Crucial M500 6Gb SATA SSD Available

Crucial, a brand of Micron Consumer Products Group, a division of a subsidiary of Micron Technology, Inc., announced the availability of the Crucial M500 SSD.

Featuring terabyte-class capacity, increased response times, and an advanced feature set, the M500 SSD is available through select global channel partners and on the company web site.

The 2.5-inch drives are available in 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, and 960GB capacities with MSRPs of $129.99, $219.99, $399.99, and $599.99, respectively.

Faster than a hard drive, the M500 SSD enables users to boot up their systems almost instantaneously, provides storage and powerful data transfer speeds, and easily addresses the multitasking demands of today’s applications.

Using Micron’s 20nm MLC NAND flash, a SATA 6Gb/s controller combined with Micron’s custom firmware to deliver up to 80,000 IOPS, the drive’s sequential read and write speeds reach up to 500MB/s and 400MB/s, respectively.

The M500 SSD incorporates features for data protection and reliability, such as hardware-based encryption that meets TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE 1667 standards (TCG Opal 2.0 + IEEE 1667) when combined with appropriate software, thermal management technology, protection against unexpected power-loss, and advanced error recovery techniques. In addition, the drive offers device sleep (DEVSLP), which increases system battery life while maintaining system responsiveness. This feature enables the drive to draw less than 5 milliwatts of power while the system is in sleep mode a 93% power improvement compared to Crucial’s previous-generation drives.

"We designed the Crucial M500 to meet the reliability and performance expectations of today’s systems, and are thrilled to offer the first terabyte-class. SSD for under $600," said Robert Wheadon, senior WW product manager, Crucial. "The Crucial M500 is equipped with an impressive new set of features, making it a multifaceted solution for today and tomorrow."

The M500 is compatible with PC and Mac systems, and is backed by a limited three-year warranty. The 2.5" form factor is available in 7mm height and comes with a 9.5mm bracket. M.2 form factors are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2013.