View Full Version : Crucial M4 or not?
RoadKillNL
11-08-11, 10:45 AM
I got 2 x Vertex (1) 120GB in Raid at the moment but recently it seems one of them is causing issues which result in system shutdowns.
Since i read a LOT of bad about any OCZ SSD lately i'm looking for something else rather than going thru RMA and get another poor thing. Also i don't think i'm gonna bother with SandForce.
Seeing the Intel 320's are getting a little old by now i ended up with a Crucial M4. Does anyone have experience with these drives, cuz after reading some reviews Price/Performance wise they are very good. Just want to know i don't end up with another bad SSD. I'm aware that the Write speeds of the Crucial arn't as fast as an OCZ or Corsair, but i care more about reliability.
I did dig up some prices and it seems that going with a single 256GB would be cheaper. Ofcourse going 2x 128GB RAID0 would increase my Read Speed but i don't really feel that's worth the trouble.
So just want to know if Curcial is a reliability SSD to go for.
notarat
11-08-11, 12:09 PM
I have one. It rocks. Ya can't go wrong with it. Stop reading this post and go Buy it
I have one and can't say anything bad about it. No issues whatsoever.
johan851
11-08-11, 01:19 PM
I would go through the RMA process if it's a Vertex 1. They should be fairly reliable, and don't have anything to do with all the bad press we're seeing around the Vertex 3.
There are three contenders in the current race for fastest SSD: the Vertex 3, the Crucial M4, and the Intel 510. The Vertex 3, as you know, is an absolute crapshoot in terms of reliability. The Intel is very expensive but a great drive. The Crucial performs similarly to the Intel drive, is similarly reliable, and costs a lot less.
RoadKillNL
11-08-11, 01:38 PM
I would go through the RMA process if it's a Vertex 1. They should be fairly reliable, and don't have anything to do with all the bad press we're seeing around the Vertex 3.
There are three contenders in the current race for fastest SSD: the Vertex 3, the Crucial M4, and the Intel 510. The Vertex 3, as you know, is an absolute crapshoot in terms of reliability. The Intel is very expensive but a great drive. The Crucial performs similarly to the Intel drive, is similarly reliable, and costs a lot less.
I already ordered a Curcial M4 256GB.
I really don't want to go thru the RMA crap. Have you ever checked the OCZ Forums? If not, you should and it should instantly stop you from buying a SSD from them :S
johan851
11-08-11, 01:59 PM
Want to send your bad Vertex 1 to me instead? I'm not going to turn down a free SSD. :)
Seriously, even if the RMA process takes a while, you'll get a free SSD at the end of it for what... 30 minutes of your time?
RoadKillNL
11-08-11, 02:41 PM
I guess i could RMA it anyways. Get a new one and sell it.
johan851
11-08-11, 02:42 PM
Sure. Or put it in a laptop or something.
When you say 2x128 v 256, what would make you go 256? Apart from a slight price drop, won't the raid 0 make that 500 read speed into 1000 MB/s? (hypothetically at least)
johan851
11-08-11, 02:56 PM
The 256GB version will be a bit faster than the 128GB version. That and the extra complexity/reliability issues might not make RAID 0 worth it.
I'd question if a motherboard-based controller could really handle two SSDs like that at full pelt... maybe I'm wrong.
RoadKillNL
11-08-11, 03:27 PM
Getting 2 x 500 Read in Raid0 isn't gonna be worth it with my motherboard.
Gigabyte X58A-UD7 Rev.2.0
The Intel Chip is SATA2 and the Marvell SATA3 is controlled by the PCIe Bus so never gonna make 900 Read anyways.
satandole666
11-08-11, 03:38 PM
I've been thinking about picking up an 128gb M4 for my main rig. Problem is it is only SATA 3.0. Is there a better drive to get considering I wont get full advantage of the speed on SATA 3.0?
RoadKillNL
11-08-11, 04:00 PM
Well SATA2 is limited to 300MB/s. And the Crucial M4 is 500MB/s Read and 175MB/s Write.
So that would make it a 300MB/s Read and 175 MB/s Write performance on SATA2.
I'm running into the same issue once i get my Crucial, but you wouldn't notice a difference in performance really. Perhaps games will load in 6 Seconds instead of 5.5 :P
I wouldn't worry about it. As long as it's on the Intel Controller you're good. You will be sure of having TRIM support and the nice IRST Driver.
satandole666
11-08-11, 04:04 PM
Is there a cheaper option that is around 300/175 so I'm not wasting any capability?
I doubt I'll be upgrading from this motherboard for a few years. If I need more power I'll drop in a hexacore with more RAM.
boinkboink
11-08-11, 05:04 PM
My 64GB M4 is awesomely fast. The multi-channel controller used really rips when used in a heavily multi-threaded application with lots of a-sequential transactions.
