Crucial MX500 500GB Review — The Evolution Begins
Crucial, the company who many believe is the juggernaut of the SSD industry, has been on a roll as of late. Last year saw Crucial release the first ever TLC 3D NAND drive (the MX300) and then the BX300 which happened to be the first ever MLC 3D NAND SSD from IMFT the company founded by Micron and Intel. These two series proved to be an extremely potent one-two combination that left the competition staggering since they covered the mainstream and value ends of the market perfectly.
Unfortunately, there was one small hiccup. Both SSD series ended up competing against one another rather than targeting offerings from other companies. This reversal of fortune for the BX and MX series’ relationship can all be traced back to the first-generation 3D NAND used in each of those lines’ refresh. Basically the more value-oriented brand ended up benefiting from better technology. The BX300 received the seemingly superior MLC NAND option and the MX300 was the first M series to use TLC-based NAND.
Soon after its release, many people in the industry started wondering aloud about the MX300 successor and if Crucial was either going to stay the course with TLC for their mainstream series, or revert back to the way ‘things used to be’ before the MX300 landed and shook things up. That answer came a little while ago. Crucial ended up sticking to their guns as the all new MX500 is indeed TLC based. But there are many things going on behind the scenes which make this new series infinitely superior to its predecessors.
This move may be controversial since quite a few vendors have moved away from TLC-based NAND for their latest SSDs. However Crucial does have a pair of aces up its sleeve in the form of much improved 3D NAND and a controller that could be deemed revolutionary.
The first ace takes the form of the NAND being used. Much like the MX300 introduced Micron’s first-generation 3D NAND production, the MX500 is the showcase model for the all new second generation 3D TLC NAND. While details are sparse even now after its official launch, what is known is Micron – the ‘M’ in IMFT and Crucial’s parent company – did indeed take all the lessons learned from their first foray into 3D NAND and distilled this knowledge into their second iteration.
These lessons all boil down to one thing: making SATA-based solid state drives more affordable while also making them more robust in the long term. The first major difference is that unlike the first-generation 3D NAND Crucial has aimed higher and is now using a 64 layer process which translates into a claimed 30% reduction in production costs. This helps explain why a large 500GB model has an MSRP of only $139.99 – or 28 cents per GB. Though this may not be the massive reduction in cost per gigabyte of capacity one would expect, it will certainly be good news for consumers.
On the surface combining lower costs of manufacture with more layers may not impress die hard “MLC only” type buyers but this NAND is radically different than its 32-layer predecessor. The last generation used 32 layers to hit 384Gb (48GB) of capacity per ‘block’ whereas this new 2nd generation model uses 64-layers to hit 256Gb (32GB). What this means is the cells are larger, more robust, and a lot less likely to thermally limit – all critical to real world performance.
This reduction in capacity also explains why the odd-ball sizes of the MX300 have been frog marched out the nearest air-lock. Instead of confusing 275/525/750/1050/2050MB capacity options the new MX500 will come in much more typical 250/500/1000/2000MB options. This is more of a fringe benefit as this change in NAND density also means that the over-provisioning and NAND-interleaving will be much, much more sensible.
For instance, the $140 (USD) 500GB capacity version being reviewed today has a raw capacity of ~512GB spread over 8 dual die NAND ICs. This gives the 500GB a comfortable 12GB of over-provisioning and very well thought out NAND interleaving of 4/4/4/4 – both of which are noticeable improvements over the 525GB MX300.
This new NAND would have been unlikely to sway many potential buyers one way or the other, as the second-generation MLC 3D NAND is on the horizon – just Gen 1 MLC 3D NAND was when the MX300 released.
Further making the MX500 an entirely different beast is for the first time ever Crucial has not tapped Marvell and their latest and greatest controller to power an M-series drive. Instead Crucial has moved on to the potent SMI SM2258H controller. This is the exact same controller which powers the BX300 and has proven its mettle within many past SSDs. More importantly, Crucial’s firmware team now has a lot of experience with the unique quirks of this particular controller and have created razor sharp firmware for the new MX500.
On the negative side of the equation the SMI controller does lack some of the hardware-based data loss protection which helped make the MX series so special. Instead of rows upon rows of super-capacitors that allowed previous drives to protect data in the case of a sudden loss of power there are only a few.
On first glance this is a major downgrade. However, the reality is that this new 2nd generation NAND is much more power efficient and requires less power to save data in case of emergency. Basically that means less capacitors are actually needed in the first place.
The SMI 2258H controller also has built in firmware-based data loss protection and this combination provides home users with the best of both worlds; less chances of data needing to be saved and more than enough power to just that in the unlikely event that the firmware solution fails.
Falling in between these extremes are also a few noteworthy points that we need to cover. For example, on the surface having the exact same total drive write specifications as its predecessor won’t win any converts.
However, Crucial is now so confident in their 3D NAND’s durability – TLC NAND technology be damned – that instead of the three year warranty that all B and M models before it were given, the MX500 comes with an industry leading five year warranty. Yes this does mean the drive write per day has gone down compared to the MX300, but few will ever hit the 87GB+ per day needed to max out their drive write warranty, but everyone will hit the three, four and five year mark without worries over a RMA denial due to it being OOW (Out of Warranty). Needless to say, we suggest all readers of this review keep an open mind as the MX500 is indeed worthy of your time – even if you have sworn off TLC drives in the past.
Test System & Testing Methodology
Properly testing a modern Solid State Drive to fully understand its abilities is not a simple undertaking. It takes time and it takes experience as relying upon tried and true applications is no longer good enough. Modern solid state drives come with a whole arsenal of tricks to ensure that the end-user never sees the true capabilities of a drive long enough to form a negative opinion. They have gotten so good at coming up with workarounds that minimize any underlying issues that even less experienced reviewers can be fooled.
This certainly is a laudable goal as at the end of the day a SSD is not meant for reviewers it is meant for users. As such anything that can make the overall experience a more positive one has to be considered a good thing. It does however make it difficult to make an informed decision a drive is never truly pushed past its performance envelope – as only then can you the potential buyer know if a given model is right for you.
This new testing methodology is the distillation of a decade’s worth of Solid State Drive reviewing. In these years we have seen all the tricks, all the workarounds and have spent a lot of time and effort on creating an improved methodology that is designed to strip away them all. Only then can we show you our readers exactly what a drive is made of. To do this we have blended in new with the old. Long term readers will notice that many of our tests are similar to the way we used to do things, but even here things have changed greatly. The size, the scope, and even the underlying methodology has been improved.
In the past we, like other review sites, would test a drive when empty of all other data. This is unrealistic and while we did do some limited partial and full drive performance it was based on an unrealistically optimistic scenario. As such from now on all solid state drives will be tested only when they are first filled to 50% capacity. The only exceptions are testing applications that require an empty drive to work. For example, HD Tune requires not only an empty drive but a drive that is also unpartitioned in order to run. These are now the exceptions not the rule.
