Terabyte-class SSD drives tend to be on the expensive side. But, Micron’s new SSD is priced to move. At just $600, the new SSD from Micron is actually affordable. Not only is it affordable, it’s also packed with lots of appealing bits. Micron introduced the new drive at the CES conference, and it’s set to hit the market within the next few weeks. If you’ve been shopping for a SSD, but you don’t want to pay lots, Micron’s latest creation might be just what you’ve been looking for.

Micron’s M500 SSD

This SSD is a SATA 6-gigabit-per-second drive that delivers 80,000 input and output per second. The drive itself comes in at 2.5-inches with 960GB. As far as read and write speeds go, the M500 can reach 500 megabytes per second. Micron is offering a 120GB, 240GB, 460GB, and 960GB options too in the 2.4-inch version. The company is also offering mSATA and M.2 options that will be available in 480GB, 240GB, and 120GB options.

Micron has gained a good deal of attention with these new drives, since SSD drives of these kind that are priced under $1000 don’t come along often. By aggressively pricing the SSD options, Micron is bound to sell more of its new drives. The M500 SSD takes advantage of Micron’s relatively new NAND flash chips.

Power Management Options Too

Micron’s latest drive comes with a Device Sleep mode that cuts power back by 93% when the drive is not in use. When in use, the drive consumes 150mW. When compared to hard disk drives, these number aren’t so bad – that Device Sleep mode is also a really great feature. There are some drives available that compete with what Micron has created, however.

Competitor Drives to Consider

One of the closest, in comparison, drives to Micron’s new option is the Samsung PM830. This drive is priced at $800 and comes in a 480GB option. The PM830 has read/write speeds of 500MBps and 150MBps. You can also take a look at Intel’s 520 SSD options that include a 480GB model for around $999. If you’re wary of a low-cost SSD that comes in a 2.5-inch form, you aren’t alone. In the past, many consumers who have purchased cheaper SSDs have been largely disappointed, but Micron told press that this SSD is different.

Micron created the compact SSD to fill a gaping hole in the drive market. The company sees an opportunity to offer a less expensive SSD to those who are seeking a drive of this kind, but Micron has also said that quality has not been compromised. It will still be a few weeks before you can test the drives yourself, though Micron tends to be a company that stands behind its statements (and the company also has a lot to lose if the drive isn’t up to par). Even though there are competitor drives available, none match Micron’s aggressive $600 price tag. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how well Micron’s new $600 SSD lives up to the hype.