UserBenchmark: Crucial M4 vs Samsung 840 Pro

SSD
RANKINGS

TEST
YOUR SSD

ADD TO PC
BUILD

SamsungMZ-7PD256BW

BUY • $190

CrucialCT256M4SSD2

$218

BenchYourSSD

Real World Speed

Performance profile from 91,057 user samples

Benchmark your SSD here

73,119 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 116% 238GB free
Worst Bench: 68% 11GB free (System drive)

Poor: 68% Great: 116%

SPEED RANK: 279^th / 1072

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


Effective Speed Effective SSD Speed		95 %	Much faster effective speed. +56%		60.8 %


Read Avg. Sequential Read Speed	459 MB/s	Slightly faster read speed. +6%	432 MB/s
Write Avg. Sequential Write Speed	367 MB/s	Much faster write speed. +53%	240 MB/s
4K Read Avg. 4K Random Read Speed	31 MB/s	Much faster random read. +56%	19.9 MB/s
4K Write Avg. 4K Random Write Speed	85.6 MB/s	Faster random write. +16%	74.1 MB/s
Mixed Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed	303 MB/s	Faster mixed IO speed. +21%	250 MB/s
4K Mixed Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed	39.5 MB/s	Hugely faster random mixed IO. +171%	14.6 MB/s
SusWrite Avg. Sustained Write Speed	312 MB/s	Much faster sustained write speed. +60%	195 MB/s


Read Peak Sequential Read Speed	510 MB/s	+3%	494 MB/s
Write Peak Sequential Write Speed	480 MB/s	Much faster peak write speed. +79%	268 MB/s
4K Read Peak 4K Random Read Speed	36.1 MB/s	Much faster peak random read. +54%	23.4 MB/s
4K Write Peak 4K Random Write Speed	114 MB/s	Slightly faster peak random write. +8%	106 MB/s
Mixed Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed	368 MB/s	Much faster peak mixed IO speed. +35%	273 MB/s
4K Mixed Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed	47.6 MB/s	Hugely faster peak random mixed IO. +152%	18.9 MB/s
SusWrite Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average	477 MB/s	Much faster peak sustained write speed. +80%	265 MB/s

Market Share

Based on 75,663,013 SSDs tested

See market share leaders


Market Share Market Share (trailing 30 days)	0.04 %	Hugely higher market share. +100%	0.02 %
Value Value For Money	7.72 %	Much better value. +73%	4.46 %
User Rating UBM User Rating	54 %	+4%	52 %
Price Price (score)	$190	Cheaper. +13%	$218


Age Newest	138 Months	More recent. +12%	156 Months
DQ Read Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed	385 MB/s	Hugely faster peak deep queue read. +109%	184 MB/s
DQ Write Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed	334 MB/s	Much faster peak deep queue write. +43%	234 MB/s
AS-SSD Total AS-SSD Total Score	1,221 Pts	Much stronger server IO. +62%	752 Pts
DQ Mixed Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed	176 MB/s	Hugely faster peak deep queue mixed IO. +432%	33.1 MB/s
ADQ Read Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed	346 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue read. +160%	133 MB/s
ADQ Write Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed	262 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue write. +93%	136 MB/s
ADQ Mixed Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed	147 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue mixed IO. +520%	23.7 MB/s


Capacity Capacity			256GB			256GB

The 840 Pro is stunning. Samsung have created a completely in-house package including both the controller and their own new 21nm toggle mode NAND. On release (Oct '12) this was the fastest performing deep queue depth consumer grade SSD available. Fast forward six months (Apr '13) and the 840 Pro still holds both the random read/write deep queue depth speed records of 384 MB/s and 326 MB/s, impressive considering how fast the SSD space tends to move. There are no obvious weaknesses, in-fact the 840 pro takes first place in nearly all of the speed categories and is only seriously rivalled by one drive, the OCZ Vector. To conclude, in terms of both outright performance, particularly server orientated, and value for money the 256GB and 128GB 840 Pros are amongst the top handful of drives currently available. ^{[Jun '13 SSDrivePro]}

MORE DETAILS

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]}

MORE DETAILS

Systems with these SSDs

Top Builds that include these SSDs

Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

MBD

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]

Group Test Results

Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

How Fast Is Your SSD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.

UserBenchmark of the month

Gaming

Desktop

ProGaming

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

USB

How it works

- Download and run UserBenchmark
- CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
- GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
- Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
- RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
- SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
- Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
- Identify the strongest components in your PC
- See speed test results from other users
- Compare your components to the current market leaders
- Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
- Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Devices FAQ

What is sustained sequential write speed?

What’s the difference between SLC, MLC and TLC?

What is 3D XPoint and how fast is it?

What’s the difference between SATA, PCIe and NVMe?

What’s the difference between NAND and V-NAND?

What is sequential write speed?

What is sequential read speed?

What is incompressible data?

What is queue depth?

Solid State Drives

What is the SSD value for money rating?

What is 4K 64 thread write speed?

Can CPU power saving states (C1,C2,C3) impact SSD speed?

What is the effective SSD speed index?

How is the AS SSD write score calculated?

How is the AS SSD read score calculated?

How is the AS SSD total score calculated?

ALL FAQs »

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) $30	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

MORE DETAILS

MORE DETAILS

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

Group Test Results

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

Frequently Asked Questions

Best User Rated

Feedback