Long term readers will also notice a few new additions to our testing suite. These custom tests are worst case scenarios that we have come up with that are still in the realm of possibility – as all tests are focused in on showing overall performance in as realistic a manner as possible.
For all of the benchmarks, appropriate lengths are taken to ensure an equal comparison through methodical setup, installation, and testing. The following outlines our testing methodology setup:
A) Windows is installed using a full format.
B) Chipset drivers and accessory hardware drivers (audio, network, GPU) are installed.
C) To ensure consistent results, a few tweaks are applied to Windows 10 Pro and the NVIDIA control panel:
• UAC – Disabled
• Indexing – Disabled
• Superfetch – Disabled
• System Protection/Restore – Disabled
• Problem & Error Reporting – Disabled
• Remote Desktop/Assistance – Disabled
• Windows Security Center Alerts – Disabled
• Windows Defender – Disabled
• Screensaver – Disabled
• Power Plan – High Performance
• V-Sync – Off
D) All available Windows updates are then installed.
E) All programs are installed and then updated, followed by a defragment.
F) All networking is disabled so as to eliminate this variability in overhead
G) Benchmarks are each run four to ten times, and unless otherwise stated the results are then averaged.
The full system specs are as follows:
Case: Lian-Li PC-T70W
Motherboard Chipset: Intel X299
CPU: Intel 7940x
RAM: DDR4-3200 16-16-16-18
OS: 64-Bit Windows 10 RS2 Pro
OS Drive: 1x 1TB Corsair MX300 SSD
Graphics card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 SC Gaming
Power Supply: Seasonic Focus Gold 850FX
Read Bandwidth
For this benchmark, HDTune was used. It shows the potential read speed which you are likely to experience with these hard drives. While this application will provide numerous results the most important number is the Average Speed number. This number will tell you what to expect from a given drive in normal, day to day operations.
Write Performance
For this benchmark HD Tune Pro was used. To run the write benchmark on a drive, you must first remove all partitions from that drive and then and only then will it allow you to run this test. Unlike some other benchmarking utilities the HD Tune Pro writes across the full area of the drive, thus it easily shows any weakness a drive may have.
Due to the fact that any modern solid-state drive is bottlenecked by the SATA interface and AHCI protocols, buyers should not expect to see any major difference from one drive to another. The only noteworthy point is that the MX500 still exhibits two-tiers of performance. This is because once the pseudo-SLC write buffer – aka ‘Drive Write Acceleration – is exhaust performance will plummet to TLC levels.
However, the difference in these two tiers is not as significant as it was in the last MX300 generation, and compared to others like OCZ’s TR200 series it is actually fairly peppy when in this ‘degraded’ state. This is all thanks to the way the SMI 2258 controller handles internal house cleaning and while the end result will never be accused of MLC levels of performance its really not that bad.
ATTO Disk Benchmark
The ATTO disk benchmark tests the drives read and write speeds using gradually larger size files. For these tests, the ATTO program was set to run from its smallest to largest value (. 5KB to 8192KB) and the total length was set to 256MB with a queue depth left at its default of 4. The test program then spits out an extrapolated performance figure in megabytes per second. Of all the results there are four that we consider the most important. 0.5KB, 2KB, 4KB, and 8192KB. The first three show how a given drive can handle those critical small files, while the largest shows what the drive can do under optimal scenarios.
Now that we are dealing with as slightly more realistic testing suite the end results are rather surprising. The combination of SMI with second generation CuA TLC NAND is indeed a winning one. As you can see this drive is almost as good as last generations drive with twice the capacity.
Obviously, this due to the Marvell controller used in the MX300 is showing its age rather than this new combination being an amazing performance leap forward for TLC. TLC is always going to be slower than MLC, but Crucial has narrowed the gap. It does still exist though and this is why the MX500’s performance is slightly worse than a similarly sized BX300 – as the BX300 uses the same controller but with MLC 3D CuA NAND.
Crystal DiskMark
Crystal DiskMark is designed to quickly test the performance of your drives. Currently, the program allows to measure sequential and random read/write speeds; and allows you to set the number of tests iterations to run. We left the number of tests at 5 and size at 100MB.
PCMark 8
While there are numerous suites of tests that make up PCMark 8, only one is pertinent: the Storage 2.0 test. The Storage 2.0 consists of numerous tests that try and replicate real world drive usage. Everything from how long a simulated virus scan takes to complete, to MS Vista start up time to game load time is tested in these core tests; however, we do not consider this anything other than just another suite of synthetic tests. For this reason, while each test is scored individually we have opted to include only the overall score.
With even more realistic synthetic benchmark results the MX500 500GB is indeed noticeably superior to the last generation MX300. So much so that the whole TLC question is quickly becoming a non-issue as this performance level is sure to satisfy the typical mainstream consumer nicely. This new second generation TLC 3D CuA is indeed potent technology as even Toshiba’s BiCS TLC NAND with Toshiba controller is no match for this new Crucial combination of SMI + 2nd gen Micron TLC 3D CuA NAND.
AS-SSD
AS-SSD is designed to quickly test the performance of your drives. Currently, the program allows to measure sequential and small 4K read/write speeds as well as 4K file speed at a queue depth of 6. While its primary goal is to accurately test Solid State Drives, it does equally well on all storage mediums it just takes longer to run each test as each test reads or writes 1GB of data.
Anvil Storage Utilities Pro
Much like AS-SSD, Anvil Pro was created to quickly and easily – yet accurately – test your drives. While it is still in the Beta stages it is a versatile and powerful little program. Currently it can test numerous read / write scenarios but two in particular stand out for us: 4K queue depth of 4 and 4K queue depth of 16. A queue depth of four along with 4K sectors can be equated to what most users will experience in an OS scenario while 16 depth will be encountered only by power users and the like. We have also included the 4k queue depth 1 results to help put these two other numbers in their proper perspective. All settings were left in their default states and the test size was set to 1GB.
Once again the BX300 may post slightly better performance results than the MX500 but the 500GB capacity version of the MX500 series is one of the smallest available. We expect larger capacity models to do even better. Put another way, when compared to the best BX300 the MX500 500GB may not be able to keep up but, TLC or not, the MX500 series is indeed going to be a better choice for mainstream consumers.
IOMeter Latency Torture Test
In a perfect world the response time of a storage device should be as close as instantaneous as possible. This of course is impossible, instead any delay that is under 0.100 of a second (100miliseconds) is considered the gold standard of storage responsiveness. This is because 100ms is generally considered the smallest perceptible interval of time humans can perceive. Anything above this will result in the occasional perceptible ‘stutter’. However, a single solitary 200ms pause is better than a significant cluster of 150ms pauses. As such any and all results must be considered in their totality and not just based on a single data point. This is why we have included four charts instead of just two. The first two charts represent the total results of an IOMeter 10 minute read test and a 10 minute write test. The last two just show the average read/write results as well as the maximum read/write response rate that occurred during these tests.
