(OLD MODEL) Crucial M550 256GB mSATA Internal Solid State Drive - CT256M550SSD3
A breakthrough in innovation, the Crucial M550 SSD is over 20 times faster than a typical hard drive* and consumes significantly less power. It enables your computer to boot up almost immediately, load files and programs almost instantly, accelerate demanding applications, and manage power so that your battery lasts up to 50 minutes longer. Backed by the most advanced feature set available - Native Write Acceleration, RAIN technology, Adaptive Thermal Protection, hardware-based encryption, and our exclusive data integrity algorithm - the Crucial M550 delivers a complete performance gain that's measured by far more than just specs.
As a brand of Micron, one of the largest flash storage manufacturers in the world, the Crucial M550 is backed by the same quality and innovation that has produced some of the world's most advanced memory and storage technologies. With over a thousand hours of prerelease validation testing and hundreds of SSD qualification tests, the Crucial M550 has been thoroughly tried, tested, and proven for the most demanding applications.
Performance level based on averaged PCMark Vantage HDD test scores of five leading hard drives compared to the Crucial M550 SSD. Actual performance level may vary based on benchmark used and individual system configuration. Test setup: 256GB Crucial M550 SSD (firmwareMU01), 2TB Western Digital WD20EURS 7200RPM hard drive, 2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 7200 RPM hard drive, 1TB Western Digital WD10EZEX 7200RPM hard drive, 750GB Seagate ST3750640AS 7200RPM hard drive, and 500GB Western Digital WD5000AVDS 7200RPM hard drive, all tested on an Intel DZ87KLT-75K motherboard, Intel i7-4770K 3.50GHz processor, BIOS Rev. 0446, and Windows 8 Pro 64-bit operating system using PCMark Vantage HDD test suite. Benchmark testing conducted December 2013.
Every manufacturer has ideas about how to deliver better performance. Some use file compression schemes, but those don't help video, audio, or graphic files that are already compressed. Some steal system memory to improve a slow drive. The Crucial M550 treats all files the same, regardless of whether they're compressed or uncompressed, so the specs we advertise are the same ones you'll see in real world use: true 550 MB/s sequential reads across all file types.
Normally, as an SSD's level of performance increases, its level of reliability decreases. Not so with the Crucial M550. With over 35 years of defining and refining some of the world's most advanced memory and storage technologies, we leveraged our expertise to create RAIN (Redundant Array of Independent NAND). This technology protects your data at the component level, similar to the way RAID is used with multiple drives.
Run your system longer than ever before - and use less power. Based on published specs, a common laptop hard drive uses 2.5 watts of power on an average workload, compared to 0.15 watts on the Crucial M550 (which is up to 94% more energy efficient). ** In everyday terms, this means significantly more battery life and substantial savings on power costs.
You probably save lots of sensitive and personal information on your computer - encrypt it and keep it safe. As a self-encrypting drive, the Crucial M550 incorporates the highest level of hardware encryption into the controller, allowing the drive to operate at full speed without the performance loss associated with software-based encryption. The Crucial M550 is one of the only drives on the market to meet the rigorous requirements of TCG Opal 2.0, IEEE-1667, and Microsoft eDrive.
Push your drive to the limit and avoid overheating, even in ultra-small, thermally constrained systems. The Crucial M550 includes Adaptive Thermal Protection technology, which enables the drive to dynamically adjust NAND activity based on usage demands. With this technology, the drive is able to maintain optimal operating temperatures, even when you overwork it.
Available in capacities up to 1TB, the Crucial M550 provides plenty of space to store large programs and your ever-growing collection of photos, videos, music, and work files. Available in the form factors of today (2.5-inch and mSATA), and tomorrow (M. 2), the Crucial M550 is designed to go the distance.