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    Crucial M4 / Micron C400 SSD Series Thread

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Phil, May 16, 2011.

  1. Phil

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    To get the forum a bit more organized I'm starting indivdual SSD product threads.

    Discuss here everything about Crucial M4 / Micron C400.

    Does anyone have benchmarks for the 64GB model?
     
    Phil, May 16, 2011
    #1
  2. Mr_Mysterious

    Mr_Mysterious Like...duuuuuude

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    I don't have the benchmarks for the 64GB M4, but I just bought my M4 128GB a couple of days ago! I'm expecting it sometime this week :D

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 16, 2011
    #2
  3. RFHavens

    RFHavens Notebook Enthusiast

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    Glad to see this thread get setup. I am awaiting the 256GB version to be delivered sometime this week. Looking forward to seeing how it performs and holds up for other users here on the forum.
     
    RFHavens, May 16, 2011
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  4. Bearclaw

    Bearclaw Steaming

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    I get mine today.

    Expecting some weird results though, not sure if my Fusion netbook can use it to its full capabilities.
     
    Bearclaw, May 16, 2011
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  5. Torai

    Torai Notebook Evangelist

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    My 128GB M4 seems to have freezing issue

    Occasionally some applications become not responding for 20-30s.

    After any windows update, I got stuck at the starting windows logo for 20-30s before the updating screen appears.

    Other than that, the drive is very snappy.
     
    Torai, May 16, 2011
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  6. Phil

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    Have you tried running without Intel RST? I read somewhere that that could help.

    Other than that it might be good to post on the Crucial forums.
     
    Phil, May 16, 2011
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  7. phobic

    phobic Notebook Consultant

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    I saw something about the Intel RST drivers & the M4 as well. Hopefully someone here can provide more info as I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these.
     
    phobic, May 16, 2011
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  8. Bearclaw

    Bearclaw Steaming

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    Just popped this into my AO522 netbook. Note that this is a netbook so the results might be a bit off:
    [​IMG]
    I did try CDM previously when it was installing updates after a fresh install but the results were sporadic.
    This SSD, paired with Win7 Starter is a beast. The loading bar for Win7 at bootup lasts less than a second, and the overall speed of booting is quite fast.
    This is the 64GB version btw.

    Another question, what can I do to maximize the life of the SSD?

    Thanks
     
    Bearclaw, May 16, 2011
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  9. Mr_Mysterious

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    Obvious: Don't do a lot of large file transfers :p

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 16, 2011
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  10. NoSlow5oh

    NoSlow5oh Notebook Evangelist

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    It's a problem with Intel's RST and Windows LPM together. Here's the fix for the stuttering. Took me less than 2 minutes and not a single problem since.

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...-m4-xps-17-l702x-blue-screen.html#post7493901
     
    NoSlow5oh, May 16, 2011
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  11. Phil

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    Pretty good sequentials. 4K a bit low.

    Try running CDM with 3x 100MB while playing an MP3 song in the background (start the MP3 first, make sure your netbook is on A/C and max performance profile). That might improve your 4K values.

    Unless your an extreme user your SSD should easily last > 4 years.

    Someone who downloads 10GB of torrents per day could do it to an external hard drive.
     
    Phil, May 17, 2011
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  12. glacius1

    glacius1 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Phil, I tried what you said about running CDM with an MP3 playing in the background and interestingly I did actually get higher results. Why is that the case?

    Here's results of a 128GB Crucial M4 on an Alienware M11x-R3:
    [​IMG]

    BTW, I also had to apply the reg patch to get it to stop freezing. I believe you need to if you are using Intel RST - it was fine before I installed that.
     
    glacius1, May 17, 2011
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  13. Phil

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    Wow nice results.
    It seems to prevent the CPU from going into power saving mode.
     
    Phil, May 17, 2011
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  14. Bearclaw

    Bearclaw Steaming

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    Hmm you think the C-50 is too weak to handle the SSD? Everything is still a snap though... maybe just in those benchmarks. I'll test it again when I get home.

    Also, mine is the SATA 3GB/s connection if that makes a diff (I know that will throttle the seq reads a bit)
     
    Bearclaw, May 17, 2011
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  15. Phil

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    Possibly although it's more likely the power saving modes that keep 4K preformance that low.

