Crucial v4 (256GB) Review
by Kristian Vättö on November 22, 2012 1:01 PM ESTThe Crucial v4
Overall the drive shares a design similar to the m4, though the two are not alike. Even though the v4 is a budget SSD, the case is made out of metal.
The v4 packaging doesn't include any fancy add-ons: There is the drive and mounting screws.
Since Crucial is a subsidiary of Micron, it’s not surprising to find Micron’s NAND inside the v4. What is a bit surprising is that Crucial has opted to use only eight NAND packages in the 256GB model, even though there are sixteen NAND sockets on the PCB. Each package works out to be 32GB (4x 8GB die) and are manufactured using IMFT’s 25nm process. As the v4 is a budget and “stock cleaning” model, I wouldn’t be surprised to see varying NAND configurations even among the same capacities. If there is more demand for 32GB packages, Micron may opt for sixteen 16GB packages instead to be able to clear 25nm NAND stocks as efficiently as possible.
The Phison PS3105 is an 8-channel SATA 3Gbps controller, similar to most consumer grade controllers. It's fabricated using a 90nm process and comes in a 324-pin BGA package but further specifics about the controller are unkown. TRIM and Native Command Queuing (NCQ) are, however, supported. There is also 128MB of LPDDR-333 acting as a cache, which is the minimum for the PS3105. Those unfamiliar with the Phison name might find it interesting to hear that their controllers are often found in budget USB flash memory devices (where performance is often a minor concern).
Test System
| CPU |
Intel Core i5-2500K running at 3.3GHz (Turbo and EIST enabled) |
| Motherboard |
AsRock Z68 Pro3 |
| Chipset |
Intel Z68 |
| Chipset Drivers |
Intel 9.1.1.1015 + Intel RST 10.2 |
| Memory | G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3-1600 2 x 4GB (9-9-9-24) |
| Video Card |
XFX AMD Radeon HD 6850 XXX (800MHz core clock; 4.2GHz GDDR5 effective) |
| Video Drivers | AMD Catalyst 10.1 |
| Desktop Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| OS | Windows 7 x64 |
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beginner99 - Thursday, November 22, 2012 - link
or 1 TB version for cheap would be available this would make sense in a laptop. But at these small capacities and the performance, it is just not recommendable. I mean my intel G2 beats it in every aspect except write.Death666Angel - Thursday, November 22, 2012 - link
Yeah, pretty much my opinion, too. I've been looking to upgrade to a new SSD for a while. The Crucial v4 is sometimes cheaper, but not by much (10-20 € compared to decent SATA 6Gb/s drives), so that it isn't really worth it to me, even if all I have at the moment are SATA 3Gb/s controllers. :)Wolfpup - Thursday, December 13, 2012 - link
Glad I saw this review, I was expecting it to be so different from the M4. Personally I'd just go for an M4. Intel's 320 series is IMO one of the best drives on the market too, but it's just too expensive versus the M4. 520 is Sandforce...kinda bug fixed Sandforce but still....WooDaddy - Thursday, November 22, 2012 - link
I'm somewhat speechless at how horrible the performance of this SSD is for a NEW product.Kristian, IF you have the time, could you add the Velociraptor to the charts or just do a side-by-side comparison? There has to be some saving grace for this drive. I know you mentioned an order of magnitude better, but considering the rest of the field is 2x - 3x better in virtually every way, maybe it's still worth it over a traditional HDD. Maybe even a comparison against a hybrid drive like the Momentus XT as well.
Kristian Vättö - Thursday, November 22, 2012 - link
600GB VelociRaptor is included in some graphs but not all since we haven't run all tests on the VelociRaptor (e.g. increasing QD doesn't affect performance, so there is no need for a separate QD32 random write test).The best tool for comparison, as always, is our Bench: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/669?vs=182
jordanclock - Thursday, November 22, 2012 - link
The Bench tool is meant for just that kind of request.beginner99 - Thursday, November 22, 2012 - link
As you can see that comparison just shows how crappy hdds actually are. Even this POS is easy 10x faster in random write and 100x in random read...hnzw rui - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
Theoretical benches, sure. However, on the AnandTech 2010 Storage Bench, the VelociRaptor didn't perform as badly compared to an X25-M as the random 4K performance numbers would imply. I think a couple of mechanical drives (e.g. VelociRaptor and a standard 7200RPM HDD) should be benchmarked using the 2011 AnandTech Storage Bench and added to the bench tool for use as reference.Bubon - Thursday, November 22, 2012 - link
I am dissapointed. Older m4 is still better than the newer v4.Death666Angel - Thursday, November 22, 2012 - link
The newer v4 isn't meant as a replacement. That comment is like saying "my GTX 580 is still faster than the newer GT 640, damn!"....