CONCLUSION

   When we received word that the M550 was on its way here we placed a single primary goal which was to see just how much better it was compared to its predecessor the M500 and it really didn't disappoint us. Of course as you can see from our charts the M500 did manage to outperform the M550 in a few tests but the M550 surpassed it in the majority of tests and with quite large margins so it's obvious that Crucial did indeed launch a faster SSD model (largely thanks to the new controller by Marvell). As expected our secondary objective was to see just how good the M550 would be compared to its immediate competition from other manufacturers and in that case things didn't really turn out just as good. Sure the M550 is faster compared to the M500 and the Q Pro by Toshiba but it's slower compared to the 840 EVO by Samsung and although we don't have the 840 PRO in our charts yet (soon however) the difference in performance should be even greater. That being said the M550 is very fast just not the fastest SSD around.

   Judging by the M500 we expected Crucial to follow the same aggressive price policy with the M550 and we weren't wrong since currently the 256GB variant retails for just USD156.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 132Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Of course although both the M500 and the M550 are aimed towards different end users the price of the M500 did take a plunge and so right now you can find it for roughly 30% less making it a very tempting solution for people who are not after high-end performance. On the other hand the 840 EVO by Samsung is priced for slightly less compared to the M550 and that's the main issue we all feel Crucial should address soon. Bottom line Crucial did deliver on their promise for a faster SSD compared to the M500 and although still far from the fastest one around it does offer a very good price/performance ratio and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Very Good Overall Performance (Surpasses Its Predecessor The M500)
- Features (RAIN & eDrive Support)
- 1st SSD To Feature Marvell’s 88SS9189 Controller
- 3 Year Warranty
- Available In 1TB

CONS

- Bundle
- Price (Compared To Its Immediate Competition)