    Probably just benchmarks, except for installing programs.

    Shouldn't make any difference for the 4K performance.
     
    Phil, May 17, 2011
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  16. Mr_Mysterious

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    It's here! Awesome, I'm going to go and see what I have to do....unless someone would kindly point me in the right direction? :D

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 17, 2011
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  17. Bearclaw

    Bearclaw Steaming

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    I just putting it in High Performance and playing a random MP3 in the background but it had no affect on the 4kb reads.

    Edit: here is a WEI score:

    [​IMG]
     
    Bearclaw, May 17, 2011
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  18. Mr_Mysterious

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    [​IMG]

    Seems all right?

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  19. Phil

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    Seems pretty good. I've seen higher 4K writes on desktops but that's nothing to worry about.
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
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  20. Mr_Mysterious

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    :( No, we do have something to worry about...

    All of a sudden it starts BSOD'ing, not even 2 minutes in....and it does the same on safe mode.

    No new firmware for the M4's....and even if there was, I doubt it would hang in there long enough to download and install. *sigh*

    Earlier, properties told me that it was working properly, and SSDLife told me the drive health was excellent. I had malwarebytes do a scan earlier and MSE running in the background.

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  21. Phil

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    Is this on a clean install?

    Have you tried how it goes with MS AHCI driver?

    If that didn't work there's the Crucial registry changes that could solve the problem as far as I know. As explained here.
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
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  22. Honzik1

    Honzik1 Notebook Consultant

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    Phil, can I ask you some questions please? I would like to buy Crucial m4 256GB for my notebook Sony Vaio VPCF11M1E, I have i5 and pm55 chipset. Do you think its best SSD for this price?

    +Random read 4k = Faster PC right?
    But I saw there was some problem with pm55 chipsets.

    What should I do when I buy new SSD?,...right this:

    1) backup old HDD and install new SSD
    2) instal Windows 7 (possible to make partitions? or its bad for SSD?)
    3) instal some driver? Which? (Crucials?, Intel? or Microsoft one?...I dont understand what are they for :( )
    4) some improvements for Windows 7 to be faster on SSD (or make SSD longlife?)
    5) JJB fix? (is it the best improvement for pm55?)


    Sorry, Iam Czech and my english isnt the best :)

    Thank you for answer of all my questions!!
     
    Honzik1, May 19, 2011
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  23. Phil

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    It depends on what price you're paying and how expensive the alternatives are. M4 is often the best deal on SATA III ports IF the stuttering issues are resolved. Let's wait and see.

    But since you have SATA II you could also consider Intel 320.

    2) clean install Windows 7, I prefer no partitions. Partitioning shouldn't matter but I have often seen that it does have a negative effect on performance.
    3) Intel RST for max. performance
    4) no need
    5) it may not be necessary, run CDM first
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
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  24. Honzik1

    Honzik1 Notebook Consultant

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    There are same priced SSDs in czech like Vertex 2, Agility 2 or something....around 180GB "only". Vertex 3 or Corsair are about +100 Euro more expensive. M4 is cheapest.
     
    Honzik1, May 19, 2011
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  25. Phil

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    M4 is a very good SSD IF the stuttering issue is non existent/resolved.
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
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  26. Bearclaw

    Bearclaw Steaming

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    Just gonna chime in here, for my 64GB I've had no stuttering. (perhaps because it's an AMD platform?)
     
    Bearclaw, May 19, 2011
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  27. Mr_Mysterious

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    Yes, on a clean install. I'm not sure what you mean by the MS AHCI driver....but like I said, it won't stay stable long enough for me to install anything.

    I'll take a look at the crucial registry changes...

    I've never made any registry changes ever, so could someone please walk me through it?

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  28. Phil

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    If you remove Intel RST driver from the device manager the MS AHCI driver will be used. It's the default MS driver.
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
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  29. Mr_Mysterious

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    Yeah...it's not staying stable long enough for me to do anything :( Oh well...I had high hopes for this one.

