Crucial M4 vs Intel 510 vs OCZ Vertex III

Hey all,

I am on the verge of buying one of these from newegg and would like your recommendations on them. I am comparing them on the basis of midrange-mainstream (120gb range).

I have read countless reviews and they agree on 3 things:

Reliability: Intel > Crucial > OCZ
Performance: OCZ > Crucial > Intel
Price: Intel ($280+) > OCZ ($269) > Crucial (~$220)

Which one would you recommend? Is it the cheapest to get them from newegg? Is OCZ really THAT unreliable cause of the vertex II fiasco?

Thank you for your comments!

 

I only and my vertex 3 for a month so I can't comment on reliability but y have it right. It comes down to what your priorities are, benchmark speed or reliability and hassle free. It's nice to brag about your synthetic numbers but in the real world, I doubt you can tell the diff in speed.

 

In terms of performance they are all equal in real world tests, unless you care about benchmarks. And the reliability problem is not specific to OCZ, it is about all Sandforce based drives in general. So get Intel for reliability. Here are some real world tests and you can see hardly an difference at all(just keep going to the next page, they have a couple of real world tests) - Crucial m4 256GB SSD (C400) Review - File Copy Tests

 

Intel 510 (sata III) seems to have the most efficient real-world performance/is the best balanced drive. See here:

AnandTech - The 2011 Mid-Range SSD Roundup: 120GB Agility 3, Intel 510 and More Compared

This plus Intel's reliability makes it prolly the best SSD drive.

Do you want a ~120 or ~250 GB drive?

 

Seems like there's a lot of similar ssd questions comin up lately lol. All are 510 vs M4 vs Vertex 3..

I'd go with Intel as my first choice, M4 or C300 as second, and OCZ last. This being based on reliability.

At the level these drives are at, the average user wont see the difference between them in every day usage..

FYI: Questions about SSD's would get better answers if they were posted in the SSD forums

 

I have the Corsair Force 3. It got recalled but just wait for the replacements to be on shelves in a week and get one. It is ridiculously fast!

 

All SSDs will seem to be the same speed, whether it is a Force 3, or Vertex 3 or M4 or Intel 510. All are SATA 3 SSDs that have great performance. As you can see in the real world tests even though there is a difference in read/write speeds real world speeds only differ by about a second, so why go for the ones known be be unreliable.

 

I'd actually recommend the Intel 320. It's cheaper, you could get a 160GB version of it, and in the real world you won't notice the difference between a 320 and a 510.

In fact, when you look at Intel's official specs, the 320 actually has significantly higher 4KB IOPS (both read and write) than the 510. It performs better than the 510 at small random read/write, which is by far the most common drive operation. Even in 128K sequential read/write it's faster than the 510. Of course the 510 is much faster when it comes to very large file size read/writes but these are the most rare of all drive operations.

Of course, if you're looking to max out the IOPS then the best option is probably the Crucial C300 which has the best 4K random read speed on the market. Either that or the Vertex 3 which has nearly as fast a 4K random read as the C300 but much better random write. You won't get Intel's famous reliability though.

All in all however, SSDs are so bloody fast at this point that even the most hardcore gamer will barely notice the difference between them in the real world. I'd rather go Intel for reliability but that's just me. (I do plan on getting a 160GB Intel 320 myself.)

 

Exactly my point

 

I just like my corsair because it was cheap and it is fast as hell, SATA III is a must, unless you get the 320. Any of the drives mentioned are decent, but I don't like Micron controllers, which the M4 and 510 use. I would either get a Vertex 3 if you want to spend the money or a Corsair Force 3 which is essentially the same for a great price. The 320 is more expensive than the F3 and for the most part the F3 is faster. It is about neck-and-neck with the Vertex 3.

P.S. Hawk we have almost the same setup! Lol, I just have a F3 120gb. Waiting on the 6300 wireless.

 

Apart from the fact that 510 uses Marvell.

 

Both Intel 510 and M4 use a Marvell controller. The exact same too. Intel writes the firmware for 510 and Micron writes the firmware for the M4.