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Real World: Crucial M4 vs. Vertex 4 vs. Samsung 830

teknikal90

teknikal90

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 28, 2008
3,440
2,217
Vancouver, BC
Hi all,

Never really bit the bullet for an SSD - reason being was that I realized that I couldn't justify spending $500 for a 512gb.
Now, however, I can get a 512GB M4 for $300. Much more palatable.
The vertex 4 and the 830 however are still in the $400+ range.
My question is, I know in benchmarks the V4 and the 830 beat the M4. Sometimes by a factor of 2x!
But is this something I should fret about? From someone who's never used SSDs, is 2x a tangible number? It sounds huge but I know for example, the 2x jump from the iPhone 3G to the 3GS is much more noticeable than the 2x jump from the 4S to the 5, just because the slow-ness was already really minute to begin with on the 4S.

Is this the case for SSDs?

Should I just wait it out for the prices to go down further to $300 for the Vertex 4?

Thanks all!

tek
 
Any current SSD will be a huge upgrade from a hard drive. I don't see the point in paying over $100 more for Vertex 4 or Samsung 830 - the M4 is fast enough.
 
Real world = no difference between them.
Benchmark world: The Vertex 4 is fastest then Samsung 830 then M4.
 
Orlandoech.com said:
This may help

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1442840/
Click to expand...

I actually saw your thread when I figured that 2x number.
That write speed is what I'm fretting about.
Is that something that I'll notice when transferring files, downloading, recording (I use Logic pro)
Keep in mind I'm talking real world here - I don't want to pay $100 so that my write speed takes 1 second vs. 2 seconds. Benchmark glory novelty only lasts so long :p

Thank you! and Hellhammer, thanks, I'm really leaning towards the M4 now

edit: just so I can wrap my head around this. The Crucial is posting 500mbs read and around 250mbps write
what are the numbers for a 7200rpm drive?
 
So
2x HDD = Crucial M4
2x Crucial M4 = Vertex 4


Hard to think that the difference in the M4 and the vertex is negligible in real world when you put it that way.. But anyway, I trust you guys :)
 
Raw speed is not everything... reliability is also important.
Although OCZ makes fast SSDs, they are also known to died extremely fast.
They have indeed made some improvements over the years, but still not where they should be.

PS: Also, 1 Vertex is not really twice as fast as an m4. It's faster, but no where near twice the speed.
 
teknikal90 said:
So
2x HDD = Crucial M4
2x Crucial M4 = Vertex 4


Hard to think that the difference in the M4 and the vertex is negligible in real world when you put it that way.. But anyway, I trust you guys :)
Click to expand...

It's 2x only in certain tests. Sequential write speed isn't the only measure of performance, it's actually fairly pointless as most IOs are random and small in size.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/355?vs=640

The Light Storage Suite score is what you should look at since it's the most relevant for consumers. V4 and M4 are the same.
 
As far as I'm concerned AnandTech is the best tech site out there. Ars is good too but amazing site you have there.
Thanks for that. I'm sold on the M4.
 
Also helpful for you to read.
http://thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/beginners-guide/the-ssd-manufacturers-bluff/

Basically 4K random writes are what a boot drive uses 60% or more of the time. Sequential is almost meaningless. The faster the 4K random writes the faster the SSD will feel under normal use. Since reads usually keep pace or surpass this it is less of an indicator. Doesn't matter the link speed either. 1.5Gb, 3.0Gb, 6.0Gb. Fastest tested 4K random write is about 125MB/s not even close to saturating SATA2. I think it is the Samsung 840. A mechanical HDD can barely get 2MB/s for reference and that is for a 10,000RPM Raptor.
 
I personally like the M4, but its firmware issues are too significant compared to the 830 or V4.
 
derbothaus said:
Also helpful for you to read.
http://thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/beginners-guide/the-ssd-manufacturers-bluff/

Basically 4K random writes are what a boot drive uses 60% or more of the time. Sequential is almost meaningless. The faster the 4K random writes the faster the SSD will feel under normal use. Since reads usually keep pace or surpass this it is less of an indicator. Doesn't matter the link speed either. 1.5Gb, 3.0Gb, 6.0Gb. Fastest tested 4K random write is about 125MB/s not even close to saturating SATA2. I think it is the Samsung 840. A mechanical HDD can barely get 2MB/s for reference and that is for a 10,000RPM Raptor.
Click to expand...
Based on that then:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/355?vs=640

The Vertex 4 is indeed almost twice as fast as the M4.
 
I'd get the 830 and V4 before the M4 but That's me. M4 write speeds are retarded slow and the firmware has too significant of issues.
 
If you wait for the price of the V4 and 830 to come down there will be a faster ssd by the time you decide to buy one so then you will have to wait for that to come down in price at which point there will be a faster ssd than that one etc....

So just go for it and get the M4.

I went from a HDD to a SSD recently and i am so happy i did.
 
Bez59 said:
If you wait for the price of the V4 and 830 to come down there will be a faster ssd by the time you decide to buy one so then you will have to wait for that to come down in price at which point there will be a faster ssd than that one etc....

So just go for it and get the M4.

I went from a HDD to a SSD recently and i am so happy i did.
Click to expand...

True dat true dat.
I'll use this weekend to mull it over.
Thanks guys!
 
teknikal90 said:
Based on that then:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/355?vs=640

The Vertex 4 is indeed almost twice as fast as the M4.
Click to expand...

Yes but as other posters have mentioned it is unlikely to be really felt all that much. I know it will not feel twice as fast. Maybe 10% faster. If you can afford it get it but there are so many other limitations on a system that most likely get in the way of real world difference between these SSD's. I'd use a more practical metric for choosing like firmware and stability over testable speed. The difference between SSD's is much smaller than the disparity of just going solid state over hard disk. Besides next month a faster SSD will emerge and everything will slip into a cheaper category. If you can get by with a dual SSD/HDD system (Loose your DVD drive) you can get more for your money in the 240/250/256GB densities. Going to 500+GB makes the prices and choice more difficult.
 
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