Micron Technology has announced the M500 SSD, which utilizes 20nm Micron MLC NAND flash to maximize storage density for ultrathin applications. Built by Micron, the M500 will be available to consumers under the Crucial brand and OEM customers with a Micron badge. The 960GB Crucial M500 SSD will initially be priced under $600.
Micron Technology has announced the M500 SSD, which utilizes 20nm Micron MLC NAND flash to maximize storage density for ultrathin applications. Built by Micron, the M500 will be available to consumers under the Crucial brand and OEM customers with a Micron badge. The 960GB Crucial M500 SSD will initially be priced under $600.
Micron’s new 80mm x 22mm form factor, called M.2, along with its support for the mSATA form factor, underscore the company’s commitment to the ultrathin market. The M500 incorporates device sleep (DEVSLP), drawing an average of 150mW during active use and 5mW during sleep. Micron says that the time to ready for the M500 will be five times faster than its previous generations, down to 0.2s.
The M500 SSD features a 6Gb/s SATA controller with Micron firmware that delivers up to 80,000 IOPS, with sequential read and write speeds up to 500 MB/s and 400 MB/s for 480GB and 960GB drives, respectively with a Marvell 9187 SSD controller. The M500 SSD also incorporates TCG Opal 2.0 + IEEE 1667, 256-bit AES encryption hardware encryption to maintain data security in the event of theft or loss as well as an adaptive thermal monitoring system to adjust power consumption and thermal load based on usage.
Availability
Crucial M500 SSDs will be available in 120GB, 240GB, 480GB and 960GB capacities in the first quarter of 2013. M.2 and mSATA form factors will be available in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities in the second quarter. Micron M500 SSDs will be made available directly to OEMs and through Micron’s distribution network.
Ultrathin Micron SSD Home Page
UPDATE 4/9/13 – Crucial M500 Review Posted
UPDATE 4/10/13 – Micron M500 Review Posted
