Crucial’s MX200 is a consumer-oriented solid-state drive (SSD) series manufactured by Crucial, a Micron Technology brand. Announced at CES in January 2015, the MX200 succeeded the popular MX100 series and was positioned as a mainstream drive emphasizing reliability and endurance over absolute performance leadership.
As Crucial’s mid-range offering, it was sitting between the budget-oriented BX100 and the performance-focused M550 in Crucial’s product lineup. At launch, the 250GB model was priced at approximately $110 USD for the, 500GB at $200, and the 1TB variant was just over $400. Direct competitors included the Samsung 850 EVO, SanDisk Extreme Pro, Intel 530 SSD, and Mushkin Enhanced Reactor series.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | 250GB | 500GB | 1TB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Number (2.5") | CT250MX200SSD1 | CT500MX200SSD1 | CT1000MX200SSD1 |
| Interface | SATA 6Gbps AHCI | SATA 6Gbps AHCI | SATA 6Gbps AHCI |
| Form Factors | 2.5" (7mm) mSATA M.2 2260 M.2 2280 | 2.5" (7mm) mSATA M.2 2260 M.2 2280 | 2.5" (7mm) |
| Controller | Marvell 88SS9189 (8-channel) | Marvell 88SS9189 (8-channel) | Marvell 88SS9189 (8-channel) |
| NAND Type | Micron 16nm MLC (128Gb die) | Micron 16nm MLC (128Gb die) | Micron 16nm MLC (128Gb die) |
| NAND Configuration | 4 packages | 8 packages | 16 packages (8 per side) |
| DRAM Cache | 256MB LPDDR2 | 256MB LPDDR2 | 512MB LPDDR2 (2x256MB) |
| Sequential Read | 555 MB/s | 555 MB/s | 555 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 500 MB/s | 500 MB/s | 500 MB/s |
| Random Read (QD32) | 100K IOPS | 100K IOPS | 100K IOPS |
| Random Write (QD32) | 87K IOPS | 87K IOPS | 87K IOPS |
| Endurance (TBW) | 80TB | 160TB | 320TB |
| Endurance (Daily Writes for 5 Years) | 43GB/day | 87GB/day | 175GB/day |
| Warranty | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
| Active Idle Power | N/A | 0.89W | 1.02W |
| Maximum Active Power | N/A | 2.51W | 4.11W |
| Maximum Rated Power | 8.5W | 8.5W | 8.5W |
| Encryption | AES 256-bit, TCG Opal 2.0, IEEE-1667, Microsoft eDrive | AES 256-bit, TCG Opal 2.0, IEEE-1667, Microsoft eDrive | AES 256-bit, TCG Opal 2.0, IEEE-1667, Microsoft eDrive |
| Launch MSRP | $110 USD | $200 USD | $427 USD |
Controller
For the MX200, Crucial used the Marvell 88SS9189 “Renoir” controller – the same 8-channel controller used in the predecessor MX100. This controller supports hardware-level AES 256-bit encryption, thermal protection, DevSleep low-power states, and LPDDR memory. While this was not the latest controller available at launch, it was a proven platform that Crucial paired with custom firmware optimized for Micron’s NAND.
Cache
MX200 includes onboard DRAM cache for mapping table storage:
- 250GB and 500GB models: 256MB LPDDR2 (533MHz)
- 1TB model: 512MB LPDDR2 (two 256MB chips)
NAND Type
The drive uses Micron 16nm 128Gb MLC NAND (planar). 16 nm was a die shrink from the 20nm NAND used in some MX100 models, allowing for higher capacity per wafer and improved power efficiency.
Expert Reviews
AnandTech (archived) – May 22, 2015
Endurance wise the MX200 is one of the top drives on the market… the 320TB rating in the 1TB model would translate to 175GB of writes per day for five years, which is far more than what most power users write to a drive on a daily basis.
StorageReview – March 2020
The Crucial MX200 has a lot to offer consumers with its impressive set of data reliability features (which are often only found in enterprise SSDs), low power consumption, and competitive price point.
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