To obtain these results we configured IOMeter to use a 10 second ramp up followed by a 10 minute run for each test using the entire drive’s capacity. We also configured IOMeter to record the results in one second increments (the smallest time slice allowable). The first test was using 4K aligned data chunks that were 100% random, 100% write only using its Full Random pattern. The second used 4K aligned data chunks that were 100% random, 100% read. This is done to show how the controller handles emergency housecleaning even when inundated with read I/O request.
In this test we are not focusing in on steady-state results or other Enterprise orientated determining factors. We are simply looking for overall latency under what can be considered a realistic worst-case scenario for home users via a method that can still reliably strip away the various protection mechanism the controller has in its arsenal to keep up appearances. This is not the bad old days where ‘SSD Stutter’ is still truly a thing. Instead this test is designed to solely highlight how good or bad a controller and NAND combination really is.
All tests were run four times and the most common result was used.
These results just underscore how much better the SMI controller is than the older MX300’s Marvell controller and why Crucial finally had to move on to a different company. As you can see there is indeed two tiers of performance but the new MX500 series gets out of this stage faster, stays cleaner longer and is just a lot more consistent than what Marvell based models could do.
This is actually one of the very few TLC drives we would even consider for workstation use – however we would still not recommend it. Longer warranty or not, the MX500 series is not an optimal choice due to the TLC NAND used. This however is one of the few areas that the TLC vs MLC debate will rage. For average home users it still is not worth worrying about – as the results of this new MX500 series are bloody fantastic for any SATA drive in the 500GB capacity class.
Windows 10 Start Up with Boot Time A/V Scan Performance
When it comes to hard drive performance there is one area that even the most oblivious user notices: how long it takes to load the Operating System. We have chosen Windows 10 RS2 64bit Pro as our Operating System with all ‘fast boot’ options disabled in the BIOS. In previous load time tests we would use the Anti-Virus splash screen as our finish line; this however is no longer the case. We have not only added in a secondary Anti-Virus to load on startup, but also an anti-malware program. We have set Malwarebytes 2 to initiate a quick scan on Windows start-up and the completion of the quick scan will be our new finish line.
Adobe CC 2017 Load Time
Photoshop is a notoriously slow loading program under the best of circumstances, and while the latest version is actually pretty decent, when you add in a bunch of extra brushes and the such you get a really great torture test which can bring even the best of the best to their knees. Let’s see how our review unit fared in the Adobe crucible!
The MX500 is indeed a nice upgrade from the MX300 series and once again the 500GB capacity version is basically punching way above its weight class. So much so that it really will take a MX300 drive with twice the capacity, and twice the NAND interleaving, to beat what this new series can do. Equally impressive is OCZ is definitely behind the eight-ball as even their twice the capacity competitor is not able to keep up. Bloody marvelous.
Firefox Portable Offline Performance
Firefox is notorious for being slow on loading tabs in offline mode once the number of pages to be opened grows larger than a dozen or so. We can think of fewer worse case scenarios than having 120 tabs set to reload in offline mode upon Firefox startup, but this is exactly what we have done here.
By having 120 pages open in Firefox portable, setting Firefox to reload the last session upon next session start and then setting it to offline mode, we are able to easily recreate a worst case scenario. Since we are using Firefox portable all files are easily positioned in one location, making it simple to repeat the test as necessary. In order to ensure repetition, before touching the Firefox portable files, we have backed them up into a .rar file and only extracted a copy of it to the test device.
Data Transfer Torture Test
New to our testbed suite is a simultaneous read and write test using real world data. Unlike almost all other tests in our arsenal this is a test that literally pits the controller and NAND against itself. The faster the controller reads data from the NAND the more pressure it puts on itself to write to the NAND – and vice versa. This is truly a no win scenario for the controller. Rather it has to find the optimal balance between read and writes in real-time, while also juggling house-keeping and other behind the scene tasks that allow the controller to be able to write to ready to use NAND.
By doing this we not only strip away all cache boosting performance, as well as short term performance boosting algorithms, we also see exactly how good the firmware, the controller, and even the NAND is at handling high stress environments. Further helping to show what a controller & NAND’s true abilities are we have opted for 60GB single file for the large file test and 20GB for the small file test. This way even the largest pseudo-SLC buffer will be unable to mask any underlying weakness.
On the surface the idea of the average home user running into a scenario that requires simultaneous read and write performance seems minimal at best. The reality however is it is a very common occurrence. Most PC users do not have multiple solid state drives and instead rely upon a single storage device to handle all their needs. As such when they download a steam game and then install it, this is the type of scenario they will run into. Albeit to a more limited extent.
In order to allow for consistency from run to run we have chosen RichCopy to carry out this arduous task. Also, in order to replicate as close as possible a home user environment we have limited RichCopy to a single thread / queue depth.
These results really do seal the deal on our opinion for the new MX500 series. These results are so good that we can only salivate at what the mega-capacity 2TB model would accomplish. This really is the first time in quite some time that we have been excited about a SATA based solid state drive – as the MX500 is just that good. So good that no one should care about the type of NAND being used. TLC, MLC… it does not matter. The MX500 really does right the upturned apple cart and puts the MX series back in the forefront for mainstream users and places the BX300 back in its proper place as a series meant for budget restricted buyers.
Conclusion – A Surprising Breath of Fresh Air
Obviously the MX500 is not the massive paradigm shifting, revolutionary drive like its predecessor, the well-received MX300. But it doesn’t have to be, nor should it be due to the inherent limitations of the SATA interface most mainstream SSDs use. All it has to be is verifiably better. This is what the MX500 was designed to do – and does it very well.
The MX300 was indeed a great drive that was absolutely full of technological innovation but what the MX500 lacks in wow factor it more than makes up for in tangible, real-world benefits. Few, beyond diehard MLC-only buyers, will care about the underlying technology used. All they will care about is the cost of purchase, the real-world performance, and the length of that all-important warranty. Here is where the MX500 easily outshines both its MX300 and BX300 forefathers. This is simply an awesome drive for those of you who are looking for something outside bleeding edge M.2, PCIe and U.2 SSDs.
In a perfect world Crucial would have neatly side-stepped the whole TLC fragility concern by the simplest expedient of using MLC NAND for their new MX500 series. Unfortunately, much as it was the last generation, the second-generation MLC 3D NAND is simply not ready for mass production and it is quite expensive. Instead, only the TLC production line at Micron’s shiny new Fab 10X in Singapore is ready. But don’t take this as a sign of fragility.
