2 reviews

Crucial m4

$500.00 Released April, 2011

The Pros:Upgradable firmware - for reliability and performance improvements. Uses the latest 25nm NAND for price savings. All the perks of a solid state drive - extremely fast, physically resilient, low power consumption, doesn't get hot, silent.

The Cons:25nm NAND is rated for 3000 cycles vs Intel's 5000 cycles - essentially the same NAND? Late garbage collection leads to slowdowns over time - only if TRIM is not enabled / implemented. All the cons of a solid state drive - high price per GB, unrecoverable data in the event of a problem.

The Crucial m4 solid state drives (SSD) are advertised to be Crucial's top of the line SSDs with read and write speeds of up to 415MB/s and 260MB/s respectively. The m4 line's capacities range from 64GB to 512GB, all compatible with SATA 6Gb/s.

Where to Buy

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Crucial CT128M4SSD2 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive by PriceGrabber.com

Crucial have managed to keep the performance of these SSDs whilst decreasing their prices, making them some of the most affordable SATA 6Gb/s compatible SSD. These SSDs use MLC NAND and are backward compatible with 3Gb/s SATA connections. They have a MTB life time of 1.2 million hours and are backed by a 3 year limited warranty. The Curcial m4 series solid state drives are good options for buyers looking for capable performance at a manageable price.

Features / Specifications

64GB to 512GB Capacities (their performance will vary based on capacities)
Micron MLC NAND memory modules
SATA 6Gb/s
SMART
Up to 415MB/s read, 260MB/s write
Weight: 75g
Active avg power: 150-280mW
Idle avg power: 65-100mW
MTB: 1.2 Million hours
Built-in EDC/ECC
3 year warranty

User Reviews (3)

Add Pros & Cons

ProScore

Pros

3

upgradable firmware - for reliability and performance improvements
2

uses the latest 25nm NAND for price savings
2

all the perks of a solid state drive - extremely fast, physically resilient, low power consumption, doesn't get hot, silent
2

2.5" design - fits in laptops and desktops alike
1

SATA 6Gbps capable - makes use of the higher bandwidth throughput of the latest SATA standard
1

RAID, SMART, and TRIM support
1

extremely fast - runs in the same league as the Intel 510 series, OCZ Vertex 3
1

available in a wide range of sizes - 64, 128, 256 and 512GB
1

3-year warranty - long enough to ensure you'll be covered until a cheaper, larger, better performing drive is available

Cons

1

25nm NAND is rated for 3000 cycles vs Intel's 5000 cycles - essentially the same NAND?
1

late garbage collection leads to slowdowns over time - only if TRIM is not enabled / implemented
0

all the cons of a solid state drive - high price per GB, unrecoverable data in the event of a problem