Conclusion, Pricing and Final Thoughts

Conclusion:

Pros:

  • Write speeds greatly improved(*) over prior generation Micron SSDs.
  • Reduced write power consumption when in SLC mode (*).
  • 16nm Micron flash should result in lower cost/GB.
  • Very high endurance rating for a consumer / OEM SSD.

Cons:

  • * Dynamic Write Cache performs inconsistently in actual use.
  • * Worst case write speeds (while die shuffling) are painfully slow.
  • Availability may be limited to OEMs.

Before wrapping up, I wanted to present a bit of a data dump for those wanting to directly compare the various write and read speeds seen through out this testing. Italicized figures are best guess approximations based on what we know of controller configurations that were not specifically tested:

  SLC write MLC write TLC write Mode change write Duration Read Read (frag)
M600 128 443 154   53 Variable 460 201
M550 128   350       453 271
MX100 128   150       450 201
840 EVO 120 396   128   3GB 444 444
M600 256 466 305   77 Variable 458 266
M550 256   464       451 355
MX100 256   300       450 266
840 EVO 250 485   253   3GB 459 459
M600 512 467* 424*   70* Variable 450 413
M550 512   464       450 382
MX100 512   462       447 382
840 EVO 500 485   400   6GB 461 461
M600 1TB 467* 424*   56* Variable 449 413
M550 1TB   464       450 382
840 EVO 750 485   400   9GB 460 460
840 EVO 1TB 484   404   12GB 456 456

For those looking for specific write / read speed minimums for Windows-based file copy operations, the above table should answer any questions. The left three columns represent observed write speeds of the various models. 'Mode change write' is the worst-case write speed seen when the M600 is caught freeing up flash memory space by shifting data and dies from SLC to MLC. 'Read (frag)' is the speed observed when reading back a test file that was in-place fragmented (more detail at the bottom of page 4).

* Edit* Although the 512GB and 1TB 2.5" SATA models of the M600 are not supposed to support DWA, there were definite speed grades / inconsistency noted during testing (here), so I'll leave the chart as is, but star those results to indicate the potential disparity. Micron also states that the MSATA and M.2 versions of the M600 support DWA in capacities up to 512GB. We're not sure why all M600's don't come with DWA given Micron's push towards lower power consumption when the flash is operating in SLC mode.

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Pricing:

No MSRP's here as this is an OEM targeted product. Approximate costs (not adjusted for high volume shipment):

  • 128GB – $80   ($0.63/GB)
  • 256GB – $140 ($0.55/GB)
  • 512GB – $260 ($0.51/GB)
  • 1TB     – $450 ($0.44/GB)

Final Thoughts:

The Micron M600 SSDs were certainly challenging to properly evaluate. The dynamic flipping from SLC to MLC flash meant we had to come up with an entirely new routine based on evaluating performance consistency as test samples are filled to capacity. Once we worked out a realistic routine and applied it to a round of competing samples, we were a bit disappointed by the inconsistent results seen from Micron's first stab at this challenging and apparently tough to execute feature. The new testing method also revealed some additional shortcomings of the Marvell controller not seen in competing SSDs. All of that said, the M600 should bring a competitive cost/GB to OEMs who choose to include it in their system builds. As for my recommendation, whether or not it deserves a place on your 'avoid this laptop' list really depends on your tolerance for potentially inconsistent write speeds, coupled with how much you intend to fill your SSD. On paper, Dynamic Write Acceleration is a novel approach, but its current implementation doesn't appear to best the competing static SLC cache solution.

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