Crucial BX500 1TB
Score: 67/100
Seagate Storage Expansion Card 1TB
Score: 69/100Rankings
The Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S adds up to 4 TB of native-speed storage via a PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe interface. Its performance is slightly lower than the theoretical maximum and it works only with the Xbox Series X|S ecosystem. Best for gamers who need seamless expansion without cables.
The Crucial BX500 1TB SATA SSD offers an affordable upgrade with decent sequential speeds and reliable TLC NAND. Its DRAM-less architecture leads to throttled sustained writes and limited random performance, making it suited for budget-conscious users upgrading from HDDs.
| Attribute | | |
|---|---|---|
1,000 GB | 1,024 GBbest | |
540 MB/s | 820 MB/sbest | |
500 MB/s | 664 MB/sbest | |
— | 30,219 IOPSbest | |
— | 684 IOPSbest | |
240 TBbest | — | |
1,500,000 hoursbest | — | |
0 MB | 128 MBbest |
Click an attribute name to sort · Green = best, red = worst (relative to this comparison)
| Attribute | | |
|---|---|---|
Connectivity(1) | ||
Interface | SATA III | PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe |
Performance(3) | ||
Sequential Read Speed (MB/s) | 540 MB/s | 820 MB/s |
Sequential Write Speed (MB/s) | 500 MB/s | 664 MB/s |
DRAM Cache (MB) | 0 MB | 128 MB |
Storage(1) | ||
Storage Capacity (GB) | 1000 GB | 1024 GB |
Design & Build(3) | ||
Form Factor | 2.5-inch | Proprietary Card |
Weight (g) | 34.9 g | 30 g |
Dimensions (L×W×H) (mm) | 69.85x6.86x100.33 mm | 80x23.4x8.9 mm |
Products in the top-left offer the best value (high score, low price).
Professional reviewers acknowledge that the BX500 meets its advertised sequential speeds and offers a solid entry-level SSD experience, but they criticize the DRAM-less architecture for causing sustained write speeds to drop to roughly 100 MB/s and for delivering weak random IOPS, making it unsuitable for demanding workloads.
Everyday users generally praise the noticeable boost in boot times, file access, and battery life after upgrading from a hard drive, while recurring complaints focus on performance throttling during prolonged writes and the lack of high-end features.
“Matches internal SSD speeds for optimized games, Quick Resume, and load times, delivering near-native performance.”
“Benchmark read speeds (~738 MB/s) are lower than the theoretical maximum of PCIe Gen4, potentially limiting peak performance.”
Professional reviewers praise the Seagate Expansion Card as the only true plug-and-play solution that delivers PCIe Gen4 performance and full Xbox Velocity Architecture integration, matching the console's internal SSD for optimized games. They commend its seamless installation, high capacities, and ability to run next-gen titles without transfers, while noting that real-world speeds fall short of the PCIe Gen4 ceiling and that the product's exclusivity and premium price limit its broader appeal.
Everyday users consistently highlight the card's ease of installation and the immediate boost in available storage, especially for large open-world games. Quick Resume reliability and the compact, cable-free form factor receive strong praise. Recurring concerns revolve around limited capacity on lower-tier models, the inability to use the card on other platforms, and occasional heat during prolonged sessions.
