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 $90 the PNY CS900 500GB is priced in line with its $90 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 | $90 | 14 | 2026-09-27 | View offer → |
| PNY CS900 500GBMultiple variants available | Amazon Affiliate | Varies | Find on Amazon | Not tracked | No price snapshot | Find on Amazon → |
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.
#373 of 388 graded solid state drives
- #370 ADATAADATA SU630 960GB 3
- #371 PatriotPatriot P210 512GB 3
- #372 PatriotPatriot P220 512GB 3
- #373 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 3
- #374 Western DigitalWestern Digital Blue 500GB 3
- #375 SamsungSamsung 860 Evo 500GB 3
- #376 PatriotPatriot Burst Elite 480GB 3
Value Balanced
How much of that you get for today’s price.
#323 of 388 currently priced solid state drives
- #320 TranscendTranscend 110S 256GB 15
- #321 TeamGroupTeamGroup MS30 512GB 15
- #322 Western DigitalWestern Digital Black SN750 SE 250GB 14
- #323 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 14
- #324 KingstonKingston A400 960GB 14
- #325 Western DigitalWestern Digital Blue SA510 1TB 14
- #326 TeamGroupTeamGroup CX2 256GB 14
Performance System Drive
How much it can do. Price plays no part in this ranking.
#373 of 388 graded solid state drives
- #370 ADATAADATA SU630 960GB 3
- #371 PatriotPatriot P210 512GB 3
- #372 PatriotPatriot P220 512GB 3
- #373 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 3
- #374 Western DigitalWestern Digital Blue 500GB 3
- #375 SamsungSamsung 860 Evo 500GB 3
- #376 PatriotPatriot Burst Elite 480GB 3
Value System Drive
How much of that you get for today’s price.
#313 of 334 currently priced solid state drives
- #310 TeamGroupTeamGroup Force Vulcan 256GB 1
- #311 TeamGroupTeamGroup QX 4TB 1
- #312 PatriotPatriot Burst Elite 960GB 1
- #313 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 1
- #314 TeamGroupTeamGroup MS30 512GB 1
- #315 TeamGroupTeamGroup CX2 2TB 1
- #316 TeamGroupTeamGroup Force Vulcan 2TB 1
Performance Game
How much it can do. Price plays no part in this ranking.
#342 of 388 graded solid state drives
- #339 SamsungSamsung 870 Evo 500GB 6
- #340 CrucialCrucial MX500 500GB 6
- #341 SamsungSamsung 850 Evo 500GB 6
- #342 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 6
- #343 Western DigitalWestern Digital Blue 500GB 6
- #344 SamsungSamsung 860 Evo 500GB 6
- #345 Silicon PowerSilicon Power Silm S55 480GB 6
Value Game
How much of that you get for today’s price.
#296 of 388 currently priced solid state drives
- #293 SamsungSamsung 970 Evo 1TB 35
- #294 Western DigitalWestern Digital Blue SN580 500GB 35
- #295 Western DigitalWestern Digital Blue SN550 500GB 35
- #296 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 35
- #297 Western DigitalWestern Digital Blue SN570 500GB 35
- #298 KingstonKingston KC600 2TB 35
- #299 TeamGroupTeamGroup MS30 1TB 34
Performance Heavy Creative Work
How much it can do. Price plays no part in this ranking.
#348 of 388 graded solid state drives
- #345 ADATAADATA SU630 960GB 4
- #346 PatriotPatriot P210 512GB 4
- #347 PatriotPatriot P220 512GB 4
- #348 PNYPNY CS900 500GB 4
- #349 Western DigitalWestern Digital Blue 500GB 4
- #350 SamsungSamsung 860 Evo 500GB 4
- #351 SeagateSeagate BarraCuda Q1 480GB 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 Value14 | Higher capability Kingston NV3 500GB 54 +1100% capability · +10% price | Higher Value with current priorities Patriot P320 512GB 35 +500% capability · -6% price |
| System DriveScenario capability | GradeA Value1 | Higher capability Kingston NV3 500GB A 23 +1100% capability · +10% price | Higher Value with current priorities Gigabyte GP 256GB B 8 +500% capability · -14% price |
| Game & File StorageScenario capability | GradeC Value35 | — | Higher Value with current priorities Patriot P320 512GB C 45 +2% capability · -6% price |
| Heavy Creative WorkScenario capability | GradeD Value0 | Higher capability TeamGroup FORCE G50 512GB B 10 +820% capability · +17% price | Higher Value with current priorities Gigabyte GP 256GB C 3 +410% capability · -14% 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
- Value for money matters more to you than this exact modelPatriot P320 512GB holds Relative Value 35 against its 14 with Balanced priorities, at $85
- 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
- Value for money matters more to you than this exact modelGigabyte GP 256GB holds Relative Value 8 against its 1 for System Drive, at $77
- 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; Kingston NV3 500GB grades C at $99
- You want strong value for Game specificallyat today's market no realistic price for this model reaches strong value for Game — the calculation only gets there near $25, against a cheapest tracked $90
- Value for money matters more to you than this exact modelPatriot P320 512GB holds Relative Value 45 against its 35 for Game, at $85
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; TeamGroup FORCE G50 512GB grades B at $105
- Value for money matters more to you than this exact modelGigabyte GP 256GB holds Relative Value 3 against its 0 for Heavy Creative Work, at $77
- 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
- SSD7CS900500RB
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 #373 by capability in the current modelled field. Its clearest measured strength is drive capability 500. Patriot P300 512GB currently clears the same practical bar with stronger Relative Value.
PNY CS900 500GB offers A-grade capability for System Drive. It ranks #373 by capability in the current modelled field. Its clearest measured strength is drive capability 500. Patriot P210 512GB currently clears the same practical bar with stronger Relative Value.
PNY CS900 500GB offers C-grade capability for Game. It ranks #342 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 #348 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.
Why can Amazon appear without a tracked price?
Amazon is shown as a discovery link when we do not have a permitted verified price snapshot. It is excluded from price comparisons, rankings and Relative Value until a compliant tracked price exists.
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.