The M4 does seem like a good deal at that price and the extra space would be handy! Are they considered as reliable as the Intel 330 and is there much in the way of real-world performance difference?
Yep,they're as reliable as Intel models because like I said,they use Marvel controllers
And it'll work fine on SATA 2 devices(but it's slower compared to SATA 3)
You might want to check out which is better for your application. http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage
Some "controllers handle different jobs better then another"
IE: SandForce Controllers do not handle non compressible files as good as Marvel or Lamb does. Lamb? I think it is....Samsung does good however the TLC has not been proven yet so that is why everyone is running to get an 830. However that 840 with the TLC triple lane if you will may be the cat's pajamas for all we know. To new to rate.