Kingston A400 960GB
Score: 62/100
Crucial BX500 1TB
Score: 75/100Rankings
The Crucial BX500 1TB is a budget-oriented SATA SSD that delivers solid sequential performance and high capacity for everyday computing, but it lacks DRAM cache and hardware encryption.
The Kingston A400 960 GB SSD provides entry-level SATA performance with 500 MB/s reads and 450 MB/s writes, making it a solid, budget-friendly upgrade for users moving from HDDs.
| Attribute | | |
|---|---|---|
960 GB | 1,000 GBbest | |
500 MB/s | 540 MB/sbest | |
450 MB/s | 500 MB/sbest | |
300 TBW | 360 TBWbest | |
3 yearsbest | 3 yearsbest | |
| ↓ lower better | 0.279 Wbest | — |
| ↓ lower better | 0.195 Wbest | — |
1,000,000 hours | 1,500,000 hoursbest |
Click an attribute name to sort · Green = best, red = worst (relative to this comparison)
| Attribute | | |
|---|---|---|
Performance(2) | ||
Sequential Read Speed (MB/s) | 500 MB/s | 540 MB/s |
Sequential Write Speed (MB/s) | 450 MB/s | 500 MB/s |
Storage(5) | ||
Capacity (GB) | 960 GB | 1000 GB |
Form Factor | 2.5-inch | 2.5" |
NAND Type | 3D TLC | TLC |
Endurance (TBW) (TBW) | 300 TBW | 360 TBW |
MTBF (hours) | 1000000 hours | 1500000 hours |
Design & Build(2) | ||
Weight (g) | 40.82 g | 54.4 g |
Thickness (mm) | 7.11 mm | 7 mm |
Products in the top-left offer the best value (high score, low price).
Professional reviewers view the Kingston A400 as a solid, budget-friendly upgrade that revives older systems with noticeable speed gains. They commend its reliability, shock resistance, and value, while noting the trade-off of a missing DRAM cache and its positioning away from high-performance or enterprise use cases.
Everyday users overwhelmingly praise the SSD for its fast boot and load times, excellent price-to-performance ratio, and the confidence that comes with the Kingston brand. The most common complaints revolve around occasional customer service delays and the need to buy extra accessories such as SATA cables.
Professional reviewers acknowledge the BX500 as a solid entry-level SSD that delivers the expected SATA performance at a low price. PCMag notes that while it performs well in benchmarks, the lack of DRAM cache and shorter warranty make the MX500 a better overall value. Gagadget praises its affordability and real-world speed but warns against heavy write workloads due to the SLC cache limitation.
Everyday users appreciate the noticeable speed boost over mechanical drives, the ease of installation, and the included cloning tools, while complaints focus on the sharp write-speed drop after the cache fills and the absence of mounting hardware.
“Fast boot, fast games”
“Great value for the price”
“Customer Support Delays: 3-week RMA wait time with minimal communication”
The Crucial BX500 is a close competitor with marginally higher endurance, but the Kingston A400 remains attractive for users who prioritize brand trust and proven reliability at a comparable price.