Go for it!
johan851
11-08-11, 05:18 PM
I've been thinking about picking up an 128gb M4 for my main rig. Problem is it is only SATA 3.0. Is there a better drive to get considering I wont get full advantage of the speed on SATA 3.0?
The random read/write speeds are where you really benefit in terms of "feel". My M4 has large sequential reads above 300MB/s, but the smaller reads and all of the writes are sub-300MB/s. I think the M4 is still a great choice, and you won't be throttling it horribly with SATA II.
Another good option that would be limited even less by SATA II is the Corsair Performance 3 series if you can find a good deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233154
You might also look at drives like the Vertex 2 or Crucial C300. The M4 will still be faster though, even on SATA II.
dearbeloved
11-08-11, 06:07 PM
i also have a 128gig m4 and i love it. great addition and will most likely pick up another with a higher gig soon.
i get 365 read and 189 write using sata 3
Computurd
11-09-11, 01:24 AM
i have a few of these M4s, and they are just awesome :)
RoadKillNL
11-10-11, 07:36 AM
Just got my Crucial M4 256Gb. It came with 0009 already, so that saved me updating trouble aswell :)
SteveLord
11-10-11, 10:35 AM
I still call these the most overall solid SSDs you can buy. I use several of them in the workplace.
Rich'[ard]
11-11-11, 12:42 AM
i've haven't heard many people talk about the Corsair Force 3 series SSDs...
i don't see many users with them :shrug:
the specs on them look pretty good unless i'm mistaken.
Cigarsmoker
11-11-11, 01:45 AM
;7013869"]i've haven't heard many people talk about the Corsair Force 3 series SSDs...
i don't see many users with them :shrug:
the specs on them look pretty good unless i'm mistaken.
Got one of those. This SSD comes up frequently on this forum. I hated it as it kept BSODing in my system. Got fed up one day, bought a M4 as it's replacement, not a single BSOD ever since. It's as buggy as any other Sandforce 22XX controller.
TiZakit
11-11-11, 02:09 AM
I've got an M4 sitting on my desk in front of me. Installing this weekend!
I happen to be in the midst of reviewing one at the moment... so if people have any questions, fire away...
(The review unit came with FW 0009 as well)
deathman20
11-11-11, 04:15 AM
All I got to say is see my sig :)
As well my office has been buying up lots of M4's recently to upgrade laptops and to give to higher end engineering computers. Well worth the money.
johan851
11-11-11, 10:16 AM
;7013869"]i've haven't heard many people talk about the Corsair Force 3 series SSDs...
i don't see many users with them :shrug:
the specs on them look pretty good unless i'm mistaken.
The specs are good because it's a Sandforce 2281 drive. It'll have all the same issues as a Vertex 3.
TiZakit
11-11-11, 04:39 PM
Not to completely derail this thread, but do you still have to do a bunch of crap to windows to optimize it for SSDs?
johan851
11-11-11, 04:56 PM
Windows 7 is pretty smart about it.
deathman20
11-11-11, 05:01 PM
Not to completely derail this thread, but do you still have to do a bunch of crap to windows to optimize it for SSDs?
XP probably but in Win7 never had too, either with Vista that I know of.
TiZakit
11-11-11, 05:26 PM
Cool. Thanks guys!
Rich'[ard]
11-12-11, 01:21 AM
The specs are good because it's a Sandforce 2281 drive. It'll have all the same issues as a Vertex 3.
ohh i see! no wonder not many people have got them. guess i'm going with Crucial M4 as well then =).
does that mean the higher end Force GT series is just as bad?
deathman20
11-12-11, 03:03 AM
;7014708"]ohh i see! no wonder not many people have got them. guess i'm going with Crucial M4 as well then =).
does that mean the higher end Force GT series is just as bad?
If you see any drive that has 500+Reads and Writes... its most likely a sandforce 2281 controller.
Because the other controllers the reads can be as high as 500 on reads no issues, but the writes are about 200-350 i think (in line what the sandforce does for uncompressible files.
Are there really still reliability issues with the Vertex 3? I thought that's been taken care of with a firmware update...
\dev\goat
11-12-11, 03:46 PM
Are there really still reliability issues with the Vertex 3? I thought that's been taken care of with a firmware update...
My vertex 3 went from 2.06 -> 2.08 -> 2.09 -> 2.11 -> 2.13 and had the same problems every time. My crucial m4 is rock solid now
My vertex 3 went from 2.06 -> 2.08 -> 2.09 -> 2.11 -> 2.13 and had the same problems every time. My crucial m4 is rock solid now
What were the problems?
