Retailer photo of PNY CS900 500GB. View this offer in Where to buy
PNY · SSD · SATA
PNY CS900 500GB
Works well for: System Drive
Trade-offs: you want strong value with Balanced priorities specifically
- Capacity
- 500 GB
- Interface
- SATA 6.0 Gb/s
- Sequential read
- 500 MB/s
- Sequential write
- 500 MB/s
- Endurance
- 300 TBW
- Form factor
- 2.5"
Move a slider and the page re-scores this product against the same market frame.
Is this a good buy today?
Market confidence: LowAt CAD 150 the PNY CS900 500GB is priced in line with its CAD 150 representative market level. Only one retailer currently backs that price, so the level is a single data point rather than a market.
Limited market: only one retailer currently has a verified offer, so treat this price as a single data point.
Prices & availability
Where to buy the PNY CS900 500GB
Compare the offers we track for this model, across variants and retailers.
1 tracked offers · 1 retailers
| Variant | Store | Condition | Price (snapshot) | Value · Balanced | Checked | Offer link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNY CS900 500GB | Newegg | New | CAD 150 | 13 | 2026-09-27 | View offer → |
Prices are dated snapshots, not live quotes — confirm the final price at the store. New, refurbished and used offers are listed separately; used offers carry warranty and seller risk.
Where it stands in the field
Two different questions, side by side. Performance compares what the hardware can do; Value compares what that capability costs at today’s price. A product can rank high on one and low on the other — that gap is the point.
Performance Balanced
How much it can do. Price plays no part in this ranking.
#245 of 249 graded solid state drives
- #242 KingstonKingston A400 960GB 3
- #243 KingstonKingston Q500 960GB 3
- #244 PatriotPatriot P210 512GB 3
- #245 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 3
- #246 KingstonKingston A400 480GB 3
- #247 PatriotPatriot Burst Elite 480GB 3
- #248 TeamGroupTeamGroup GX2 256GB 3
Value Balanced
How much of that you get for today’s price.
#213 of 249 currently priced solid state drives
- #210 TeamGroupTeamGroup GX2 512GB 13
- #211 PatriotPatriot P210 512GB 13
- #212 KingstonKingston A400 960GB 13
- #213 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 13
- #214 TeamGroupTeamGroup Force Vulcan 256GB 13
- #215 LexarLexar NS100 1TB 13
- #216 KingstonKingston A400 480GB 13
Performance System Drive
How much it can do. Price plays no part in this ranking.
#245 of 249 graded solid state drives
- #242 KingstonKingston A400 960GB 3
- #243 KingstonKingston Q500 960GB 3
- #244 PatriotPatriot P210 512GB 3
- #245 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 3
- #246 KingstonKingston A400 480GB 3
- #247 PatriotPatriot Burst Elite 480GB 3
- #248 TeamGroupTeamGroup GX2 256GB 3
Value System Drive
How much of that you get for today’s price.
#212 of 224 currently priced solid state drives
- #209 TeamGroupTeamGroup MS30 1TB 1
- #210 TeamGroupTeamGroup Force Vulcan 4TB 1
- #211 PatriotPatriot P210 512GB 1
- #212 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 1
- #213 TeamGroupTeamGroup CX2 512GB 1
- #214 TeamGroupTeamGroup GX2 512GB 1
- #215 CrucialCrucial BX500 1TB 1
Performance Game
How much it can do. Price plays no part in this ranking.
#229 of 249 graded solid state drives
- #226 GigabyteGigabyte 2500E 500GB 6
- #227 CrucialCrucial MX500 500GB 6
- #228 SamsungSamsung 870 Evo 500GB 6
- #229 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 6
- #230 Silicon PowerSilicon Power Silm S55 480GB 6
- #231 ADATAADATA Ultimate SU650 480GB 6
- #232 KingstonKingston A400 480GB 6
Value Game
How much of that you get for today’s price.
#201 of 249 currently priced solid state drives
- #198 TeamGroupTeamGroup GX2 512GB 32
- #199 PatriotPatriot P210 512GB 32
- #200 LexarLexar NM620 512GB 31
- #201 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 31
- #202 KingstonKingston KC600 1TB 31
- #203 Silicon PowerSilicon Power P34A60 256GB 31
- #204 Western DigitalWestern Digital Black SN770 500GB 31
Performance Heavy Creative Work
How much it can do. Price plays no part in this ranking.
#217 of 249 graded solid state drives
- #214 CrucialCrucial MX500 1TB 4
- #215 TranscendTranscend 1TB 4
- #216 PatriotPatriot P210 512GB 4
- #217 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 4
- #218 PatriotPatriot Burst Elite 480GB 4
- #219 KingstonKingston KC600 256GB 4
- #220 PNYPNY CS900 250GB 4
These ladders follow the preset scenario shown above. Your own weights re-score this product, not the whole field.
What it is good for
| Scenario | this productCapability grade · Value at current price | Higher capability | Higher Value with current priorities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced (all-round)Weighted all-round view | GradeNo grade Value13 | Higher capability Higher capability · Higher Value with current priorities Western Digital Blue SN5100 500GB 58 +1220% capability · +3% price | |
| System DriveScenario capability | GradeA Value1 | Higher capability Higher capability · Higher Value with current priorities Western Digital Blue SN5100 500GB S 31 +1220% capability · +3% price | |
| Game & File StorageScenario capability | GradeC Value31 | — | Higher Value with current priorities TeamGroup FORCE G50 512GB C 47 +2% capability · -7% price |
| Heavy Creative WorkScenario capability | GradeD Value0 | Higher capability Higher capability · Higher Value with current priorities Western Digital Blue SN5100 500GB B 14 +1020% capability · +3% price | |
Balanced has no letter: it is a weighting preset, not a capability rubric. A grade answers “how well does this handle that job?” — price is never part of it. Relative Value puts the current market price back in.
