New
Crucial M4 256GB SATA III 2.5"
Capacity 256GB
Form Factor 2.5"
Interface SATA III
Read Speed 500 MB/s
NAND MLC
21 Overall Score
No current retailer price
Snapshot
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Strong affordability (90th percentile) 90th
- Strong feature (72nd percentile) 72nd
Cons
- Below average speed (4th percentile)
- Below average social proof (14th percentile)
- Below average capacity (18th percentile)
- Below average endurance (30th percentile)
The proof
Performance
Specifications
Full Specifications
Drive
| Capacity | 256 |
| Form Factor | 2.5" |
| Interface | SATA III |
| Protocol | SATA |
| External | No |
Performance
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | 500 |
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | 260 |
| Random Read (IOPS) | 45000 |
| Random Write (IOPS) | 50000 |
Hardware
| NAND | MLC |
| Controller | Marvell |
Reliability
| MTBF (hours) | 1200000 |
vs Competition
| Spec | Crucial M4 | MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO | Corsair MP700 Elite | Samsung 990 EVO | Western Digital WD Blue SN5100 | Kingston KC3000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 256GB | 1TB | 1TB | 2TB | 1TB | 1TB |
| Form Factor | 2.5" | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | SATA III | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Seq Read | 500 MB/s | 7,400 MB/s | 10,000 MB/s | 5,000 MB/s | 7,100 MB/s | 7,000 MB/s |
| Nand Type | MLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC |
| Dram Cache | - | true | false | false | false | true |
| Endurance | - | 3000 TBW | 600 TBW | 1200 TBW | 600 TBW | 800 TBW |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | Speed | Random | Feature | Capacity | Endurance | Social Proof | Affordability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crucial M4 | 3.5 | 37.3 | 71.5 | 17.8 | 30.1 | 13.7 | 89.7 |
| MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO Compare | 93.9 | 81 | 93.9 | 55.4 | 98.6 | 95.3 | 43.9 |
| Corsair MP700 Elite Compare | 95.1 | 97 | 85.6 | 55.4 | 87.3 | 95.3 | 43.9 |
| Samsung 990 EVO Compare | 72.4 | 90.5 | 78.5 | 78.5 | 82.9 | 95.3 | 55.2 |
| Western Digital WD Blue SN5100 Compare | 87 | 95.7 | 78.5 | 55.4 | 88.1 | 95.3 | 54.7 |
| Kingston KC3000 Compare | 81.4 | 93.2 | 93.9 | 55.4 | 93 | 87.1 | 41.5 |
Price
Value & Pricing
We started tracking prices for this product on Nov 8, 2026. The chart appears once we have more data.
Usage Scores
- Overall21.1
- Budget59.7
- Gaming13.4
- Laptop16.7
- Console5.6
- Portable3.5
- Workstation23.4
A full written review is coming soon. The specs, scores, prices and charts above are always up to date.