Given the fact that Crucial has indeed reduced the real-world consistency issues associated with TLC NAND, I’m not overly concerned about longevity in this situation. Naturally, as with any newer drives, issues are still a possibility but as proven early in this review it is nowhere close to being a significant problem for the majority of consumers. Bluntly stated, MX500’s firmware is well engineered and the latest iteration of their pseudo-SLC buffer ‘Drive Write Acceleration’ does work better than ever at protecting the cells against premature aging.
In return for compromising on the NAND type used, potential MX500 buyers can expect to see a high single to low double digit increase in performance over the last generation. This visible and quite noticeable performance boost is then combined with a lower asking price and a massive increase in warranty length so we doubt few will complain.
The only ones who really will be complaining are those who really crave to see what IMFT’s shiny new second generation 3D NAND can do when not hobbled with a SATA controller. Until such a time that Crucial decides to release a NVMe based model the wait may be a long one. I expect the next model to be a BX300 replacement and fully cement the MLC for B and TLC for MX design philosophy that Crucial has opted for. I also expect the trend of SMI being used to continue as Crucial is highly conservative and rarely changes the underlying manufacture without a very good reason.
In the meantime, the MX500 500GB certainly does everything Crucial set out to accomplish. It is fast for a SATA AHCI drive, it is large enough to satisfy most, and its warranty is sure to satisfy everyone. Mix in excellent data-loss protection and the MX500 may not send as large a shockwave though the industry as the MX300 did but it certainly has set the bar higher. Whether or not this is enough to differentiate itself from the competition remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: the price per Gigabyte for quality SSDs has once again fallen. We expect to see other manufacturers scramble to keep up with Crucial or drop out – as their profit margins just got that much thinner. Brilliant stuff indeed.
Crucial MX500 2TB SSD Review Layout, design and features
Hardware Reviews, HDD and SSD, SSDs
1. Crucial MX500 2TB SSD Review2. The technical data3. Layout, design and features4. Benchmark values and test results5. Result and general impression
Layout, design and features …
Here you can see the front of the 2.5″ Crucial MX500 2TB SSD …
… which looks almost identical to the previous Crucial MX300 SSD.
The back shows the label of the 2.5″ Crucial MX500 SSD with some technical data and the firmware version M3CR023, which was pre-installed. The two SATA3 connections for power supply and data connection can be seen in the following picture on the left side.
The MX500 SSD, like the previous Crucial MX300, MX200, BX300, BX200, BX100 and MX100, is manufactured in the flatter height, which in contrast to the predecessor SSDs is only 7mm and no longer 9.5mm. If required, the supplied 7mm can be mounted on a 9. 5mm adapter frame or sticked on to remain compatible with the 9.5mm height (e.g. in notebooks).
The case of the Crucial MX500 SSD was provided again with screws. Here you can see the small SSD board in the case together with the SSD cover. You can see a Micron D9STQ 1GB cache module and the eight of the sixteen Micron NW913 64 Layer 3D TLC NAND modules of the SSD with a total capacity of 2000GB. The differences between TLC, SLC and MLC we have already explained extensively in the Windows Practical testing of Crucial BX200 480GB SSD. The MX300 was equipped with the 3D TLC NAND and the BX200 was equipped with a simple TLC NAND, which could only maintain a high write performance via the SLC cache size. As we will see in the benchmarks, Crucial was able to find a good solution with the MX500.
On the back you can see the remaining eight Micron NW913 NAND devices of the SATA3 SSD with 2TB capacity and the Silicon Motion SMI 2258H Controller IC as well as the second Micron D9STQ Cache device. If you still have our Crucial MX500 1TB test in mind, you will notice a similar structure, because there were also a total of 16 NAND and 2 cache devices. However, the MX500 1TB SSD contains the Micron NW912 NAND with half the capacity and the D9SHD cache in the MX500 1TB SSD with 2x512MB also has half the capacity of the MX500 2TB SSD with 2x1GB D9STQ cache.
Here you can see again the Silicon Motion SMI 2258H Controller IC with integrated, hardware-based 256-bit AES encryption.
After we have shown the design of the Crucial MX500 2TB SSD, we now come to the firmware update.
SSD Firmware Update …
The MX500 SSD is delivered with the M3CR023 firmware. Crucial provides this firmware version M3CR023 for the MX500 as the latest SSD firmware. With the new Crucial Storage Executive Tool you can update the firmware of the SSD relatively easily, but as always you should back up important data before the firmware update. Usually, however, the classical method can also be used: Download the Crucial Firmware, unpack the ISO file, transfer the ISO file with unetbootin to a USB stick (alternatively burn it to a CD or CDRW), boot the USB stick and the firmware update starts.
We have already discussed the Crucial Storage Executive Tool in Crucial MX500 1TB Practical testing: The Crucial Storage Executive Tool can be downloaded from the Crucial website and is quickly installed. The Crucial Storage Executive Tool shows clearly which SSDs and hard disks are installed, the SMART data and updates the firmware. It allows the activation of the Momentum Cache function, which uses the memory as a buffer and can safely erase the SSD with Secure Erase. In addition, the Crucial Storage Executive software allows the setting of the Over Provisioning area.
SSD heat generation …
Before we continue with the benchmark results, we would like to discuss the heat generation of the MX500 SSD, which we have already shown with our infrared thermal imaging camera in the 1TB SSD. In this test we also want to show the temperature values of the internal temperature sensor:
In idle, the Crucial 2TB MX500 temperature read out by the internal sensor is about 33°C and even in demanding benchmarks, it just rises to about 42°C.
After all this information we finally come to the Crucial MX500 2TB benchmarks.
Crucial MX500 2 TB Benchmark values and test results …
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Lexicon MX300 and MX500 reverb questions
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#1
Hello everyone.
There are some questions about the Lexicon MX300 and MX500 reverbs.
1) How much and in what direction do they differ in the quality of the reverb algorithms from the Lexicon M300 (or 300L) and Lexicon MPX500?
I suppose that the algorithms in them are most likely not worse than in the MPX500, and perhaps better or the same, and, accordingly, worse than in the M300 (or 300L), but not much. Am I right in this or not?
The fact is that I ideally would like to buy a reverb with the quality of the M300 algorithms, but neither the M300 itself (about $ 3000), nor its cheaper analogue in the form of a Macintosh board called Nuverb (I did not find cheaper than $ 1000) to me it is too expensive .
But I still need a reverb that sounds better than the plug-ins and hardware reverbs that I have, and I found out about these new models and I want to buy one of them.
Now the next question:
2) What is the difference between these two models, apart from support of the surround format?
The fact is that I’m not very interested in the surround itself, but if the MX500, unlike the MX300, can allow you to use two different reverbs at the same time and / or has better reverb algorithms and / or has the ability to use it as 2 additional analog stereo ADC, then my choice will definitely be in the direction of the MX500. If the differences are only in the surround, then I will prefer the MX300.
