Intel 320 80gb vs crucial m4 64gb

[khevs143]

Hello, I'm buying a new ssd for my netbook.

Which is better from the 2? Intel 320 costs $40 more than the crucial m4 however it has bigger space.
Comparing the two, the Crucial m4 is on sata III which my netbook is compatible with however the intel 320 is on sata II.
In terms of speed, the Crucial m4 is faster read at 415 mbps while Intel 320 is at 270 mbps write speeds are quite similar though.
I was going to buy the Crucial m4 @ 64gb however a friend at the local store recommended me the Intel 320, is it really worth the $40?
Im just after speeds so size won't matter.
Or are there any more suggestions for a 60-80gb ssd at the price range $100 - $150?



EDIT: Well reliability is also an issue for me, since both drives use the MLC technology, can anyone predict how long would they last?

 

[sminlal]

According to this report of PC component failure rates, Intel drives have a failure rate that's about 4 or more times better than the other vendors. This is an old report and the current drives aren't rated, but it does show a pattern which could well apply to current drives. If reliability is more important to you than performance then my recommendation would be to go with the Intel drive. I chose one for that reason, and I've been very satisfied with it.

 

[tecmo34]

Even the Intel 320 isn't without issues, unfortunately : http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-SSD-320-Series-reportedly-failing-due-to-major-bug.57387.0.html

However, I agree with sminlal that Intel's track record is the best & with a 5 year warranty you can top it.

 

[RetiredChief]

Concur with both - and Intel does not seem to stick there head in the sand when a "Fix" is needed - unlike some any say "it effects less than 1 %.
That said, I'd have to pass on the 320 until the bug is fixed - hate to load it up and then have the size decrease to 8 mb.

Added
Might also look at power consumption since this is going in a netbook.

 

[sminlal]

Even the Intel 320 isn't without issues, unfortunately : Interesting]http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-SSD-320-Series-reportedly-failing-due-to-major-bug.57387.0.html

Interesting - hadn't heard about that one. Hopefully they'll get a firmware fix out and provide a way to update drives that doesn't disturb their contents.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that they're using a third-party controller in that drive?

 

[RetiredChief]

^ Caught the problem on CDRinf the first of the week.
The 320 still uses an Intel controller, the 510 uses a marvel controller.

 

[sminlal]

Ah, so they had the problem even though they were using their own controller. Whoops!

 

[khevs143]

MTBF of crucial m4 says 1,200,000 hours = a lifetime. is this true enough?
Should I stick with Mechanical HDs?

 

[khevs143]

Best answer selected by khevs143.