Crucial P3 500GB PCIe Gen3 NVMe M.2 SSD: specs and who it suits

The Crucial P3 500GB (model CT500P3SSD8) is an internal M.2 solid state drive that uses PCIe Gen3 and the NVMe protocol. Crucial positions it as a step up from older storage, for people who want quicker boot times, downloads and file transfers in a desktop or a compatible laptop.

Reading the speed figures

Crucial rates the P3 at up to 3,500MB/s sequential reads. Its description quotes sequential read/write speeds of up to 3500/3000MB/s, and random read/write of 350K/460K IOPS. Sequential speed relates to moving large files; IOPS relates to many small operations, like those an operating system performs while starting up.

Crucial says the drive performs up to 33% better than the previous generation. It also describes NVMe performance as nearly 5x faster than SATA and nearly 20x faster than a hard disk drive, using its own comparison. Those are brand figures, and real-world gains depend on your system and the task.

PCIe Gen3 x4

The drive connects through four PCIe Gen3 lanes. Gen3 is an older but still widely supported standard, found on a great many motherboards and laptops. A Gen3 drive is generally a straightforward fit for systems that don't have a PCIe 4.0 slot, since a faster drive would be held back there anyway. Crucial calls this solid Gen3 performance.

3D NAND and the controller

The P3 uses Micron Advanced 3D NAND, in which memory cells are stacked in layers to fit more capacity into the chip. Crucial also mentions innovative controller technology. The controller manages how data is read, written and spread across the memory, and it has a large effect on how a drive behaves.

Reliability figure

The listing states a mean time to failure (MTTF) greater than 1.5 million hours. MTTF is a statistical figure used for comparing designs, and it doesn't mean one drive will last that long. It is not a warranty, so keep backups of anything important.

Capacity

This model has 500GB, enough for an operating system, everyday programs and a modest set of games or files. Crucial says the range goes up to 4TB, so a bigger version is available if you need more room. Crucial counts capacity in decimal units, so your operating system will show slightly less.

Uses

Crucial lists personal, gaming and business uses. It suits a PC refresh where the old drive is a hard disk or a SATA SSD, a boot drive for a new build, or a secondary drive for projects and downloads.

What to check before you buy

• Slot support: check your motherboard or laptop has an M.2 slot that takes NVMe drives, and confirm the drive length it supports.
• Generation: a Gen3 drive works in Gen3 and, typically, newer slots, but not in M.2 slots that accept only SATA.
• Capacity: decide whether 500GB is enough, or whether you need a larger version.
• Cloning: back up your data and follow the manufacturer's software and the motherboard's manual.
• Heat: some systems provide a heatsink for M.2 drives, and installing one is optional.

The short version

• Crucial P3 500GB, model CT500P3SSD8, a PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD.
• Rated at up to 3,500MB/s sequential reads and 350K/460K random read/write IOPS.
• Micron 3D NAND, with an MTTF figure of more than 1.5 million hours.
• Crucial says it performs up to 33% better than the previous generation.
• Capacities go up to 4TB, with 500GB covered here.

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