NP8130/P151HM1 - Intel 320 vs Crucial M4

I recently bought a 120gb Intel 320. My np8130 now boots amazingly fast and everything is just much snappier. However, I feel i could get better performance with a crucial m4, as it is SATA III.

1. I have heard there are compatibility issues with Crucial m4 and NP8130/P151HM1, something to do with the SATA III controller. Any truth to this?

2. Does anyone have the M4? Is it stable?

3. Will I notice any real world speed difference?

 

1) I have a p150hm and have no compatibility issues. Some users have needed to do an LPM fix.

2) I have the M4 and it is very stable. Great drive.

3) It will be very close. I would suggest just sticking with your current drive. With an M4 you might boot windows a little faster, but only by a second or two.

 

The drives currently having issues with the P151HM1 (and more generally, the HM65 and HM67 chipsets) are all Sandforce based models. Specifically, it's the Vertex III drives having issues. I haven't seen many complaints for any other models in particular.

I'd still recommend sticking with Intel for reliability and performance though

Switching from one SSD to another won't give you a very big real world difference, especially when compared to going from HDD to SSD. For the amount you'd spend bumping from SATA II to SATA III, you'll be disappointed with the performance change.

 

Another vote for Crucial C300 or M4. You may need the LPM fix.

 

Well, I wouldn't, as it's not a matter of choice between 320 vs. M4,

but "upgrading" to M4.

You will hardly notice the difference even if you upgrade with a high price tag, and if I were you, I would just stick with the Intel, as Intel is good at 4K writes and reads, which are most important when using an SSD.

Crucial is best, but if you already have the newest Intel, there is no practical reason to upgrade.

 

I vote for the Intel 320 with the Clevo-Sager models. This is what Clevo and Sager uses to test these systems.
_

 

Thanks for all the reponses. Too all those that said I shouldnt buy another ssd, I'm still in my 30 day return period. Worth returning and getting the cheaper M4? I want reliability over all, but I am also obsessed with boot speed. Just a second or 2 diff with SATA II?

 

What are your benchmark speeds?

Show us so we can gauge the difference..

 

Another vote for Intel. Their reliability is unrivaled. If something happens with the Crucial drive, you're going to wonder if you would have been fine with the Intel drive. Also, the performance difference isn't too much.

 

Realistically, yeah. You'll only see a second or two difference in boot times. Going from SSD to SSD doesn't amount to much. I'd stick with the Intel for reliability reasons.

 

Tom's Hardware wrote a piece on it, I'd suggest taking a look at it for specific benchmarks and such:

Crucial m4 And Intel SSD 320: The Other SSD Competitors : The Other 2011 Competitors

 

TL;DR: Crucial M4 > Intel 320, at least when it comes to performance for your money. Also keep in mind that Crucial's new firmware improves performance by quite a bit.