UserBenchmark: Crucial M4 vs MX100

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CrucialCT256M4SSD2

$218

CrucialCT256MX100SSD1

$116

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Real World Speed

Performance profile from 73,706 user samples

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17,938 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 74% 168GB free
Worst Bench: 43% 72GB free (System drive)

Poor: 43% Great: 74%

SPEED RANK: 796^th / 1072

55,768 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 97% 123GB free
Worst Bench: 65% 74GB free

Poor: 65% Great: 97%

SPEED RANK: 443^rd / 1072


Effective Speed Effective SSD Speed		60.8 %			82.8 %	Much faster effective speed. +36%


Read Avg. Sequential Read Speed	432 MB/s	+4%	417 MB/s
Write Avg. Sequential Write Speed	240 MB/s		318 MB/s	Much faster write speed. +32%
4K Read Avg. 4K Random Read Speed	19.9 MB/s		26.7 MB/s	Much faster random read. +34%
4K Write Avg. 4K Random Write Speed	74.1 MB/s		88.7 MB/s	Faster random write. +20%
Mixed Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed	250 MB/s		289 MB/s	Faster mixed IO speed. +16%
4K Mixed Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed	14.6 MB/s		37.4 MB/s	Hugely faster random mixed IO. +156%
SusWrite Avg. Sustained Write Speed	195 MB/s		231 MB/s	Faster sustained write speed. +18%


Read Peak Sequential Read Speed	494 MB/s	Slightly faster peak read speed. +9%	455 MB/s
Write Peak Sequential Write Speed	268 MB/s		331 MB/s	Faster peak write speed. +24%
4K Read Peak 4K Random Read Speed	23.4 MB/s		30.5 MB/s	Much faster peak random read. +30%
4K Write Peak 4K Random Write Speed	106 MB/s		118 MB/s	Faster peak random write. +11%
Mixed Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed	273 MB/s		316 MB/s	Faster peak mixed IO speed. +16%
4K Mixed Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed	18.9 MB/s		44.2 MB/s	Hugely faster peak random mixed IO. +134%
SusWrite Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average	265 MB/s		329 MB/s	Faster peak sustained write speed. +24%

Market Share

Based on 75,655,925 SSDs tested

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Market Share Market Share (trailing 30 days)	0.03 %	0.03 %
Value Value For Money	4.46 %	9.75 %	Hugely better value. +119%
User Rating UBM User Rating	52 %	54 %	+4%
Price Price (score)	$218	$116	Much cheaper. +47%


Age Newest	156 Months	118 Months	More recent. +24%
DQ Read Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed	184 MB/s	229 MB/s	Faster peak deep queue read. +24%
DQ Write Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed	234 MB/s	312 MB/s	Much faster peak deep queue write. +33%
AS-SSD Total AS-SSD Total Score	752 Pts	930 Pts	Stronger server IO. +24%
DQ Mixed Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed	33.1 MB/s	182 MB/s	Hugely faster peak deep queue mixed IO. +450%
ADQ Read Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed	133 MB/s	182 MB/s	Much faster deep queue read. +37%
ADQ Write Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed	136 MB/s	280 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue write. +106%
ADQ Mixed Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed	23.7 MB/s	144 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue mixed IO. +508%


Capacity Capacity			256GB			256GB

The Crucial M4 is one of the oldest SSD's to have made it into the group test. When it was released its primary competitors were Sandforce based drives which suffered from two major problems: reliability and weak incompressible data performance. As a result this drive was one of the top drives of its time. That was back in Apr '11. Today the M4 is no longer able to compete and scores below average (377.9 MB/s) on the Real World Speed Index benchmark and way below average (676) on the deep queue depth orientated AS-SSD Total score benchmark. Of course these figures are still far faster than any mechanical hard drive and owners of this drive should feel in no hurry to upgrade. People looking to make a new purchase will find much better value elsewhere. ^{[Apr '13 SSDrivePro]}

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The Crucial MX100 is the first 16nm SSD to date. Aside from NAND, the MX100 shares the same hardware as its more expensive sibling, the M550. Comparing the MX100 and M550 shows that the two drives have similar read speeds but that the MX100 lags by nearly 50% at writing. The newer 16nm NAND reduces costs and accordingly the MX100 is the cheapest SSD (per GB) to date. In terms of performance the MX100 is a compromise which may or may not be worth making depending on individual circumstances. For typical desktop use including email, office documents and web browsing the MX100 is a great choice but power users should look elsewhere. Comparing the 250GB 840 EVO and 256GB MX100 shows that for a marginal premium, the Evo offers better write speeds. (Note: at 500GB they are more evenly matched) ^{[Jun '14 SSDrivePro]}

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Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) April 2024 SSD Rankings

Welcome to our 2.5" and M.2 SSD comparison. We calculate effective speed for both SATA and NVMe drives based on real world performance then adjust by current prices per GB to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top SSDs. ^[SSDrivePro]

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CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $279	Nvidia RTX 4060 $300	Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $134	Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385	Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $184	Nvidia RTX 4070 $409	Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $35	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43	SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51	G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351	SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16

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