CrucialCT256M4SSD2
$218
KingstonSV300S37A/120G
 $218 

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

Controller: LSI SandForce SF2281. Flash Memory: Toshiba 19nm Toggle Mode MLC. Release date: Q4 2012.

Real World Speed
Performance profile from 356,958 user samples
17,938 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 74% 168GB free
Worst Bench: 43% 72GB free (System drive)
Poor: 43% Great: 74%
SPEED RANK: 796th / 1072
339,020 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 73% 15GB free
Worst Bench: 30% 77GB free (System drive)
Poor: 30% Great: 73%
SPEED RANK: 867th / 1072
Effective Speed
Effective SSD Speed
60.8 % Faster effective speed.
+13%
53.6 %
Read
Avg. Sequential Read Speed
432 MB/s Hugely faster read speed.
+90%
227 MB/s
Write
Avg. Sequential Write Speed
240 MB/s Hugely faster write speed.
+97%
122 MB/s
4K Read
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed
19.9 MB/s 22.9 MB/s Faster random read.
+15%
4K Write
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed
74.1 MB/s +0% 73.9 MB/s
Mixed
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed
250 MB/s Much faster mixed IO speed.
+61%
155 MB/s
4K Mixed
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed
14.6 MB/s 29.4 MB/s Hugely faster random mixed IO.
+101%
SusWrite
Avg. Sustained Write Speed
195 MB/s Hugely faster sustained write speed.
+121%
88.3 MB/s
Read
Peak Sequential Read Speed
494 MB/s Faster peak read speed.
+28%
385 MB/s
Write
Peak Sequential Write Speed
268 MB/s Much faster peak write speed.
+75%
153 MB/s
4K Read
Peak 4K Random Read Speed
23.4 MB/s 32.1 MB/s Much faster peak random read.
+37%
4K Write
Peak 4K Random Write Speed
106 MB/s 108 MB/s +2%
Mixed
Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed
273 MB/s Much faster peak mixed IO speed.
+34%
204 MB/s
4K Mixed
Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed
18.9 MB/s 41.4 MB/s Hugely faster peak random mixed IO.
+119%
SusWrite
Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average
265 MB/s Hugely faster peak sustained write speed.
+109%
127 MB/s
Market Share
Based on 75,712,378 SSDs tested
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days)
0.01 % 0.2 % Insanely higher market share.
+1,900%
Value
Value For Money
4.46 % 8.22 % Hugely better value.
+84%
User Rating
UBM User Rating
52 % 54 % +4%
Price
Price (score)
$218 $38 Hugely cheaper.
+82%
Age
Newest
156 Months 137 Months More recent.
+12%
DQ Read
Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed
184 MB/s 195 MB/s Slightly faster peak deep queue read.
+6%
DQ Write
Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed
234 MB/s Much faster peak deep queue write.
+53%
153 MB/s
AS-SSD Total
AS-SSD Total Score
752 Pts Stronger server IO.
+11%
679 Pts
DQ Mixed
Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed
33.1 MB/s 133 MB/s Hugely faster peak deep queue mixed IO.
+302%
ADQ Read
Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed
133 MB/s Much faster deep queue read.
+32%
101 MB/s
ADQ Write
Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed
136 MB/s Faster deep queue write.
+15%
118 MB/s
ADQ Mixed
Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed
23.7 MB/s 91.6 MB/s Hugely faster deep queue mixed IO.
+286%
Capacity
Capacity
256GB 120GB
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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 Kingston V300 has a performance profile that closely matches its 240GB sibling. Both drives utilize a Sandforce LSI controller and therefore demonstrate relative weakness in their write speeds. With burst sequential read/write speeds of 497/166 MBps and 4k burst read/write speeds of 30/97 MBps the 120GB V300 is amongst the slower SSDs I have seen. A concern I have with this drive is the relatively slow real world speeds our users have experienced. Most drives have average throughput rates that are around 75% of peak. Both this and the 240GB V300s, based on 130 samples, are averaging sequential read rates of around 240 MBps which is less than 50% of peak. It's not all bad news though because the V300's are priced extremely aggressively and as a result still offer decent value for money. [Feb '14 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

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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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

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

 Best User Rated

The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $273Nvidia RTX 4060 $300Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $133Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $177Nvidia RTX 4070 $539Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $37Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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