Trade-offs
Works well if
- System Drive is your main prioritygraded A for System Drive on the same rubric as the tier list
Consider other options if
- You want strong value with Balanced priorities specificallycompeting products deliver so much more per dollar that no price this model realistically trades at reaches the strong-value mark for this job
- Heavy Creative Work is what you actually need it forit grades only D there
Works well if
- System Drive is your main prioritygraded A for System Drive on the same rubric as the tier list
Consider other options if
- Heavy Creative Work is what you actually need it forit grades only D there
- You are buying for System Drive and want no asterisksthe rubric caps this grade: sata — a perfectly fine os drive, just not a fast one
For the selected scenario this is not a strong fit — the grade above is the reason, and the models below suit it better.
Works well if
- Game is not actually your main job — System Drive isit grades C for Game, but A for System Drive
Consider other options if
- Game is what you actually need it forit grades C there; Western Digital Blue SN5100 500GB grades C at CAD 155
- You want strong value for Game specificallycompeting products deliver so much more for Game per dollar that no price this model realistically trades at reaches the strong-value mark for this job
- Value for money matters more to you than this exact modelTeamGroup FORCE G50 512GB holds Relative Value 47 against its 31 for Game, at CAD 140
For the selected scenario this is not a strong fit — the grade above is the reason, and the models below suit it better.
Works well if
- Heavy Creative Work is not actually your main job — System Drive isit grades D for Heavy Creative Work, but A for System Drive
Consider other options if
- Heavy Creative Work is what you actually need it forit grades D there; Western Digital Blue SN5100 500GB grades B at CAD 155
- You want strong value for Heavy Creative Work specificallycompeting products deliver so much more for Heavy Creative Work per dollar that no price this model realistically trades at reaches the strong-value mark for this job
- You are buying for Heavy Creative Work and want no asterisksthe rubric caps this grade: the sata interface caps sustained writes near 500 mb/s, so this is graded on endurance among sata drives rather than against nvme scratch disks.
Every line states the fact it was derived from, for the scenario selected above. Thresholds are calculated points on our value curve — information about where the maths turns, not instructions about what to pay.
Similar options to the PNY CS900 500GB
Chosen for Balanced
Chosen for System Drive
Chosen for Game
Chosen for Heavy Creative Work
Alternatives stay near this product’s price range. Step-up options may exceed the standard budget envelope when the capability gain is meaningful.
Upgrade planner
Judge the change in the active scenario, then make the cash gap explicit.
Using page scenarioWhat are you upgrading from? These are the axes we compare on, and where this product stands in the current market.
Capability differences are expressed as tiers and index points, not as benchmark percentages we did not measure.
Specifications & compatibility
What this product is, and what to check before it goes into your build.
Performance
- Sequential read
- 500 MB/s
- Sequential write
- 500 MB/s
- Random read
- 0 IOPS
- Random write
- 0 IOPS
- Controller
- Phison PS3111-S11
Media
- Capacity
- 500 GB
- NAND type
- 3D TLC
- DRAM cache
- None (DRAM-less)
Power / Interface
- Interface
- SATA 6.0 Gb/s
- Form factor
- 2.5"
Physical / Outputs
- Heatsink included
- No
Show all specifications
Endurance & warranty
- Endurance
- 300 TBW
- Warranty
- 3 years
- Manufacturer part number
- SSD7CS900500BLK
Hover any value to see where it came from: a manufacturer specification, or a figure The Comparator calculated.
Sources: Comparator offer frame 2026-09-27
What to check in your build
2.5"
The slot must take 2.5"
SATA 6.0 Gb/s
Does not fit the PS5 expansion bay
The PS5 bay takes M.2 2280 NVMe drives only
Found an error? Report this specification Email the field, corrected value and an optional source.
Compatibility guidance is practical help, not a score. Missing data is shown as unknown, never invented.
Summary
PNY CS900 500GB offers a balanced view across an all-round mix of priorities. It ranks #245 by capability in the current modelled field. Its clearest measured strength is drive capability 500. Silicon Power P34A60 512GB currently clears the same practical bar with stronger Relative Value.
PNY CS900 500GB offers A-grade capability for System Drive. It ranks #245 by capability in the current modelled field. Its clearest measured strength is drive capability 500. Silicon Power A55 512GB currently clears the same practical bar with stronger Relative Value.
PNY CS900 500GB offers C-grade capability for Game. It ranks #229 by capability in the current modelled field. Its clearest measured strength is drive capability 500. The C grade is the decisive limitation for this workload.
PNY CS900 500GB offers D-grade capability for Heavy Creative Work. It ranks #217 by capability in the current modelled field. Its clearest measured strength is drive capability 500. The D grade is the decisive limitation for this workload.
FAQ
Why does Relative Value change when I choose another scenario?
Each scenario changes the weights applied to capability, price and the other published factors. The hardware facts stay fixed, but the value question changes, so its score and rank can change too.
Useful links & sources
offer frame 2026-09-27 · formula ssd-value-v1.5 · facts facts-2026-09-27 · Relative Value is an estimate from our current dataset, the selected weights and dated market prices — not an official product rating and not a price forecast. Target prices are calculation thresholds, not predictions. Methodology We are not a shop. Affiliate links may earn us a commission; they never change the calculations or the ranking.