Western Digital WD Blue 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Crucial T500 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
What Buyers Say
Western Digital WD Blue 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Most users are happy with this SSD, praising its easy installation, fast speeds, and great value for money. However, one reviewer reported the drive dying after six months of light use, and another noted that performance drops significantly when the cache is full due to cheaper NAND. Overall, it's seen as a solid budget option, though not the fastest on the market.
Pros
- Easy installation
- Fast speeds
- Great value for money
- Good price/performance ratio
- Reliable for boot drive
Cons
- Drive died after six months
- Performance drops when cache full
- Cheaper NAND used
Crucial T500 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
The Crucial T500 Gen4 NVMe SSD is overwhelmingly praised for its exceptional speed, easy installation, and reliable performance, making it a top choice for gaming PCs and PS5 upgrades. Users highlight significant improvements in boot times, game loading, and file transfers, with many noting it meets or exceeds advertised speeds. While a few mention minor issues like startup quirks or the need for BIOS updates, the overall sentiment is highly positive, with strong recommendations for its value and 5-year warranty.
Pros
- Blazing fast speeds
- Easy installation
- PS5 compatible
- Large storage capacity
- Runs cool
Cons
- Startup issues with fastboot
- Requires BIOS update on some systems
- No heatsink on some models
- Price can be high at launch
Scores
Specifications
| Western Digital WD Blue | Crucial T500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | ||
| Capacity | ||
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 3 | 4★ |
| External | ✗ | ✗ |
| Performance | ||
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | ||
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | ||
| Random Read (IOPS) | ||
| Random Write (IOPS) | ||
| Hardware | ||
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | ✗ | ✓★ |
| Controller | — | Phison E25 |
| Reliability | ||
| Endurance (TBW) | ||
| MTBF (hours) | No data | |
| Warranty (years) | — | 5★ |
| Features | ||
| Heatsink | — | ✓★ |
| Hardware Encryption | — | ✓★ |
Pros & Cons
Western Digital WD Blue 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong social proof (87th percentile)87th %ile
- Strong random (78th percentile)
- Strong affordability (72nd percentile)
- Strong endurance (71st percentile)
- Below average capacity (12th percentile)12th %ile
- Below average user sentiment (29th percentile)
Crucial T500 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong feature (99th percentile)99th %ile
- Strong random (96th percentile)96th %ile
- Strong social proof (95th percentile)95th %ile
- Strong user sentiment (94th percentile)94th %ile
Verdict
Scores 93 overall, wins 6 of 6 usage categories and 11 of 18 specs.