Crucial m4 256GB vs Samsung 840 PRO 256GB?

Which is more RELIABLE? I know that the 840 pro is "faster," but I doubt I will notice it since this is my first SSD. My question is, which is more reliable? Which will give me less error and last me longer? Thanks!

 

Ehhh, in deficit of any personal experience, I'd say; check with Amazon, Newegg and Reevoo reviews... Usually they can be a good indicator how certain drive feels in real life..

 

Having both SSD's - they 'feel' the same in real world usage (that's a snub at the 840 PRO, btw) in ~98% of (normal, not my main) workloads.

Comparing the SSD's benchmark 'scores' would lead you to believe otherwise; but 'scores' are not what real world workflows are about...

I say save some money and go for the M4 if you need an SSD now.

However, with the Crucial M500 SSD's becoming available, I would be MUCH more tempted to get (only) a 480GB or 960GB version of the M500 instead of the M4 for roughly 50% more money, 2x the capacity and a real step up from the M4's performance. Of course, these are unproven SSD's as they're brand new... but I'm relying on Crucial's reputation here to give us a solid performer that we can depend on over it's lifetime - even if that means firmware fixes and updates to accomplish that.


Note that I am not talking about (nor do I care about) benchmark 'performance' - real world use is rarely matched by a single 'number/score'.

And yes, you will notice a difference between SSD's - but only if you have the identical system's with identical setups and identical software/workflows to compare them to.

Saving ~$50 now for an M4 256GB (or spending ~$90 more for an 480GB M500...) is the smarter choice than vs. buying an 840 PRO 256GB SSD which will give you the same performance or worse depending on the real world workload you throw at them (I know, I know - what about the benchmarks... but try to ignore the 'scores'... - your wallet will thank you).


Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply. How about between the 840 and the 840 PRO? The non-pro is $50 less than the pro from where I'm going to purchase it, but I do understand that it runs TLC and is expected to have a third of the pro's life. Honestly, does this really matter?

 

To save $50 to buy the TLC non-pro 840 is like sawing your foot off to buy only one shoe.

Why pay SSD-like prices for HDD-like performance?

Honestly; ignore the 840 TLC SSD's - it's not the expected lifetime I would be worrying about. If the current/gen 'Pro' runs as good (bad) as a 2 year old M4 in real world use... I would hate to see what the mickey mouse TLC version runs like after a few weeks...


Yes, they're that bad. To be considered 'worth it' - they would need to be at least in the M500's pricing - but with their awful (sustained) performance; really need to be half price of what they're asking for now.

 

So it's down to m4 or 840 Pro again. You suggested the m4, but to my understanding (and from reviews), this fails much more often than the 840 Pro. Plus, Samsung has loads of nice software that makes migrating and updating firmware ridiculously simple and easy.

 

The latest M4 Firmware updater is very much 'top of class' imo.

Sure, the M4 has HAD more issues - it is also a two year older SSD... imo, it is a much better buy vs. the Samsung 840 Pro.

Other SSD's to consider at the 240/256GB size are the Sandisk Extreme and the Intel 520 Series SSD's. The Sandisk has no pretty 'toolbox' to offer, but the performance is very close to the Intel 520 and yesterday was available for $170 on sale (just wait - it'll be on sale again soon).


I am not a fan of the Samsung SSD's - they feel slow, lumbering and simply put - don't feel as 'optimized' as they should be in actual use. The 256GB 840 Pro is definitely the best of the Samsung's I have tried - but even this benchmark leading flagship is the last copy I'll buy - yeah, they're that underwhelming.


Reliability is only important for one person: you. You have to give it a try in your system and your workflow(s).

My M4's have been bullet proof since early 2011 - something I can't say (yet) for the 840 Pro I just bought a few months ago.

 

The M4 is the undisputed reliability king simply because of its age. Pretty much all of the issues have been found and ironed out already.
The Samsung 840 pro is a design that is based on an older Controller (the MCX series in the 830) with new NAND, there is technically a learning curve still left for samsung though I cannot deny their execution has been excellent. Reliability wise, I would say the M4 is the more "proven" design whereas the 840 pro has more cutting edge engineering.

I can personally vouch for the Samsung drive, I've used the Plextor m5s and the Samsung drive in the same machine. The plextor M5s drive is identical to the m4 down to the NAND used except the firmware is tuned for better Random Read performance at the cost of lower Random Write performance. Theoretically, this means the m5s will result in a snappier Windows interface than the M4.
The 840 pro and the M5s are very similar when it comes to most metrics except Random Read, Random Write and Sequential Write. The Samsung superior in all but you won't notice the Write speed improvement unless the stuff you are transferring from is not the bottleneck.
I can say the Samsung 840 pro feels snappier than the M5s, not by much but you can feel it. Its the little things like how it doesn't lag when you right click a file (the m5s doesn't return the same consistency in this regard) or when you wait for menus to appear (the m5s seems to have more variance).

However, I got the Plextor m5s for $175 (vs $270 for the 840 Pro) which tells you everything about how good the M5s (and by extension the M4) is value wise. I would say it boils down to price as . In Australia, the price is $219 for the m4 and the Samsung is $249 nowadays so the recommendation for the m4 is less clear (compared to a difference of $95 for me), I would say the snappier Windows is worth the $30 premium.