Cigarsmoker
11-13-11, 02:02 AM
What were the problems?
Random BSOD. I'm not a computer noob and have updated everything that I can think of, yet my Corsair Force Series 3 120 GB SSD (Sandforce controller) was still suffering from random BSOD. Bought and installed a M4 in it's place have have not have any BSOD since. Don't take my word for it, do some research on OCZ and Corsair's forums and you'll notice it's a common pattern.
\dev\goat
11-13-11, 08:18 AM
Yea I never had the stuttering or crashing problems that some other people had. I just got constant bsod. Or sometimes instead of a bsod the pc would just turn off and turn back on by itself. And the Vertex3 would be unrecognized by the bios after it turned back on. So it would try to boot and give an error that there was no bootable media installed. Then I would have to completely turn the computer off, turn it back on, and go into bios and manually make it scan the harddrives again to detect the vertex3, then reboot and windows would work fine.
It was a HUGE pain in the ass
I bought a vertex 3 128gb the day they first came out and never had a single problem to this day. Never did any firmware updates either. It flies without a hitch and still shows 100% health. My ocz ram i bought for my i7 920 way back is still flawless as well. You people must have ******ed off god or something. Still, if somebody asked me, I'd tell them to get an M4 256gb.
I bought a vertex 3 128gb the day they first came out and never had a single problem to this day. Never did any firmware updates either. It flies without a hitch and still shows 100% health. My ocz ram i bought for my i7 920 way back is still flawless as well. You people must have ******ed off god or something. Still, if somebody asked me, I'd tell them to get an M4 256gb.
I keep hearing people suggest the M4, but it doesn't quite compete with some of the other drives in terms of speed. I keep reading that the Vertex 3, Wildfire, and Chronos Deluxe are faster but apparently they're all using the Sandforce controller that was having problems. I suspect, though, that these problems have largely been taken care of or the internet rage machine would still be going...
The M4 matches the Vertex 3 in terms of read speeds, but not in terms of writes. It's not massively far off in access times.
Crimson
11-13-11, 02:07 PM
Stick to the OCZ SSD's in my opinion, I'm runnin' a Agility 3 Can't say enough about it!
SteveLord
11-13-11, 04:06 PM
I bought a vertex 3 128gb the day they first came out and never had a single problem to this day. Never did any firmware updates either. It flies without a hitch and still shows 100% health. My ocz ram i bought for my i7 920 way back is still flawless as well. You people must have ******ed off god or something. Still, if somebody asked me, I'd tell them to get an M4 256gb.
My Vertex 3s have been fine...which is why I won't touch it. Crucial's lineup still provides one of the best values out there.
laststop420
11-15-11, 03:47 AM
whats with everyone getting m4's the c300's have faster 4k random reads which is the #1 factor to how snappy and speedy an ssd is as well as faster booting time. The c300 has the best random reads of all consumer ssd. Plus the c300 has more write cycles on it's NAND leading to increased durability over the m4.
deathman20
11-15-11, 03:57 PM
whats with everyone getting m4's the c300's have faster 4k random reads which is the #1 factor to how snappy and speedy an ssd is as well as faster booting time. The c300 has the best random reads of all consumer ssd. Plus the c300 has more write cycles on it's NAND leading to increased durability over the m4.
C300 might have more write cycles but C300's are pricey since they aren't being made in as much volume or at all.
M4 will have no issue with writes for the next few years!
Rich'[ard]
11-17-11, 08:55 AM
in real world environments, can you actually witness the performance difference between the read and write speeds of the faster sandforce drives and the M4. if this just means a second or two faster boot time, than that is not worth all the trouble with drivers at all lol
;7019731"]in real world environments, can you actually witness the performance difference between the read and write speeds of the faster sandforce drives and the M4. if this just means a second or two faster boot time, than that is not worth all the trouble with drivers at all lol
That's really the question to be asking. I highly doubt that the difference is actually noticeable, and every review I've seen has basically agreed. I got a Vertex 3 only because it was on sale for cheaper than the M4, but if I have any problems with the stability, its going right back and I'm getting an M4.
johan851
11-17-11, 01:04 PM
I did notice a big difference between my 60GB first-generation Agility SSD and my new 128GB M4, but there the difference in random read/writes is 10x or more.
Rich'[ard]
11-18-11, 04:11 AM
I did notice a big difference between my 60GB first-generation Agility SSD and my new 128GB M4, but there the difference in random read/writes is 10x or more.
mm, you'd have to factor in the performance gain from Sata II to Sata III as well yeah?
also, how good are the Intel 320 series drives compared to both the M4 and Sandforce drives? :santa:
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