Storage

Crucial M4 256GB SSD Review

by Ed Smith0837

 

Specifications and Features

Crucial’s M4 256GB SSD product page says this:

Product details

  • Most advanced NAND process technology in the semiconductor industry
  • Limited three-year warranty

Speed demon
Hungry for more? The Crucial m4 SSD builds on the success of our award-winning, wildly popular Crucial RealSSD C300 solid-state drive by offering mobile and desktop users scorching-fast read and write speeds, groundbreaking SATA SSD computing, and unparalleled performance for the dollar.

Latest and greatest.
Designed for client computing, the Crucial m4 SSD delivers faster boot and application load times for mobile and desktop users alike. Low power, lightweight, and durable, it empowers high-speed synchronous MLC NAND, advanced controller technology, optimized NAND management, and the second-generation SATA 6Gb/s interface. Together, that technology dramatically improves data transfers for bandwidth-demanding applications.

 

Clear advantage
SSDs provide many benefits over traditional hard drives.

  • Reduced power consumption
  • Less heat generation
  • Quiet
  • Increased portability, lightweight
  • No moving parts
  • Rugged and reliable operation in even the most demanding operating environments

 

Memory Experts.
Delivering on the highest quality based upon Micron’s leading-edge NAND media, the Crucial brand of memory has long been synonymous with reliability and high-performance. Our expertise in NAND process technology enables us to optimize the performance and durability of Crucial solid-state drives.

Guaranteed Compatible.
Crucial m4 series employ a standard hard drive interface and dimensions, so it is an easy storage upgrade for most notebooks. We guarantee compatibility.”

 
 

For more detailed specifications I had to travel over the the newegg product page for the Crucial M4 256GB SSD:

Brand Crucial
  • Series: M4
  • Model: CT256M4SSD2CCA
  • Device Type: Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
  • Used For: Consumer

 

Physical
  • Form Factor: 2.5″
  • Capacity: 256GB
  • Memory Components: MLC
  • Interface:SATA III
  • Width: 3.95″
  • Depth: 2.75″
  • Height: 0.37″
  • Weight: 0.17 lbs.
Performance
  • Sustained Sequential Read: up to 415MB/s
  • Sustained Sequential Write: up to 260MB/s
Features
  • 4K Random Read/Write: 40K / 50K
  •  IOPSATA-8 w/TRIM
  • SMART Command Support
  • High-speed Synchronous MLC NAND
  • Performance – Improve boot up and application load times
  • Reliability – Withstand extreme shock and vibration
  • Compatibility – SATA 6Gb/s, backward compatible to SATA 3Gb/s
  • Quality – Crucial, a Micron company, is a trusted name in DRAM and SSD products
Manufacturer Warranty
  • Parts: 3 years limited
  • Labor: 3 years limited

 

Get all that?  I find it vaguely amusing that the newegg product page has more detailed info than Crucial’s own page!

The really important numbers are the 4K random read/write IOPS, which are excellent, and the sustained sequential read/write speed.  415 megabytes/second a fast enough read speed for you?  It certainly stomps my mechanical HDD!  Write speed is a slower, but still very fast, 260MB/s.  Those are the peak speeds of course, if you load the drive down with 250GB of junk the speeds will drop.

AIDA64 Extreme’s storage information page has the following data:

crucial256gb-aida64-1

crucial256gb-aida64-2

Next we’ll take a look at the drive, and then do some testing to see if it can actually do what the specifications say it can.

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