Crucial has expanded its SSD portfolio with the brand new P2. As the name implies, the P2 is the direct replacement for the Crucial P1 SSD, which debuted last year.
Not a lot has changed with the P2 over the P1, however. If it wasn't for the sticker, you wouldn't know the difference between the two SSDs at first. Like the P1, the P2 conforms to the M.2 2280 form factor and communicates with your system through a standard PCIe 3.0 x4 interface.
On a hardware level, the P1 employs Micron's 64-layer 3D QLC (quad-level cell) NAND chips and Silicon Motion's SM2263. The P2 is likely to feature QLC flash memory, although we're uncertain if it's the same kind used with the P1. The capacities and performance numbers suggest Crucial swapped the Silicon Motion controller found in the P1 for one from Phison.
The P1 features 1MB of DRAM for every 1GB of NAND. While there is a visible DRAM chip on the P2, the exact design is currently unknown.
Crucial P2 Specs
| Model | Part Number | Sequential Read (MBps) | Sequential Write (MBps) | Random Read (IOPS) | Random Writes (IOPS) | Endurance (TBW) | Warranty | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crucial P2 500GB | CT500P2SSD8 | 2,300 | 940 | ? | ? | 150 | 5 Years | $64.99 |
| Crucial P1 1TB | CT1000P1SSD8 | 2,000 | 1,700 | 170,000 | 240,000 | 200 | 5 Years | $104.99 |
| Crucial P2 250GB | CT250P2SSD8 | 2,100 | 1,150 | ? | ? | 150 | 5 Years | $54.99 |
| Crucial P1 500GB | CT500P1SSD8 | 1,900 | 950 | 90,000 | 220,000 | 100 | 5 Years | $59.99 |
While the P1 was available in 500GB and 1TB capacities, the P2 is only listed in 250GB and 500GB variants. However, the P2 boasts improved performance over its predecessor.
The 250GB model delivers sequential read and write speeds up to 2,100 MBps and 1,150 MBps, respectively. The 500GB model, on the other hand, is capable of hitting sequential reads up to 2,300 MBps and sequential writes up to 940 MBps. Crucial didn't list the random performance for the P2.
Independent of the size, the P2, is rated for 150 TBW (terabytes written) in regard to endurance. As usual, Crucial backs the P2 with a limited five-year warranty. The brand also includes two pieces of software with the P2: Crucial Storage Executive for SSD monitoring and optimization and Acronis True Image for system migration.
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The P2 250GB and 500GB drives are selling for $54.99 and $64.99, respectively, on Crucial's website.
Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
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bit_user The P1 struck me as a distinctly entry-level product. One thing I've liked about Crucial, over the years, is the decent value of their mid-range offerings. I'm still waiting for a mid-range NVMe drive from them - something akin to their MX-series SATA drives.Reply
Also, I'm hoping we'll see a 3D XPoint product from them, since Crucial is owned by Micron, which partnered with Intel on the tech. So far, they've only announced (but I'm unsure if it ever shipped) a Micron server product based on 3D XPoint. -
mdd1963 These sequential read/write numbers are rather disappointing, and would even have been disappointing even back in 2017, frankly....; with those numbers , it best come in undercutting the Intel 660/665P by 20% in cost...and better undercut the 970 EVO Plus by 40%.Reply