    I don't know what to do....should I get another M4 after they've addressed the stuttering issues? Should I get another brand? But really, there's nothing better than Crucial right now...

    Intel has speed problems, OCZ has reliability issues, Samsung doesn't even have SATA 3 :confused:

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  30. Phil

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    I think you should give it some more effort. I'm guessing there's nothing wrong with the drive itself. There seem to be many problem with Intel laptops and SATA III drives.

    Did you install Intel RST before it became unstable?
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
    #30
  31. cybertek90X

    cybertek90X Notebook Enthusiast

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    How can you tell if you are using the MS Driver or the Intel?
    Where is it in Device Manager?

    thanks!
     
    cybertek90X, May 19, 2011
    #31
  32. Honzik1

    Honzik1 Notebook Consultant

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    Try this:
    M4 Dell XPS 17 Blue Screen - Page 2 - Crucial Community

    Just copy paste the following in a text file renamed with .reg extension and execute it :
     
    Honzik1, May 19, 2011
    #32
  33. Mr_Mysterious

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    Yeah but it's not letting me execute it...

    And Phil...yes, I did, but when I turned it on this morning, it was no where to be found. I did find it in the program files, and when I tried to uninstall it, it wouldn't let me =/

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  34. Honzik1

    Honzik1 Notebook Consultant

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    Honzik1, May 19, 2011
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  35. Mr_Mysterious

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    Damn...you got me there. It's too late now, I've already erased and formatted it :(

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  36. Phil

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    a clean install might be good. and see how it goes w/o Intel RST.
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
    #36
  37. Mr_Mysterious

    Mr_Mysterious Like...duuuuuude

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    All right...I won't install the Intel RST drivers...and both times they were clean installs :p Just FYI.

    This is the last time though...

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  38. Honzik1

    Honzik1 Notebook Consultant

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    I would like to know if it really works, because Iam going to buy M4 soon :) Clean install and inform us how its going this time. Ready .reg patch is here, just run it when it makes BSOD:
    http://cubemania.cz/patch.zip
     
    Honzik1, May 19, 2011
    #38
  39. Mr_Mysterious

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    Ok, thanks dude :)

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  40. Phil

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    I think the registry patch may not be necessary when you're not installing Intel RST.

    Not sure though.
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
    #40
  41. Honzik1

    Honzik1 Notebook Consultant

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    Honzik1, May 19, 2011
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  42. Mr_Mysterious

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    You know...I'm not going to install Intel RST drivers, period.

    I'm not missing anything big, or some massive performance improvements, am I?

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  43. Phil

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    No you're probably not missing much.
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
    #43
  44. Honzik1

    Honzik1 Notebook Consultant

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    Whats your CrystalDiskmark results?
    Microsoft vs Intel driver I found +-:
     
    Honzik1, May 19, 2011
    #44
  45. Mr_Mysterious

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    So far so good...CAREFULLY avoided the Intel RST Drivers. We'll see by the end of the day if it is stable.

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  46. Honzik1

    Honzik1 Notebook Consultant

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    Can you publish some demonstration video of M4 boot time, some software cold start, copying big ammount of small files, turn off? I will be happy :)

    Thanks!
     
    Honzik1, May 19, 2011
    #46
  47. Mr_Mysterious

    Mr_Mysterious Like...duuuuuude

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    Awww I wish I could, but I don't have a video camera with me :( Sorry...

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  48. Honzik1

    Honzik1 Notebook Consultant

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    Mobile or just simple camera support the video :) I dont need Full HD :) Please :(
     
    Honzik1, May 19, 2011
    #48
  49. Phil

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    M4 boot times and file copy speeds are well published on Hardwareheaven.com
     
    Phil, May 19, 2011
    #49
  50. NoSlow5oh

    NoSlow5oh Notebook Evangelist

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    I wonder why some get bsod's when using RST and some (like me) have no problems? I haven't personally updated the RST driver, so I'm not sure which version I have. I still had to do the patch, but it was only for stuttering.

    Another thing - I haven't looked into this much yet, but I wonder if the problems from some may be linked to different firmware, as the 256GB and 512GB have different firmware than the lesser models.
     
    NoSlow5oh, May 19, 2011
    #50
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