Crucial M4 SSD - or alternative?! 100GB+ SSD

[dug987654]

Hi all,

I want to order a SSD over the weekend. I've currently got my eye on a 128GB Crucial M4 at eBuyer for £87. There is also a Kingston 120GB V+200 for £83.

The Kingston has a much higher read/write (535/480) than the Crucial (500/175), however is this going to have an affect in real life use, especially as my motherboard is only SATA 2 (ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO). And the IOPS are higher on the Crucial?!?

Is one really better than the other? Or is there a third, fourth etc. option? Overclockers have a SanDisk Ultra to add to the mix!

Any recommendations? The Crucial seems to get pretty good reviews...

Looking to spend under £100, including shipping, for a 100GB or larger drive.

Thanks in advance, Doug.

 

[spirit]

As an M4 owner, I can tell you it's a fantastic drive. It's a lot faster than the V+200 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/425?vs=201 I know it's comparing it to a V+100 but the M4 is still gonna be faster than a V+200.

The SanDisk Extreme 120GB is another drive I've used and that's even faster than the M4, so I'd say look into that too.

 

[dug987654]

Hmm, just read reviews of the SanDisk and it makes it hard to decide! They seem to be pretty much matched. The Crucial does have way more reviews than the SanDisk on Amazon though (although both are basically 5 star products).

Is one going to better than the other with compatibility with an older (~2.5 years old) motherboard. I've seen that the Crucial will have higher speeds on a SATA 2 connection?

I remember hearing that SandForce controllers where unreliable - has that all been sorted out now?

Any other thoughts/recommendations anyone?

Thanks, Doug.

 

[spirit]

Well my M4 has been solid as a rock for over 6 months now. I've never had any reliability issues at all with it. The SanDisk is also very stable too.

Either one will be very fast. I used an M4 on a SATA 3GB/s connection for a while and it was fine, so I'd say the M4 is a good choice, but as they're both screaming fast, just go for whichever is cheapest.

 

[Shane]

The Sandisk series are very good priced atm.

60GB -£49.99
120GB -84.98
240GB - £161.99

Id take a sandisk any day over the M4s,For some reason the Crucials seem to have rather low Write speed when you compare them to all the others out there.

Heres another to consider!

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-076-OC&groupid=701&catid=2104&subcat=
- Maximum Read: 525MB/sec
- Maximum Write: 500MB/sec

Even if your current board does not have Sata3,I would still go Sata3 just in case you upgrade in the future.

 

[dug987654]

Just got the Crucial M4 from Amazon for £80.49!! Thanks for your advice!