I also want to note that I am only interested in reverb algorithms — the presence and quality of other effects do not matter to me.
And now the third question:
3) Where and how can one buy these devices profitably, and have they gone on sale in Russia and in Moscow in particular?
P00H
New Member
#2
sansara,
The fact is that I ideally would like to buy a reverb with the quality of the M300 algorithms, but neither the M300 itself (about $ 3000), nor its cheaper analogue in the form of a Macintosh board called Nuverb (I did not find cheaper than $ 1000) to me sad.
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Click to open…
the quality of the algorithms for all cheap digital lexicons will be the same as for expensive models, only the algorithms themselves, depending on the models, will be completely decl, and the simplest ones are chosen, for example, take the Pantheon reverberation algorithm, this algorithm is also in 480/960 models and also in broken software, I suspect that cheap models also have it, but only in the singular for all reverb presets, instead of 24 (I can be mistaken in a smaller direction) than the 480 series.
s.s. on the 2nd and 3rd question — x.z.
c.c.s. about willow for vocals — on the 300th they usually put presets with algorithms that are not on the PCM 80/90 series, and on the 480/960 which are not on the 300th, and the MX / MPX series, IMHO, even does not reach PCM, but the word «Lexicon» itself cannot be attached to a vocal
glebe
Member
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#3
500 or 550 is much better than the whole pcm series. …although it costs three times cheaper….
but by ear….up to 300L or m, it’s far away… some kind of «.»… IMHO
for 500 there are several presets that you can safely use…
a question for FLUSH… why vocals and vocabulary are a bad combination? (really interesting)
P00H
New Member
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#4
question to POOH…why is vocals and vocabulary a bad combination? (really interesting)[/b]
Click to expand…
I didn’t say that this is a bad combination, I meant that on cheap models you can’t fasten a «loud company name» instead of good algorithms to vocals. 😆
Ifrit
Guest
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#5
nor its cheaper Mac counterpart called Nuverb
[/b]Click to expand.
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That’s right, the board is for a Mac, and an OLD Mac — you won’t get any problems with it. NuBas has not been used for several years now.
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#6
I don’t need a lot of algorithms, one or several, but of high quality, will suffice for me. Also, I’m more concerned about the reverb of instruments than vocals — I’m more into instrumental music. I compared
M300 and MPX500 in a specific preset that interests me the most — the difference is very small, and even then, it could be aggravated by excessive conversion (M300 was tested through digital inputs and outputs, and MPX500 through analog ones). I hope that the MX500 and MX300 are at least as good as the MPX500, but they will be more convenient for me in my work, because they are visible through the plug-in interface.
However, my question was who knows exactly who is !
P00H
New Member
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#7
I don’t need a lot of algorithms, one or several, but of high quality, will suffice for me.[/b]
Click to open…
the fact of the matter is that, for example, on expensive models for each type of reverb (Hall, Plate, Room, etc.) separate different algorithms are used, and even for the same type of reverb they are different, but on cheap ones — on all cases of life are the same algorithm, and whether it’s of high quality or not, I don’t know, it’s necessary to compare it in relation to your tasks, but the fact that there is exactly the same on the most expensive model is for sure (I gave an example above).
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#8
so the fact of the matter is that, for example, on expensive models for each type of reverb (Hall, Plate, Room, etc.) separate different algorithms are used, and even for one type of reverb they are different, but on cheap ones — for all the cases of life are the same algorithm, and whether it’s of high quality or not, I don’t know, it’s necessary to compare it in relation to your tasks, but the fact that the most expensive model has exactly the same one is for sure, but is it used by anyone actually in work — is unknown.
[/b]Click to expand.
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I’m primarily interested in halls, but the rest is well implemented on the DSP of my professional sound cards. In particular, I really like the Synth Hall preset found on the M300, which in its various variations suits most of my hall reverb needs.
glebe
Member
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#9
it’s the hall that’s good at 500 and 550))) I have 3 of them, so I don’t just say that … but there are few sensible presets in them, that’s a fact, but I can finally use 3 presets)
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#10
it’s the hall that’s good at 500 and 550))) I have 3 of them, so I don’t just say that .
.. but there are few sensible presets in them, that’s a fact, but I finally use 3 presets)
[/ b]Click to open…
Thank you. I hope MX is not worse. Does anyone know exactly ? And about the differences between the MX300 and MX500? And also the MX400?
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#eleven
Where can I buy the Lexicon MX500?
loDJica
Moder-Inquisitor
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#12
http://www. google.ru/search?hl=ru&neww…&lr=lang_ru
glebe
Member
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#13
buy on moline …. they are always there
this is just not a deficiency
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#14
http://www.google.ru/search?hl=ru&neww…&lr=lang_ru
[/b]Click to expand.
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Not on moline, I was there.
http://www.google.ru/search?hl=ru&neww…&lr=lang_ru
[/b]Click to expand…
Thank you. I had a real opportunity to buy a Lexicon MX400, because, as far as I understood, the capabilities of the MX300 would not be enough for me, and the MX500 has not yet gone on sale.
Can anyone tell me the real difference between the MX400 and the MX500? As I understood from the link, they differ only in the presence of FireWire and support through it 96 kHz, or are there other differences?
P00H
New Member
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#15
sansara,
Can anyone tell me the real difference between the MX400 and the MX500? As I understood from the link, they differ only in the presence of FireWire and support through it 96 kHz, or are there more differences?[/b]Click to expand.
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listen, are you too lazy to look at the manufacturer’s website?, everything is written there, there is nothing undocumented in the devices.
http://www.lexiconpro.com/
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#16
Listen, are you too lazy to look at the manufacturer’s website ?, everything is written there, there is nothing undocumented in the devices.
http://www.lexiconpro.com/
[/b]Click to expand…
Thanks for the link. It looks like I was right — the difference between MX400 and MX500 is only in FireWire and support through it 96 kHz.
I’ll take the MX400, I’ll test it, if I like how it works, then I’ll leave it, since I agreed on money back if anything.
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#17
No one answered, I had to check myself. I took the MX400. Unfortunately, there is no such hall as in M300 (or 300L). But those that are, I would not say that they are much inferior. But I won’t leave this device for myself (I agreed on money back) because I don’t have two extra synchronous SPDIF interfaces, and the toad strangles not using the second message. I wanted to wait for the MX500 — everything is the same there, only the audio streams go through FireWire. It hasn’t gone on sale yet. But since, having listened in comparison with the M300 (this is the same as the Nuverb, and I had a pre-recorded track from a specific composition with a return from it) myself, and letting my wife listen, naturally blindly, the choice was definitely towards the M300, although the difference was not very great, I realized that all the advantages of the MX400 (and, accordingly, the MX500) in two stereo buses are leveled by the fact that in this mode the reverb is even more faded than in the single bus mode. And if in stereo mode it is still somehow comparable with the M300, then in the two-bus mode it falls far more noticeably. In general, I agreed to buy Nuverb from the hands (now I’m waiting for it to be brought to me). The difference in price with the MX500 is not so big (I managed to bargain for 900$ without a computer), besides, the MX500 has not yet gone on sale, and I need to work now.
