Computing on Demand PC News & Reviews
Nothing gets my cooling fans going like a new hard drive! With that, I have yet to hop on the SSD wagon, until now. I have resisted as long as possible because even though the benchmarks were there, the prices just were not. Crucial thinks they can make me a believer and is trying to butter my biscuit with the M4 SSD…
It is no secret that you will get better performance from an SSD vs a conventional HDD. However, the price points for HDDs were somewhere around $0.04 per GB for a while and SSDs were somewhere around $2.80 per GB. This made the bang for your buck factor go a little wacky. Today, things have settled down a bit and with the HDD shortages still taking a toll on our wallets, the scales are leveling out a bit. Today, you can find a 3TB HDD for $189.99 = $0.06 per GB, and the above mentioned Crucial M4 SSD for $109.99 = $0.86. That isn’t exactly even, but it is sure a lot closer than it was when I could get a 3TB HDD for $129.99 at my local computer store.
Not all packages are created equal. There are three variations of this drive circulating in the 128GB flavor. You start with the standard SDD only package, the SSD with Adapter Bracket, and the one I have in front of me, the SSD with Data Transfer Kit. The data transfer kit provides you with EZ Gig III Cloning and Imaging Software for Windows and ShirtPocket’s SuperDuper! for Mac. Along with the software you get a USB to SATA cable for easy connectivity during your migration.
Crucial is no slouch when it comes to memory, so what makes you think they would change for SSDs? The M4 sports a speedy SATA III interface to deliver data quickly. As with most HDDs, SSDs still support S.M.A.R.T. (Self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology) to keep you abreast of what your hard drive is thinking. The M4 is a 2.5 inch SSD that measures 69.85mm wide, 100.5mm long, and 9.5mm high. It weighs in at 75 grams and is outfitted with an M.T.B.F. (Mean time before failure) of 1.2 million hours. The M4 features an Integrated 8-channel single chip controller (Marvel 88SS9174-BLD2) and integrates high-speed synchronous MLC NAND (16 x 8GB 29F64G08CFACB). Put all this together and Crucial promises that this SSD can read (sustained) at 500MB/s and write (sustained) at 175MB/s.
