The Crucial P1 was the most effective worth NVMe SSDs I examined final yr, however now Crucial are increasing their P household of NVMe drives with the budget-friendly P2 and excessive efficiency P5 – and the excellent news is that they’re each even quicker than the P1.
Starting with the P2, this drive is on the market proper now in 250GB and 500GB sizes for £54 / £63 (US pricing TBC), with a 1TB mannequin to observe at a later date, in line with Crucial. At time of writing, the 250GB mannequin is a little more costly than my present price range NVMe champion in my best SSD for gaming record, the wonderful WD Blue SN550, however the 500GB worth is definitely a smidge cheaper than its WD rival, so I’ll be intrigued to see whether or not its claimed sequential speeds of 2300MB/s learn and 940MB/s write translate to quicker random speeds as soon as I get one in for testing.
Admittedly, that sequential write velocity of 940MB/s is slightly worrying. Even the P1 was rated for a 950MB/s sequential write velocity, and Crucial’s specs for the 250GB mannequin of the P2 truly put it forward of its 500GB sibling at 1150MB/s. The 250GB isn’t as quick within the sequential learn division, admittedly, coming in at 2100MB/s in line with Crucial’s specs, however I’ll have to attend till I get one in for testing to see the way it holds up in apply. After all, sequential speeds aren’t actually the very best indicator of an SSD’s day-to-day efficiency, as most SSDs learn and write information randomly reasonably than in neat, next-door-neighbour blocks.
As for the P5, there’s presently no phrase on pricing or a launch date simply but (it’s presently marked as “coming soon” on Crucial’s website), however Crucial are clearly positioning this SSD as their reply to in the present day’s top-end NVMe drives such because the Samsung 970 Evo Plus and WD Black SN750. With claimed sequential learn and write speeds of a whopping 3400MB/s and 3000MB/s respectively, the Crucial P5 is their quickest SSD thus far and will likely be accessible in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities.
Again, I’m extra within the P5’s random learn and write efficiency shakes out, however the important thing to the P5’s success is sort of actually going to return right down to pricing. It could be the quickest SSD Crucial’s ever made, for instance, however these claimed sequential speeds nonetheless aren’t as nippy because the competitors. The Samsung 970 Evo Plus has sequential speeds of as much as 3500MB/s learn and 3300MB/s write, as an example, whereas the WD Black SN750 nearly inches forward with its claimed speeds of as much as 3470MB/s learn and 3000MB/s write. As I mentioned, the proof will likely be within the P5’s random efficiency, but when Crucial handle to maintain the pricing right down to beneath its WD and Samsung rivals then they may have one other nice worth SSD on their fingers.
Still, extra competitors within the NVMe enviornment is all the time a great factor in my books, and I’m intrigued to see how each drives maintain up in apply as soon as I can get them in for testing. For extra information on the state of in the present day’s present SSD costs, head on over to our recurrently up to date Best SSD deals web page.
