds. Learn speeds are nearly an identical to Samsung’s, however about 30MB/s slower in write.

It scores 852 within the 3DMark storage benchmark, which checks quite a lot of gaming-oriented situations. In actuality, the MX500 4TB was a improbable mass storage drive for video games, loading them shortly and offering an enormous locker to retailer a big Steam library in. Temperature clever it often runs at 25 levels Celsius (77 levels Fahrenheit). In fact, efficiency will fluctuate between the completely different capacities and even between completely different models. The underside line is that the MX500 is sweet, nevertheless it’s not the most effective at school.

The software program aspect is the one actual trigger for criticism. There’s a companion app for all Essential SSDs, and it really works simply tremendous — or it does for the P5 Plus, which I am at present utilizing as well Home windows 11. The MX500 would not appear to register.

Nicely… more often than not it would not. Rebooting the PC appears to make it seem, however as quickly as one other tab is chosen within the app, it disappears once more. This is not an enormous deal more often than not, nevertheless it’s a easy method to make sure the SSD has the most recent firmware. The choice methodology to put in it’s a lot worse.

This entails downloading the firmware from Essential’s web site and putting in it manually. This is not essentially a troublesome ask, however Essential determined to supply the firmware as an ISO, which means to put in it, it’s important to burn the ISO to a bootable flash drive, reboot your PC into BIOS/UEFI, inform it as well from this USB drive, boot, then flash the firmware. It is so convoluted that the majority common customers ought to simply not hassle. As compared, Samsung has its wonderful Magician app. The general expertise right here is simply not fairly as polished.

Maybe I am simply experiencing some bugs with the companion app. I hope that is the case, and that it will get fastened.

Do you have to purchase the Essential MX500?

You should purchase the Essential MX500 if:

• You are in search of good high quality mass storage
• You are upgrading an older PC or laptop computer
• You’ve got a big recreation library

You should not purchase the Essential MX500 if:

• You are in search of quick storage for booting an working system
• You need absolutely the best-performing SATA SSD

The Essential MX500 is a wonderfully good SATA SSD. It will not win any velocity races towards the most effective on this class, however Samsung set a excessive bar. Other than the weirdness with the companion app and the frankly horrible guide approach to set up new firmware, it is a thumbs up.

The query is extra about which storage you should purchase. The 4TB is tempting, nevertheless it’s additionally round $350, so you will must have a fairly large funds. The 2TB is a better suggestion with a extra enticing worth. The efficiency will probably be principally the identical throughout all capacities, so go together with no matter your funds and your wants permit.

In fact, a 4TB mechanical HDD remains to be far cheaper, nevertheless it’s additionally far slower and consumes extra energy. In any trendy PC, you must attempt to go all SSD if you happen to can, and it is a completely good one to decide on.

Essential MX500 SSD

An honest however gradual SATA SSD

The Essential MX500 SSD is let down a bit by its write speeds and software program, nevertheless it’s total a superb SSD so as to add some severe storage to your PC.