Can't decide on SSD! Intel 510 250GB vs Crucial M4 256GB

[Trist_58]

Hello everybody. I know this question has been discussed quite a bit here in the past, but I still havn't found a difinitive answer. So here it is : Im ready to order one of two SSD's

1: Intel 510 250GB ($649)

or

2: Crucial M4 256GB ($529)

The Crucial is cheaper and arguably faster but I have read that the Intel is more reliable which is more important to me (need a solid basis for my 3D Animation and Video/Compositing work). Anyone who has experience with these drives please give me some advice. You can look at benchmarks till you're blue in the face but nothing can replace actual experience. So keeping in mind that both common random read/writes AND sequentials (for video editing etc) are important to me...Which one is the better SSD??

 

[Ubrales]

Intel! Better performance, better reliability! Based on tech reviews.

 

[Trist_58]

thanks mate!

 

[Ubrales]

You are welcome!

When I go SSD, it will be Intel, based on performance as well as good value for money! And it will be 250 GBs for me.

 

[Trist_58]

Yep, looks like a winner. I actually already have a couple of 64gb c300's and although they are great, now that im restructuring my setup I just wanted to get the best ssd possible...

 

[Ubrales]

Yep, looks like a winner. I actually already have a couple of 64gb c300's and although they are great, now that im restructuring my setup I just wanted to get the best ssd possible...

If you can wait until Black Friday 2011, some great deals can be had. I am going to closely watch prices this Black Friday.

 

[Trist_58]

When is that exactly?.....I dont actually live in the States (try the other side of the globe) so im not sure if that would be the same here. Anyway thanks for the tip, I think ill do a little more research to see if i should wait for a better deal. Cheers.

 

[Ubrales]

When is that exactly?.....I dont actually live in the States (try the other side of the globe) so im not sure if that would be the same here. Anyway thanks for the tip, I think ill do a little more research to see if i should wait for a better deal. Cheers.

We have 'Thanksgiving Day' which is always on the last Thursday of November. The next day, Friday, kicks off the Christmas/New Year/Hanukkah/Holidays season. This is also the largest shopping day in the US. Sometimes, just this one day accounts for up to 40% of the annual sales.

Most of the year, the merchants' accounting books are in the 'red', but after this Friday's huge sales, the books go from the 'red ink' to 'black ink' - hence the term 'Black Friday'. And all merchants vie for business on this day. Stores open at 3 A.M. to let in the huge lines of shoppers camping out in the parking lot. Absolute mayhem!

The online shopping starts at 12:00 Midnight. Superb deals on everything!

 

[Trist_58]

Right. Cool. Anyway, I think I'll sleep on it and take a fresh look in the morning. I was really looking forward to have my new ssd by the end of the week but its always good to have a more clear judgement of things when spending this kind of dough. Thanks again and if anyone else has a different take on the matter I encourage you to participate in this thread...

 

[Trist_58]

Hmm, the plot thickens. Actually the plan was to use this ssd as a space for all of my software and use one of my existing c300's for video etc. What im not sure of is if the new ssd being the drive whos programs actually generate the animation to be stored on the the c300, would it be more advantageous to get somthing with better sequentials (Intel) or randoms (Crucial) in order to get the best relationship between the two drives... Right now im leaning towards the Crucial M4 for randoms that will make my 3D design s/w more responsive. Thanks for the input, Gene O, I know you have been following some of my posts over the last few days

 

[Trist_58]

What it comes down to for me is that my 3D design/animation software would benefit more from random read/writes than sequentials. This would be evident with greater responsiveness within the software. Even at rendering time, I usually have my video saved frame by frame as an image stream so I would think that a focus on sequentials would be wasted here. To summarize, as far as I know, software such as 3dsmax reads/writes many small peices of information as it functions as opposed to large sequentials. So that does it, im getting the Crucial M4 256gb. If you disagree with my logic, please let me know as I am ready to buy pretty much right now. Thanks all for your help!

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Since you will be working with images, videos, and file archives you might want to look at this:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4421/the-2011-midrange-ssd-roundup/3

 

[Trist_58]

Thanks Johnny, I bought the M4 yesterday. Will post the level of satisfaction I have by the end of the week!

 

[RetiredChief]

^ good choice Trist, Got my M4 128 gig and installed in my lattop last week.
While Intel has much better reliability, tha was based on previous generations. The 510 is the first Intel to yous a 3rd party controller, marvel. Only major diff between the two is the firmware.

 

[whysobluepandabear]

WTF? No dude.


You're going to drop so much more on the Intel. Buy a $39 500GB HDD that automatically backs up everything on the SSD. If the SSD dies, it'll be under warranty and the data will be backed up.



You're probably not going to keep it longer than 3 years. SSDs in 3 years should be double the size at least, for a lot LESS.

 

[Trist_58]

Thanks man I hear what u r saying. I have already bought the M4 and after much deliberation I think its the best solution for my needs. I currently have a 500GB HDD installed that I constantly back up to so im really not worried about losing data. I know that the ssd technology will improve in the coming years but honestly what part of a computer isn't made inferior by its successor within months of its release? What it comes down to is that I needed a solution now and crucial provided the best solution. As far as the M4 vs Intel 510 debate goes, well I dont need high sequentials for this drive, I am using 3D design software from it so random read/write performance is the priority. Thank's to everyone that contributed to this discussion and I'll post my first impressions of the M4 256GB within 48hrs.

 

[Ubrales]

'.. within 48 hours..'? Why so long?

 

[scotth53]

I would go with the M4 if I were you.

 

[Trist_58]

Just finished the partition of the M4. Need to install my software to see how it goes, but pretty confident I bought the right drive. Thanks again to all who contributed

 

[Trist_58]

Ok, so I have all my software setup on the new M4 and I have to say im pretty impressed. I havn't done any specific benchmarking but I can tell that there is a significant increase in responsiveness compared to my old 64gb C300 (which was already pretty good). 3DS Max loads up faster, Zbrush in a flash and as far as games go, The Witcher 2 runs very smoothly at a high level of detail, also a marked improvement. Of course this is a brand new drive and the 256GB model is known for being faster than the 64GB but I couldn't ask for a better setup. Over all, Im very satisfied with the drive. I hope this thread helps anyone who may be in the same situation I was in. Cheers.