Best Crucial X8 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

Crucial sees things big with the X8 series by promising the highest speeds in the segment (1 GB / s). The brand also wants to be reassuring by promising that its external SSDs are also resistant.

Presentation

Crucial has been fairly well established in the internal SSD sector for several years, the range of which covers both the top and the entry level. A presence that surprises little in the sense that the brand is a subsidiary of Micron, developer and designer of memory chips. However, no external SSD had appeared so far in its catalog. After several years of silence, the firm released the X8, external SSDs that want to be high-end.

Best Crucial X8 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. Crucial 1TB X8 Portable SSD – Up to 1050MB/s – USB 3.2 – USB-C, USB-A – CT1000X8SSD9

2. Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD – CT1000MX500SSD1(Z)

3. Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD – CT1000MX500SSD1

4. Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD – CT500MX500SSD1

Transport

By taking the 1 TB X8 in hand for the first time, you are immediately surprised by its weight, higher than the average. While most external SSDs weigh around 50g, this is almost double that with 99g on the scale. The shell, on the other hand, exudes quality, alternating metal faces – which, by the way, have little fear of scratches – with soft rubber edges. Everything is resistant to falls from 2 m on carpet, says the manufacturer, which we have been able to verify successfully.

The format chosen does not give rise to the most compact external SSD on the market. Indeed, if it is not very wide (5.3 cm) and not very thick (1.1 cm), it is ultimately quite long with no less than 11 cm. We are thus much closer to a Transcend ESD350C (9.7 x 5.4 x 1.3 cm) than to a SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD (9.6 x 4.9 x 0.9 cm) or even a Samsung T5 (7.4 x 5.7 x 1.1 cm). However, it remains an easy format to carry and slip into any bag.

Provided with a USB-C 3.2 Gen2 port, the Crucial X8 is supplied with a cable of around twenty centimeters. This leads to a USB-C connector and is accompanied by a USB-C / USB-A adapter. If the manufacturer indicates that the use of this adapter halves the flow of the X8, it is not practical; whereas the tests that we have conducted have given similar results with and without its use. We regret however that the adapter cannot be fixed to the cable, be careful not to lose it! No cable fixing system has also been thought of – as on almost all external SSDs and HDDs on the market unfortunately.

Internal construction

As we were unable to dismantle the box, we were unable to verify with accuracy the nature of the components used. Crucial indicates, however, that it uses QLC memory. The long format leaves little doubt about the use of an M.2 2280 SSD stuck to a USB controller card. A quick passage to the manufacturer’s catalog thus suggests that it is then a P1 SSD, already passed through our laboratory elsewhere.

Performances

Quite confident in the capabilities of its X8, Crucial boasts a speed of up to 1050 MB / s in sequential read, which is about the maximum allowed by the USB interface used. In practice, the result is – as very often – a little lower with an average of 941 MB / s in read and 890 MB / s in write. These very good results place this external SSD above one of its main rivals, the Transcend ESD350C. Random access is notably much higher on the Crucial model, which will therefore be better suited to console use than that of Transcend.

In manual copying, the results are once again of a very good level with 763 MB / s when copying a large file of around thirty gigabytes. In writing, this same file is transferred at a rate of 544 MB / s. This little game, the Transcend remains in front of the Crucial. Switching to a batch of medium-sized files (a folder comprising several hundred photos, for example) lowers the counter to 569 MB / s in reading and 471 MB / s in writing, this time allowing it to pass in front of the rival .

Note also that if the housing tends to heat (without being hot), this does not affect the flow behavior. The SSD chips do not exceed 50 ° C, which avoids any throttling phenomenon – a mechanism that lowers the flow rate to prevent overheating.

STRONG POINTS

  • Read speeds of almost 1 GB / s.
  • Resistant to falls.
  • Very good finish.
  • Thermal management.

WEAK POINTS

  • Quite heavy (99 g).
  • No cable storage system.
  • No fixing system for the USB-A adapter.

CONCLUSION

The Crucial X8 offers a particularly convincing performance. If it is not the most compact in its category, it offers a high and stable flow. The shell is also of high quality, resistant to scratches as well as to falls.

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