Performance: 35 out of 40
This is going to be a bit of a controversial take as the P510 is a controversial model. So with that in mind, the P510 is a 40 out of 40 if one views it through the lens of it being a P-class drive. On the other hand, this is a drive priced more in line with the T series and thus the very idea of “lowered expectations” is defenestrated out of the Empire State Building / CN Tower (… etc. etc.). Mix in the fact that the industry has moved on since the T500’s release, and the P510 must be judged by a harsher standard than any P-class drive has any right being judged. So… unless this drive drops down in price to where the T500 2TB resides its merely a good to very good performer for its price class. Not a great one.
Technological Innovation: 20 out of 20
We must admit that, from a technological innovation point of view, the P510 is a phenomenal drive that not only highlights how far 4-channel DRAM-less controllers have come but also just how amazing the new NAND really is. We say this as… let’s face it, it is the NAND that elevates the P510 out of the “way overpriced” territory and into the realm of “almost reasonably priced”. Mix in the fact that what the E31T gives up on the performance side of the equation is more than makes up for on how cool this PCIe 5.0 x4 controller runs, and Crucial really knocked it out of the park with this design.
Build Quality & Warranty: 18 out of 20
There is not much to complain about here beyond the choice of controller (namely its inability to use a board RAM cache) and the decision to make this a single-sided “S2” instead of a double-sided “D2” drive. Beyond those missing extra ICs, Crucial once again proves why they are consistently some of the best options available at nearly every price point. Mix in a 5 year warranty and there is a lot to like with what Crucial is offering via the P510 series.
Value: 15 out of 20
As with the P510’s performance score, said drive’s value is going to be relative to its asking price. Drop this bad boy down to 8 cents (I.E. the same price per GB that the T500 2TB was reviewed at) and this is a stellar drive with excellent overall value. At ten cents? It is still rather good, but it is hard to recommend a DRAM-less 4-channel controller-based model over an 8-channel w/ 1-2GB of onboard RAM options that cost the same amount. Put bluntly the saving grace of this model’s overall value is twofold: next generation NAND with relatively low levels of heat output.
Final Score: 88 out of 100
The P510 is a rather unique model in that it is the best P-class drive Crucial has ever released. It just is that Crucial’s management may have placed a wee bit too much faith in it. Put bluntly, this is the spiritual successor to the T500, but in no shape or form should it be the actual successor. So if Crucial is indeed testing the waters of nuking their T5-series. Please don’t. Just… just don’t. Make no mistake. This is a highly innovative SSD that offers an impressive amount of value-added features. Features such as ease of use, very good performance, and insanely good NAND. It just is not perfect, due to the S2 nature of its design, and needed to be to fully replace the aging T500 in the hearts and minds of buyers. Put another way, the P510 could have been perfect and arguably could have been a T500 killer but it is held back due to P-class design philosophies. As such it is ‘merely’ very good to excellent overall.