In short, less is better (in terms of quantitative possibilities), but better (in terms of sound quality).
And now another very important question. Any old Macintosh with a nyubus tire is needed for a Nuverb. Some old Macintosh was given to me by friends as unnecessary. The question is, how do I know if it has a nubus tire on it? How should she look?
Tell me, is this a Macintosh with a nubbus tire?
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#18
I have already found out that this one is not nubus.
Tell me, is it possible to change the one that I have (with a pisiai tire) to the one that I need (with a nubus tire)? Where can it be done? Or where can I buy the cheapest Macintosh with a nubbus tire but without glitches?
blackofe
New Member
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#19
sansara,
are very interested in subjects. Have you given away the MX400 yet? Have you tried to automate it through the plug-in? I have an MX200, and it turns out like this: if you add automation to a track (I have sonar), say, a smooth increase in the mix, then clicks are heard from the lexicon. Moreover, if you change the parameters manually (on the device or in the plugin), then clicks are not observed, but automation — clicks, an infection. have you seen such a thing?
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#20
sansara,
are very interested in subjects. Have you given away the MX400 yet? Have you tried to automate it through the plug-in? I have an MX200, and it turns out like this: if you add automation to a track (I have sonar), say, a smooth increase in the mix, then clicks are heard from the lexicon. Moreover, if you change the parameters manually (on the device or in the plugin), then clicks are not observed, but automation — clicks, an infection. have you seen such a thing?
[/b]Click to expand.
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To be honest, I haven’t tried it. The device has already been given away. Now I’m waiting for the Newerb to be brought. Why add a mix? It’s better to put it in send and add the send by automating the sequencer.
blackofe
New Member
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#21
To be honest, I haven’t tried it. The device has already been given away. Now I’m waiting for the Newerb to be brought. Why add a mix? It’s better to put it in send and add the send by automating the sequencer.[/b]
Click to expand…
is, of course, the way out. but I gave mix as an example. you can also want to twist other parameters through automation — there are a lot of them. and it’s a matter of principle. if it is possible to write automation through a plugin, then it should go without a hitch, without a hitch..
wrote to the lexicon, they promised to sort it out..
Eastomin
New Member
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#22
Hello! Lyokha, if it’s you — call! There is something to be said on the raised issue. Istomin.
Kit
Active Member
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#23
has a Lexicon u42s card with spdif I/O.
I connect the reverb via spdify, set the Digital, clock 48, Cubase 5 sequencer in the settings, nothing works — there is no processing, although the signal is sent from the cube, but there is no sound. All settings are rechecked 10 times — in theory everything should work …. I tried to connect by analogy — everything works like a clock, there is no result for the figure. Who can help?
:russian_ru:
sansara
Well-Known Member
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#24
Most likely SPDIF is not suitable. They seem to be different. There is Consumer, there is Professional, maybe some other parameters are different. And in the Lexicons, apparently they are generally capricious. For example, I have one of the Nuverbs connected to the first Sonic Core Scope Plus card (it was also called Creamware Pulsar 2 Plus earlier) via AES / EBU and no problems. But the second Nuverb connected to the second same card in the system, but it is without the Plus index, and instead of AES / EBU it has SPDIF, to which I soldered the adapters. So the Nuverb input does not see the signal from the SPDIF SCOPE board, but the Nuverb output is received normally by this board. I had to send a signal from the SPDIF output of the SCOPE board to the SPDIF input of the Korg Oasys PCI board, pass through it through it to its own SPDIF output, after which this signal from the Oasys PCI output began to be normally received by Nuverb.
Long
Well-Known Member
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#25
Yes Consumer, yes Professional
Click to expand.
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— Don’t care, the «non-audio» bits are different.
It is quite possible that the input sensitivity may simply not be enough.
Faced such …
M Member
CKty, zhpin ta. tratatata
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#26
Which reverb? it seems to me that it’s a matter of switching, at 550, the input is designated as input sourse s/pdif digital — clock sourse external(s/pdif)
M Member
CKty, zhpin ta. tratatata
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#27
Last edit:
Logitech MX 300, MX 500 and MX 700 mice / Peripherals
Original: Dansdata
Translation: Dmitry Chekanov, Andrey Pirovskikh
Manufacturer: Logitech
The new series of Logitech MX mice, according to Logitech, are «stylish and cool. » We fully agree with this. However, the last significant step in computer mouse technology was made more than three years ago.
The first Microsoft «IntelliEye» mice (or mice or rodents, as you wish, but we’ll refer to them as mice from now on) were released in 1999 year. They used Hewlett-Packard technology, which was later improved, but the basic idea remained the same; At the bottom of the mouse is a small camera that tracks the movement of the device. The red light that all these mice have is actually the LED needed to illuminate the surface. The built-in digital signal processor determines the direction of mouse movement, and in accordance with this information, the cursor starts moving on the screen. No balls, no moving parts: nothing will deteriorate or wear out.
Before 1999, optical mice needed a mousepad to work (actually they needed one to work well, but any non-reflective surface could do just fine). Today, an optical mouse is a mouse that works on almost any surface, meaning they will work on the floor, on the table, and on the foot without any problems.
Modern optical mice have a higher photographic rate, which allows you to move the mouse at high speed. The resolution has also been improved, which again has a positive effect on movement. But the basic idea has not changed, and even the first generation of multi-surface optical mice are quite
will satisfy most users.
Of course, the mouse companies aren’t happy about this situation. After all, they produce products that practically do not wear out. The underside of the mouse may wear out and the cable may break, but otherwise the mouse lasts almost forever. It will serve you reliably for many years, of course, if you do not spill beer on it.
It’s pretty hard to convince a customer to change an optical mouse once a year.
Here are three new models of mice.
Thankfully, the MX Series mice are all new Logitech models, not remakes of last year’s releases. Of course, we do not mean electronics, which is unlikely to have changed.
The sensor in the MX series of mice is called the «MX Optical Engine». Logitech proudly claims that it captures «up to 4.7 megapixels of motion tracking information» per second. Of course, this one is higher than in the previous generation sensors. But Logitech stopped mentioning the number of surface shots that
mouse per second, and we also did not find information about the resolution. Therefore, it is difficult for us to say what is hidden under the indicated number of megapixels.
If we take the frame rate of MX series mice as 6000 (like Microsoft’s IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0, we don’t think Logitech has a higher frame rate — then they would certainly claim it), then «4.7 megapixels per second» means » up to 783 pixels per shot», or «28 by 28 pixel sensor».
