UserBenchmark: Crucial M4 vs SanDisk Extreme Pro

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CrucialCT256M4SSD2

$218

SanDiskSDSSDXPS-240G

BUY • $79

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Real World Speed

Performance profile from 28,800 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

10,862 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 114% 83GB free (System drive)
Worst Bench: 65% 20GB free (System drive)

Poor: 65% Great: 114%

SPEED RANK: 308^th / 1072


Effective Speed Effective SSD Speed		60.8 %			91.7 %	Much faster effective speed. +51%


Read Avg. Sequential Read Speed	432 MB/s	455 MB/s	Slightly faster read speed. +5%
Write Avg. Sequential Write Speed	240 MB/s	406 MB/s	Much faster write speed. +69%
4K Read Avg. 4K Random Read Speed	19.9 MB/s	28.9 MB/s	Much faster random read. +45%
4K Write Avg. 4K Random Write Speed	74.1 MB/s	76.5 MB/s	+3%
Mixed Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed	250 MB/s	258 MB/s	+3%
4K Mixed Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed	14.6 MB/s	33.4 MB/s	Hugely faster random mixed IO. +129%
SusWrite Avg. Sustained Write Speed	195 MB/s	350 MB/s	Much faster sustained write speed. +79%


Read Peak Sequential Read Speed	494 MB/s	509 MB/s	+3%
Write Peak Sequential Write Speed	268 MB/s	479 MB/s	Much faster peak write speed. +79%
4K Read Peak 4K Random Read Speed	23.4 MB/s	35.6 MB/s	Much faster peak random read. +52%
4K Write Peak 4K Random Write Speed	106 MB/s	113 MB/s	Slightly faster peak random write. +7%
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	42.4 MB/s	Hugely faster peak random mixed IO. +124%
SusWrite Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average	265 MB/s	480 MB/s	Hugely faster peak sustained write speed. +81%

Market Share

Based on 75,636,994 SSDs tested

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Market Share Market Share (trailing 30 days)	0 %	0 %
Value Value For Money	4.46 %	13.7 %	Hugely better value. +207%
User Rating UBM User Rating	52 %	54 %	+4%
Price Price (score)	$218	$79	Much cheaper. +64%


Age Newest	156 Months	118 Months	More recent. +24%
DQ Read Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed	184 MB/s	376 MB/s	Hugely faster peak deep queue read. +104%
DQ Write Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed	234 MB/s	343 MB/s	Much faster peak deep queue write. +47%
AS-SSD Total AS-SSD Total Score	752 Pts	1,214 Pts	Much stronger server IO. +61%
DQ Mixed Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed	33.1 MB/s	164 MB/s	Hugely faster peak deep queue mixed IO. +395%
ADQ Read Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed	133 MB/s	325 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue read. +144%
ADQ Write Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed	136 MB/s	267 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue write. +96%
ADQ Mixed Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed	23.7 MB/s	148 MB/s	Hugely faster deep queue mixed IO. +524%


Capacity Capacity			256GB			240GB

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 240GB Sandisk Extreme Pro uses the same controller and NAND as its 13 months younger predecessor, the Extreme II. Comparing the Extreme II and Extreme Pro shows that average performance has increased by 10% but peak performance remains broadly unchanged. The Pro features an improved nCache which uses an SLC buffer to cache writes prior to writing them to the slower MLC NAND. In order to benefit from this improved caching, huge amounts of data need to be written for extended periods, an unlikely consumer scenario. Comparing core performance between the Samsung 840 Evo and Extreme Pro shows that the Extreme Pro averages around 12% faster than the Evo. The Extreme Pro also has a 10 year warranty but I wonder if SATA 3 will even be around at that time. Although the Extreme Pro has a superb performance profile it's not a game changer. ^{[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 $273	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 $186	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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