The Crucial P1 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD is an ideal upgrade for any device that has an M.2 22×80 slot that supports PCIe NVMe – not the slower SATA6 interface.
At below $300 for 1TB it is not too far a stretch to gain huge, huge I tell you, increases over hard disks and SATA 6 SSDs.
For example, a hard disk can at best do sequential read/writes of 150/130MBps. A SATA 6 SSD may get to 550/550MBps. In real life use, you can expect to achieve less than half that speed because traffic to and from the disks is half-duplex (can’t read and write at the same time). Plus, they die when read/writing larger files – down to a MBps or so.
PCIe NVMe SSD tops out at a blistering 2500/1000MBps, and it can read and write simultaneously using two or four PCI Express lanes. In reality, actual performance is a little lower.
Review: Crucial P1 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Website here.
Crucial is part of the U.S. Micron Technology. It uses Micron memory for consumer and business DRAM, Flash memory, and Solid State Drives (SSD). Sister company Ballistix focuses on the gaming market.
GadgetGuy likes Crucial gear particularly for its lack of ‘marketing hype”. You can rely on the company for accurate performance specifications and fair prices. We also like that knowledgeable computer specialists, and online stores like MWave and Skycomp sell it.
What is a Crucial P1 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD?
PCIe means it communicates with the CPU over a high-speed PCI express bus. Crucial P1 uses four lanes for full-duplex and maximum speed.
NVM means non-volatile memory – it does not lose data when the power is off.
e means the new Express 1.3 standard which is faster than the previous 1.2 and seems to be able to handle larger file transfers faster.
M.2 is the slot. If it has one index notch, it is PCIe NVMe. If it has two,it is SATA 6. The two are not interchangeable. If you only have SATA 6 Crucial has the MX-500 M2 in 250/500GB and 1TB
Speed Test
Crucial P1 rates at 2000/1700MBps. Our tests using an Intel Hades Canyon NUC (GadgetGuy review here) easily achieved the rated speeds. PASS
It also did extremely well with random read/write of larger file sizes. The table below shows (in order from top down) 1, 8, 16, and 32GB files. PASS
Longevity
SSD is reliable, more so than hard disks although the latter usually show signs of deterioration and you can replace before they die.
In my experience, no hard drive over five years old is to be trusted. SSD’s have diagnostic software that measures read/writes (Total Bytes Written) for their lifespan.
Apart from a 5-year warranty,it has a 200TB (equivalent to 109GB a day for five years) guarantee. Crucial also has excellent online support and diagnostics. PASS
Software and Setup
You can’t simply swap out the existing hard disk drive because it has all your data on it and buried deep in the Window registry is the Product Key that you need to activate Windows.
Clean setup – the preferred method
A clean install always gives the best results. The downside is that you must reinstall Windows and all your existing software.
With your existing system intact
Download Magical Jelly Bean Finder (MJBF – there is a Mac version as well) and use it to find the Windows 10 CD Key – it looks like this DA246-4VFG4-RBS8C-YRZYV-YY49C. Write it down and also put a copy in a plain text file.
MJBF may also be able to find other installed software keys like Office, Antivirus etc. Also, copy these down.
Next, go to Windows ISO downloader and download the ISO Tool to make a bootable Windows install USB flash drive.
Power off and remove the existing boot hard disk. The new disk should plug straight into the cables – if not you can’t proceed and will need to take the SSD back to the store
Put the bootable USB drive in the USB-A port and switch on.The computer BIO should recognise it as a bootable device (if not you need to go into the bios and set it accordingly)
It will install a clean new Windows on the SSD –you activate this with the MJBF key.
Most PCs have two SATA ports so you can put the old drive on the second port and copy data over.
Or Clone your drive (not preferred as existing issues/problems remain)
Crucial provides the award-winning Acronis True Image for Crucial disk cloning software. To use this, you must have a bootable trouble free hard disk or SSD and a spare PCIe NVMe M.2 slot for the Crucial P1. After cloning you disable your HDD and boot from the Crucial P1. The old hard disk or SSD can either become a slave drive.
GadgetGuy’s take: Crucial P1 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Good price, good performance, quality company.
As a tech-savvy GadgetGuy,it is no issue for me to lift the bonnet,put on a static trap, install an M.2 SSD, make an ISO and do it myself.
But Joe and Jane Average don’t necessarily have those skills let alone know if their device has an M.2 PCIe NVMe slot!!!
That is what your friendly local computer store is for. It will take them an hour or so (it will take you much longer) so expect to pay $100 or more for labour, but you will get back a device that has blistering performance, boot times measured in seconds (not minutes) and a huge difference in copying large files.
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