All in all, the MX mice’s sensors should be as good as Microsoft’s v3.0 mice, which work on absolutely all surfaces and can be moved at lightning speed, which is completely satisfying for natural gamers who play fast games.
Below is a description of the three new mice: MX 300, MX 500 and MX 700. The MX 300 is the base model, the MX 500 has two extra buttons and a cutaway design. And the MX 700 is arguably the best wireless mouse ever. Assuming you are right handed.
The MX 300 is $29.95, the MX 500 is $49.95 and the MX 700 is $79.95.
Which one do you like best?
MX 300
The MX 300 is the only mouse in the new range that is also suitable for left-handers. Because the MX 500 and MX 700 mice have a thumbhole and two buttons on the left side, it’s unlikely that a left-hander will be able to comfortably hold it in their hand.
The MX 300 is slightly reminiscent of Logitech’s standard symmetrical shape, and looks very similar to the classic First Mouse Plus. The MX 300 is perfect for people with any brush size.
The MX 300 has four buttons, two of which are conventional. As well as a scroll wheel that replaces the third button, and another small button for quick switching, which is located in the center behind the two main ones.
The quick switch button is so named because it has only one function in Windows, namely it opens a list of all windows (similar to the list called by Alt+Tab), and you can easily switch to the desired window from the list. This list takes up more space on the monitor than the regular Alt-Tab interface, because it allows you to see the entire title of a particular window, but this feature is unlikely to be of much use to you.
The good news is that the “MouseWare” driver included with every Logitech mouse allows you to reprogram the quick switch button to some additional function. With any mouse button, you can associate various Windows operations and function keys, some of which are quite useful. Among them are the usual
Web navigation capabilities, super fast scrolling, plus trivial F key emulation, etc.
As for the downsides, either the Logitech driver development team is not very good, or there are special hidden features in Windows that prevent the Logitech driver from working properly and help the Microsoft IntelliPoint driver.
MouseWare can be very useful in normal Windows applications, and, on the contrary, will ruin your life in games.
All three MX mice, like other MouseWare-enabled mice, scroll wildly when MouseWare is turned on. At best, you’ll get uneven, jerky scrolling — turn the wheel a few steps, then watch the screen move a little, then move more lines, then a few more. Internet Explorer MX was unable to scroll faster than about eight lines per second, so it would take forever for you to scroll to where you want to be.
And what’s worse, sometimes turning the wheel one step does not result in any reaction, but if you turn the wheel again, the screen will move two lines at once. In addition, we observed another phenomenon, especially common in the MX 300, which is that when turning the wheel two steps, nothing happens, and only when turning it one step further, the screen will move three lines at once. (Well, how do you like it, disgusting, isn’t it?)
As soon as you disable MouseWare (which is easy to do, you just have to find the process named «EM_EXES» in the Windows Task Manager process list and just kill it) when all of a sudden the scrolling starts working without problems. It doesn’t seem to be a hardware issue with the MX mice; MouseWare simply creates obstacles and
stands as a barrier to normal mouse operation in a Windows environment.
To set up stable scrolling without disabling MouseWare, you can use another simple method. You just need to set the scrolling in MouseWare to zero lines per wheel step. Then using Tweak UI (Win9 versions5/98/2000 can be found here, for WinXP here), open mouse settings, and enable the «use scroll wheel» option.
Games
With MouseWare autostarting (without using the aforementioned Tweak UI), it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to play using the scroll wheel and Logitech’s new extra mouse buttons. Either they will not be detected, or an «unknown key» error or something similar will occur. You may be able to enable the wheel using Tweak UI, but there is a possibility that MouseWare will block the buttons. At least that’s how it was with us.
Logitech is aware of this issue and they now offer a link to update the «game_whl» driver (named as «Mouse Registry File for GAMERS», download here). The update is supposed to only work on Windows 95/98 and NT, but those who have tried it on newer versions of Windows say it works there too.
But not with us. The ability to use additional buttons and wheels in games was not available until we manually shut down MouseWare. Then everything worked, except for the quick switch button.
When it comes to gaming, we found the MX 300 to behave like a normal two-button wheel mouse. Which is not so bad, but does not cause strong emotions.
Logitech’s claims about the very high resolution of the MX series mice seem to be justified. Even at very high mouse speeds, these mice allow you to move the cursor one pixel per step. What is so good about it? Nothing special.
It’s not bad to have per-pixel mouse resolution, but it’s unlikely that your cursor will move one pixel instead of two or three, you won’t get much. Of course, for some applications this is important, but not for all.
Office applications don’t need much mouse resolution, the smallest element you will work with is a letter of text. Graphics people work with pixels, but you don’t get the fancy to use a high-precision mouse for this, you just zoom in. If you do not take into account the resolution of the mouse, then,
most likely, you do not have such a steady hand and a sharp eye to work on pixels on a one-to-one scale.
Again, this is by no means a hindrance, and those who do photo retouching or computer-aided design or the like will surely benefit more from super mouse resolution than those who work with text or spreadsheets. But only tablets will help such graphics maniacs, not some kind of mouse,
the rest will be able to get by with the resolution of mice of earlier versions.
In games, especially in 3D, you need high mouse speed and good control. High speed allows you to turn around without additional wrist movements, excellent control allows you to aim a weapon at a small target, in those moments when the enemy is visible in the distance as a tiny dot and knightly play is not your plan.
For those moments, the MX series is just perfect. Forget MouseWare, you can always turn it off.
What does she have inside:
Well, of course, the same as in the photo. A small circuit board with quick-change buttons on the lid, but other than that, the MX 300 doesn’t look anything out of the ordinary on the inside.
Small metal plate screwed onto the lid to add weight. Game fans will no doubt want to twist it to give the mouse more agility.
Speaking of which, getting inside to make such a simple modification is pleasantly easy. The sole and top cover of the MX 300 are connected with just one screw, which is not located under the foot or covered by a sticker.
The sensor chip in the MX 300 (and in the MX 500) is covered with a plastic cap; we remove it and see that the chip is made by Agilent (Agilent is now a division of HP that develops all types of optical technologies) with stamps «A2020» and «A0230». There is no information about this product on the Agilent Semiconductor Products website, but we
we don’t think it’s an ultra-hyper-special chip made just for Logitech.
By the way, all MX mice are USB and PS2 compatible. They have a USB plug but come with a PS2 interface adapter. The adapter only works with mice that support both interfaces, so don’t expect any USB mouse to work on PS2 through this adapter.
Moving on to the middle model.
MX 500
The Logitech designers did a great job, so the look of the MX 500 and MX 700 (they both have the same shape) is even more avant-garde than previous top MouseMan models, such as the Dual Optical, which can be compared to the IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0.
