The Crucial M4 SSD thread

[J.Appleseed]

Thanks for sharing the info, I am about to get a 512GB M4 for my early 2011 15" MBP; & am a bit concerned about your long shutdown time, is it normal?

It sure is not normal, but it also seems to vary. Whereas previously it would take that long most of the time, the computer now shuts down quite quick (less than 5 seconds) in most situations.

I have no idea what it is, but it seems to be gone now.

 

[Krafty]

1) Screen grab of BlackMagic Design's Disk Speed Test of your original HDD (before) and Crucial M4 SSD (after)

Previous HDD (Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB)
http://cl.ly/image/0s2f1c1f3R3R

Current SSD (Crucial m4 512GB)
http://cl.ly/image/2D2z2P0u1T1H

2) Hardware overview from "System Information" namely

• 17" Mid-2010 Macbook Pro
• MacBookPro6,1
• Intel Core i5
• 2.53GHz
• 8GB 1067MHz DDR3
• 4.8 GT/s
• 3 Gigabit
• TRIM: Off
• Snow Leopard 10.6.8 (Build 10K549)

4) Info on the Crucial M4 SSD.

• 512GB
• Main HD Bay, No Optical Bay
• Firmware: 040H

 

[fungus]

I realize this is a MacBook Pro thread, but thought I'd share my experience using two M4s in RAID 0 on my Mac Pro.

1) Screen grabs: see below

2) Hardware overview
- 2012
- MacPro5,1
- Quad-Core Intel Xeon
- 3.2 GHz
- 24 GB DDR3 ECC 1066 MHz
- 4.8 GT/s
- 3 Gigabit/1.5 Gigabit
- TRIM: Off
- OS X 10.8.2 (12C60)

3) Info on the Crucial M4 SSD
- 512 GB (x2)
- Bays 1 & 2
- Firmware version 040H

4) RAID 0

I ordered both of my M4s from Amazon, but one came with the latest firmware (040H) and the other with the previous (010G). I didn't notice until after I created the RAID set and cloned my system back 😱 As a point of information, I searched up and down today for any confirmation whether or not it would be possible to update the firmware on a drive while still in RAID (which led me to this thread). I didn't find anything terribly useful, but I gave it a shot anyway and can now confirm that it works just fine. After booting off the ISO CD, it recognized that one M4 was current and offered to update the other. Easy peasy.

 

[fungus]

And here is the info on my older MacBook Pro:

1) Screen grabs: see below

2) Hardware overview
- 2008
- MacBookPro4,1
- Intel Core 2 Duo
- 2.5 GHz
- 6 GB DDR2 667 MHz
- 800 MHz
- 1.5 Gigabit/1.5 Gigabit
- TRIM: On
- OS X 10.8.2 (12C60)

3) Info on the Crucial M4 SSD
- 256 GB
- Main Bay
- Firmware version 0009 (probably should update that)

 

[Obsidian6]

I have a mid-'12 2.7Ghz i7 Macbook Pro (non-Retina) with 16GB of RAM (Crucial actually) and the 256GB M4 as a boot drive. I have since ordered a 512GB M4 for a secondary drive and I'm awaiting its arrival.

I have had zero issues with this drive in the 6+ months I've owned it, no sleep problems or errors to speak of, but I have never been able to update the firmware. I don't have a working optical drive, and I've never been able to successfully create a bootable USB drive with the firmware ISO file so my drive is still on 000F.

The drive that came with my MBP was a 1TB 5400rpm drive, and boy is this noticeably faster.

 

[strauss884]

I just bought one on New Egg on sale($150) earlier in the week. I installed it in my mid 20009 MBP and I couldn't be happier. I'm not sure how it compares to Samsung but I'm thrilled. It feels like new again. Almost makes me regret buying a new imac, because my laptop is so much faster now.

 

[Doc. Caliban]

I am looking to purchase a 512GB M4. What is the difference between these three part numbers at newegg?

Thank you,

-Doc

 

[yusukeaoki]

I am looking to purchase a 512GB M4. What is the difference between these three part numbers at newegg?

Thank you,

-Doc

The CT128M4SSD2 is the bare drive.
The CT128M4SSD2CCA includes a USB to SATA cable and some transfer software.
The CT128M4SSD2BAA includes a 3.5" adapter bracket and screws.
Thus the meaning of "CCA" and "BAA". The same M4 SSD is included in each product.

 

[Gianmarco]

Question.

Price aside, what made you guys opt for this instead of the Samsun 840 Pro equivalent? Especially since the write speeds are about half that of the 840 pro.

 

[Tenashus1]

Question.

Price aside, what made you guys opt for this instead of the Samsun 840 Pro equivalent? Especially since the write speeds are about half that of the 840 pro.

Firmware upgrade availability. Price. Speed differences not purported to be noticeable in everyday use.