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Crucial M4 or Intel 320?

seong

seong

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 11, 2010
1,031
28
http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Media-Crucial-2-5-Inch-CT128M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JKZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311582359&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-SATA-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B004U8ZHY2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311582394&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Internal-Cables-Technology-2-5-Inch/dp/B00486UR2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311584208&sr=8-1

I've been thinking of going all in SSD, and have the internal 500GB as portable external HDD. Unfortunately, the only reliable SSDs available in Amazon Japan are these three (others are A-DATA and CFD.) I found the same product on Amazon.com so you guys can help me out. I was about to order the Momentus XT, but they told me the stock will arrive in December, or even mid-2012, and I'm not planning to wait that long.
Although I'm a somewhat spec geek (well, that's the only reason I'm buying the SSDs, right?) I do not care about the speed difference between the SSDs. All I want is fast, but a reliable SSD that will last for next two to three years.

Any thoughts? (Remember, I have no other options, except Samsung 470 64GB. The storage isn't just big enough for me.)
 
Last edited:
Hellhammer

Hellhammer

Moderator emeritus
Dec 10, 2008
22,164
582
Finland
At least at some point, Crucial dropped 2011 MBPs from supported setups due to issues. I don't know is this still the case but I would go with the Intel one, it has shown to be fairly issue-free and reliable.
 
seong

seong

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 11, 2010
1,031
28
Hellhammer said:
At least at some point, Crucial dropped 2011 MBPs from supported setups due to issues. I don't know is this still the case but I would go with the Intel one, it has shown to be fairly issue-free and reliable.
Click to expand...

Alright. I'll take that into account.
 
P

Philflow

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2008
1,276
3
Hellhammer said:
At least at some point, Crucial dropped 2011 MBPs from supported setups due to issues. I don't know is this still the case but I would go with the Intel one, it has shown to be fairly issue-free and reliable.
Click to expand...

It's not the case anymore. The situation has reversed.

Crucial updated the firmware to nr.2 which works perfect with the MBP.

Intel has serious problems with the current firmware. Until this has been fixed by Intel I wouldn't buy it. More info:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Inte...rmware-Bug-that-Causes-Data-Loss-210809.shtml
http://communities.intel.com/message/131623#131623
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1190829/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1190378/
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12919013/
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12920127/
 
seong

seong

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 11, 2010
1,031
28
Philflow said:
It's not the case anymore. The situation has reversed.

Crucial updated the firmware to nr.2 which works perfect with the MBP.

Intel has serious problems with the current firmware. Until this has been fixed by Intel I wouldn't buy it. More info:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Inte...rmware-Bug-that-Causes-Data-Loss-210809.shtml
http://communities.intel.com/message/131623#131623
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1190829/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1190378/
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12919013/
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12920127/
Click to expand...

oh man.....
That...doesn't look good :eek:
 
P

Philflow

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2008
1,276
3
Yeah Intel 320 is not a safe buy right now imo.

Intel X25-m is fully stable though. Its firmware is very mature and it uses 34nm NAND. Very reliable SSD. It's significantly slower than Crucial M4 though.
 
Y

yousifabdullah

Cancelled
Jul 19, 2011
127
3
Philflow said:
Yeah Intel 320 is not a safe buy right now imo.

Intel X25-m is fully stable though. Its firmware is very mature and it uses 34nm NAND. Very reliable SSD. It's significantly slower than Crucial M4 though.
Click to expand...

I was about to ask this. Thank you for the information, I'll look for a Intel X25-M SSD then. Any word on TRIM support in Lion? Or is it still limited to Apple SSDs?
 
P

Philflow

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2008
1,276
3
yousifabdullah said:
I was about to ask this. Thank you for the information, I'll look for a Intel X25-M SSD then. Any word on TRIM support in Lion? Or is it still limited to Apple SSDs?
Click to expand...

Officially only Apple SSD.

But you can use the TRIM enabler hack on other SSDs.

PS. Crucial M4 is also reliable.
 
N

nizmoz

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2008
1,410
2
Hellhammer said:
At least at some point, Crucial dropped 2011 MBPs from supported setups due to issues. I don't know is this still the case but I would go with the Intel one, it has shown to be fairly issue-free and reliable.
Click to expand...

Firmware 2 on Crucial M4 works just fine. Many here have it also. FW 1 is the one with the issues. Also very reliable and fast.

Lion, and Trim working too.
 
K

kappaknight

macrumors 68000
Mar 5, 2009
1,595
91
Atlanta, GA
Has anyone been able to upgrade the m4's firmware by using a Mac? I tried it a few times with my MBP but it won't recognize that disk as a bootable drive.
 
fat jez

fat jez

macrumors 68020
Jun 24, 2010
2,083
614
Glasgow, UK
kappaknight said:
Has anyone been able to upgrade the m4's firmware by using a Mac? I tried it a few times with my MBP but it won't recognize that disk as a bootable drive.
Click to expand...

Yes, no trouble at all. Opened the iso using Disk Utility and burnt it to a DVD then booted from that and updated the firmware.
 
N

nizmoz

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2008
1,410
2
kappaknight said:
Has anyone been able to upgrade the m4's firmware by using a Mac? I tried it a few times with my MBP but it won't recognize that disk as a bootable drive.
Click to expand...

Worked on my MBP. You make a CD from the ISO and it boots like any other MAC/PC from it.
 
Fry-man22

Fry-man22

macrumors 6502
Nov 25, 2007
455
26
From what I read, I really like the Crucial M4 you mention in the title. I don't have it but if I were to pony up the $$$ today that would be what I'd buy.
 
Fry-man22

Fry-man22

macrumors 6502
Nov 25, 2007
455
26
dp84 said:
speaking about the m4, you mean CT128M4SSD2 and CT256M4SSD2 ?
Click to expand...

Pretty sure the only difference in those two models is capacity - controller and type of flash is the exact same. I personally would opt for 256GB.

There is also an M4 being sold with a data transfer kit, this one has a different model number/SKU than the other retail one, but it is the same drive part as far as I can tell.
 
D

dp84

macrumors member
Aug 14, 2010
51
0
Fry-man22 said:
Pretty sure the only difference in those two models is capacity - controller and type of flash is the exact same. I personally would opt for 256GB.

There is also an M4 being sold with a data transfer kit, this one has a different model number/SKU than the other retail one, but it is the same drive part as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...

of course between those two models will only change the capacity;
I'm asking because if you search a m4 by Manufacturer/model and you put in Apple / MBP 2011 the Part Number is: CT1895121 and not CT128M4SSD2

so what's the difference?
 
Fry-man22

Fry-man22

macrumors 6502
Nov 25, 2007
455
26
dp84 said:
of course between those two models will only change the capacity;
I'm asking because if you search a m4 by Manufacturer/model and you put in Apple / MBP 2011 the Part Number is: CT1895121 and not CT128M4SSD2

so what's the difference?
Click to expand...

One would think that if you wanted to know the difference in those two you would have posted an instance of each type, I logically answered the question you asked.

As for the second comparison involving the Mac specific part, so far as I can see the only difference is I can buy the M4SSD2 part from multiple retailers and the Mac specific part you posted is only available from crucial.com.
 
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