Introduction

Crucial, a subsidiary of Micron who is a world leader in memory and flash production has established itself on the solid state storage market with their C300 RealSSD for quite some time. Unlike many other manufacturers they are using a Marvell SSD controller instead of SandForce.
Crucial's new m4 SSD is based on the same design but uses 25 nm flash chips and an updated firmware that has been optimized over the previous generation's. The drive also has full support for the SATA 6 Gbps interface which promises increased performance, especially in linear transfer rates.

Packaging

Crucial has updated their color theme from a light brown to blue. This gives the package a fresh new look while also going nicely with the company's logo colors.


You will receive:

• The SSD
• Quick Install Guide

The Drive

The drive conforms to the dimensions set forth by the 2.5" form factor. Unlike many other SSDs, the m4 comes in a rugged metal casing that feels extremely solid and high quality.


Crucial's m4 SSD uses a SATA 6 Gbps interface to provided maximum throughput on newer generation motherboards with speeds up to 600 MB/s. It is compatible with any other SATA standard.


Crucial is using 16 flash chips, the Marvell flash controller and a DRAM chip which provides memory for the SSD controller.


As controller an updated revision of the Mavell 9174 flash controller is used, called BKK2.


The DRAM chip is made by Micron which is not surprising as that's Crucial's parent company.


The flash chips are made by Micron too and have a capacity of 8 GB each, they are produced on Micron's new 25 nm process node.