39 SHARES Share Tweet

The Crucial M4, which made its debut almost 2 years ago, is one of the most popular drives in the market. Is it still a top contender?

SSDs are getting more and more appealing by the day. Already nowadays their retail pricing is affordable for most home users and gamers who only require capacities up to 256GB for their primary HDD. Crucial is one of the most active players in the SSD market, which is only natural as the company's focus is on memory-related products, usually those designed and produced by Micron, as Crucial actually is their subsidiary. In this review we will examine the 256GB version of the M4, currently the fastest 2.5" drive offered by Crucial, based on a well-renowned Marvell controller. We should also note that the M4 has been available for nearly two years now, which makes it the longest living SSD model in history up to this date.

Manufacturer features and specifications

Features

Integrated 8-channel single chip Controller

Self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology (SMART) command set

RAID Support

Average Access Time < 0.1 ms

Data Reliability: Built-in EDC/ECC

Environmental

Power Consumption (Idle): < 65 mW

Power Consumption (Active): 0.15W

Operating Temperature: 0°C ~ +70°C

Storage Temperature: -40°C ~ +85°C

Max Shock Resistance: 1500G

Specifications