The MX 300 and MX 500 are probably the most ergonomic mice as their main buttons are integral with the lid. One flat piece of plastic divides into the right and left mouse buttons, between which is the scroll wheel. Technically, this is not difficult — on ordinary mice, the buttons are attached to plastic
hinges — but they look really cool. The buttons work great; not too tight and not too light.
Previous generations of mice had one side button; The MX500 and MX700 followed Microsoft with two buttons. The additional buttons are easy to use, but unlikely to be pressed by accident, and have the same shape — wide back, narrower front — as the IntelliMouse Explorer. All four of the above buttons and the wheel for
scrolling have excellent sensitivity.
There are three more buttons on the MX 500 and MX 700 that are less sensitive and more difficult to reach. Two of them are located in front and behind the scroll wheel, they are small enough, but they are not difficult to use. The last is the quick switch button, which is located even further on the «back» of the mouse, almost at its highest point.
Two buttons near a scroll wheel without MouseWare have the same effect as pressing the wheel in the appropriate direction, except that you can repeat the click by holding them down. This isn’t very practical, of course, but they are more useful than the quick toggle button, which again doesn’t work without MouseWare.
Additional buttons, although they work fine without MouseWare, they are defined as MOUSE4 and MOUSE5, gamers should appreciate such a twist as assigning various functions to these keys. By default, without MouseWare, Windows assigns them the «Forward» (forward) and «Back» (backward) key functions, which may suit you just fine. For us, the functions of the «Page Up» and «PageDown» keys seemed more convenient, but as they say, to each his own.
If you would like to assign functions to one or both of the additional buttons, MouseWare will help you do this, although this step may confuse your games. But in the end, if it annoys you and the update doesn’t work, you can close the software manually quite easily.
The lid and base of the MX 500 are held together by two screws, both hidden under a sticker, but both stickers are marked with a dotted line to indicate slots in the screw head so you don’t have to look for them with your fingernail. Plus, you don’t have to take it off. This is a definite plus.
The interior layout is quite neat, as you’d expect with all those buttons. Two additional buttons and a quick switch button have their switchgear attached to the cover. Again, there is a small metal weight here.
The MX 500 is a rather large mouse, about the same length as the Microsoft Explorer 3.0 but more bulky. Thanks to its smooth design, it feels very comfortable in the hand and is suitable for those who are used to other mice. If you have a small hand, then the MX 300 will suit you, since the palm on the MX 500 will lie uncomfortable on the mouse itself, so
how not to cover her back.
The MX 500 is slightly more expensive than the IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0. However, the MX 500 has three more buttons on the back of the mouse, but they only work with MouseWare.
If you want a flashy mouse, we remind you that the Explorer has a fancy red backlight but can’t compete with the original MX 500 design.
Real tough guys need a wireless mouse.
So let’s check out the next mouse in the MX line.
MX700
The MX700 is just as ergonomic as the MX500, but heavier, but otherwise feels the same.
The shape of the mouse is the same, but the plastic is different, it is more finely polished in the MX700 than in the MX500.
We especially wanted to know the power consumption of the mouse. Wireless mice need batteries, and many don’t recharge, and changing batteries costs money. The MX700 comes with a pair of 1600mA NiMH AA cells (1600mAh AA NiMH).
…and the receiver doubles as a charger.
You simply insert the mouse upside down into the receiver to recharge. Perfect.
Receiver/charger supplied with power cable. That is, you can recharge your mouse even without connecting to a computer. The green light on the front of the mouse informs you about the charging status.
The reason we used the MX700 is not just because it can be recharged; there are plenty of other rechargeable wireless mice out there, and there’s nothing stopping you from using a separate charger with a couple of NiMH cells unless you want to buy regular alkaline batteries every few months.
But this is not the greatest advantage of the MX700. The mouse stands out among the entire family of wireless mice for its polling rate — the rate at which the cursor position is updated. It is 125 Hz (Hertz, polls per second). It’s as fast as the wired MX mouse family, or as fast as other wired USB mice.
Most wireless mice have a pathetic polling rate. For example, the Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer has a polling rate of around 35Hz. This is just as bad as serial mice.
Toy lovers are very picky when it comes to this sort of thing — there’s not much movement for 120 frames per second if your mouse only updates your target 35 times per second. The same can be said for more practical applications, as the mouse’s low polling rate simply discourages its use. Dergano. Uneven. You can see the cursor bouncing across the screen.
Macintosh users, whose mice have always had a high polling rate, often struggle to adapt to slow PC mice.
But the MX700 is unique among wireless mice, it’s smooth and fast.
The bottom of the MX700 has an offset sensor due to the location of the battery compartment. This means that the movement of the mouse will be slightly different from the MX500, but the difference is almost imperceptible, and it will be quite easy to get used to it.
Opening battery cover allows you to easily replace them if you want to, though most won’t need it for years. After all, the mouse is recharged in its docking station.
The MX700’s lid and soleplate are held together with two screws (one in the battery compartment, the other covered by a criss-cross sticker) and it doesn’t need a metal weight to add weight. With batteries and all electronics, the MX700 weighs about 174 grams, for comparison, the MX500 weighs 128 grams plus a few centimeters of cable.
If you’re a gamer looking for fast wireless mice, then you’ve got the MX700. Just go ahead and buy it, just remember to turn off MouseWare before you launch the game (or don’t install it right away) and enjoy.
If wireless mice appeal to you for reasons like managing business presentations on your computer from across the room, or simply because you hate cables, then the MX700 might not be for you. This is by no means a budget solution — this is a stylish and cool high-end wireless mouse. In our office, the range was about three meters from the receiver, which is more than enough for many purposes; it is possible that your radius will be further if you have less radio interference than near our computer.
Conclusion
MX series mice aren’t cheap and their software could be better, but you can handle these issues and otherwise they perform just fine.
The MX 300 is an inexpensive, high optical resolution mouse that looks good and is great for left-handers; despite the fact that its additional button is useless in games (with this software). The MX 300 is a worthy investment.
MX 500 can compete with IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0. It looks better, has a higher resolution, good sensitivity, plus it has so many extra buttons for games that even Windows doesn’t support them all. Of course it costs more.
MX 700, as mentioned above, is the first wireless mouse that will satisfy gamers. True, those of them who do not care about significant weight. Speaking of us, we are not fans of wireless mice, but many people like them and everyone has their own reasons for getting a wireless mouse. If the quirks of MouseWare don’t disappoint you, then the MX 700 is a good product, although not that cheap.
Which mouse do I use? Already somewhere about a year — the same Explorer 3.0.
Partly because I’m used to the shape, partly because it still works great (earlier Explorer models tended to break cables, and there were problems with the scroll wheel in use) and partly because the software Microsoft’s software for these mice doesn’t pose any problems when running games.