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CrucialCT256M4SSD2
$218
CrucialCT120M500SSD1
▲ 521,868 ▼
 $218 

Controller: Marvell 88SS9174-BLD2. Flash Memory: Micron Synchronous 25nm MLC. Release date: Q2 2011.

VS
▲ 531,836 ▼

Controller: Marvell 88SS9187. Flash Memory: Micron Synchronous 20nm MLC. Release date: Q1 2013.

Effective Speed 
+9%
Real World Speed
Performance profile from 33,368 user samples
Benchmark your SSD here
17,938 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 74% 168GB free
Worst Bench: 43% 72GB free (System drive)
Poor: 43% Great: 74%
SPEED RANK: 804th / 1080
15,430 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 77% 45GB free
Worst Bench: 47% 13GB free
Poor: 47% Great: 77%
SPEED RANK: 738th / 1080
Effective Speed
Effective SSD Speed 		60.8 % 66 % Slightly faster effective speed.
+9%
Average Score 
+11%
Read
Avg. Sequential Read Speed 		432 MB/s Slightly faster read speed.
+9% 		397 MB/s
Write
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 		240 MB/s Hugely faster write speed.
+83% 		131 MB/s
4K Read
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed 		19.9 MB/s 22.7 MB/s Faster random read.
+14%
4K Write
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 		74.1 MB/s 80.5 MB/s Slightly faster random write.
+9%
Mixed
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 		250 MB/s Faster mixed IO speed.
+28% 		196 MB/s
4K Mixed
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 		14.6 MB/s 30.5 MB/s Hugely faster random mixed IO.
+109%
SusWrite
Avg. Sustained Write Speed 		195 MB/s Hugely faster sustained write speed.
+89% 		103 MB/s
Peak Score 
+17%
Read
Peak Sequential Read Speed 		494 MB/s Faster peak read speed.
+14% 		432 MB/s
Write
Peak Sequential Write Speed 		268 MB/s Hugely faster peak write speed.
+91% 		140 MB/s
4K Read
Peak 4K Random Read Speed 		23.4 MB/s 26.6 MB/s Faster peak random read.
+14%
4K Write
Peak 4K Random Write Speed 		106 MB/s 111 MB/s +5%
Mixed
Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed 		273 MB/s Much faster peak mixed IO speed.
+32% 		207 MB/s
4K Mixed
Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 		18.9 MB/s 36.8 MB/s Hugely faster peak random mixed IO.
+95%
SusWrite
Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average 		265 MB/s Hugely faster peak sustained write speed.
+92% 		138 MB/s
Value & Sentiment 
+24%
Market Share
Based on 77,533,872 SSDs tested
See market share leaders
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days) 		0.03 % Hugely higher market share.
+200% 		0.01 %
Value
Value For Money 		4.46 % 6.11 % Much better value.
+37%
User Rating
UBM User Rating 		52 % 53 % +2%
Price
Price (score) 		$218 $75 Much cheaper.
+66%
Nice To Haves 
+115%
Age
Newest 		163 Months 140 Months More recent.
+14%
DQ Read
Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed 		184 MB/s 259 MB/s Much faster peak deep queue read.
+41%
DQ Write
Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed 		234 MB/s Much faster peak deep queue write.
+67% 		140 MB/s
AS-SSD Total
AS-SSD Total Score 		752 Pts 757 Pts +1%
DQ Mixed
Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 		33.1 MB/s 159 MB/s Hugely faster peak deep queue mixed IO.
+380%
ADQ Read
Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed 		133 MB/s 247 MB/s Hugely faster deep queue read.
+86%
ADQ Write
Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed 		136 MB/s Slightly faster deep queue write.
+8% 		126 MB/s
ADQ Mixed
Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 		23.7 MB/s 135 MB/s Hugely faster deep queue mixed IO.
+470%
Specifications 
Capacity
Capacity 		256GB 120GB
Conclusion 
Average Bench 60.8%
Average Bench 66%

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

The 120GB M500 is successor to the phenomenally successful Crucial M4. The M500 was poised to win loyal M4 customers but as it turns out the new M500 is worse for typical consumer use than the now nearly three years old M4. There are some cosmetic performance improvements over the M4 but they are purely synthetic. For example, deep queue speeds are significantly improved and the newer M500 handles mixed IO far better. Consumers require decent sequential read/write speeds which average 435/185 MB/s on the M4 vs 395/134 MB/s on the M500! Other manufacturers have come leaps and bounds over the last three years which has raised the performance bar is several notches. In today's market the new M500 simply cannot compete on performance, it doesn't even come close to the likes of the Samsung Evo or OCZ Vector 150. The M500, however, is one of the cheapest mainstream SSDs available at this time but it's easy to justify spending just a little more for a lot more performance. [Feb '14 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

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

Welcome to our 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.
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 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?
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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?
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The Best
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Intel Core i5-13600K $210Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $389WD Black SN850X M.2 1TB $84
Intel Core i5-12400F $111Nvidia RTX 4070 $500Crucial T700 M.2 4TB $370
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