Samsung 830 128 gb or Crucial M4 256 gb SSD

[matthewtesoro]

Hello,
I am currently in a dilemma. I am looking to purchase a SSD for a mac mini (mid 2010) and am not sure which size to go with:

As of 6/6/12 on Amazon:

Samsung 830 128 GB - $140 (Desktop Kit)
Crucial M4 256 GB - $180

Obviously, for $40 bucks more the Crucial sounds like a no brainer but I have read a lot of good things about Samsung's 830 line and I am also unsure if I really need the 256 gb? I assume it would be good to have.

To note:
I have used 78 gb of my current 320 HDD so far. Occasionally I edit videos (iMovie is sufficient) and future applications I might add would be Windows (Word, Excel, Powerpoint).

Please help with some suggestions!

 

[Dereck47]

Go for the Crucial M4. A 256GB SSD will have more NAND chips in it than a 128GB SSD, which equates to better performance.
So you will have better performance in addition to larger capacity for $40.

 

[fantastik250]

I agree. Also, there is also a slight performance increase between the 128 and 256 versions. Getting more space for an SSD is well worth it. Get the Crucial M4 256GB.

 

[eXistenZ]

Yea, go for more space. I have the 128GB 830 and because I rarely delete anything my SSD doesn't TRIM as much as it should. I read an article where they had a 512 GB SSD with half of it as overprovisioning in order to prevent this problem. What I mean is that it was an extreme example in a series of tests and benchmarks. Anyway, with a lot more space you will have better performance (no write amplification) and better wear leveling. And this would be in addition to (perhaps slightly) better performance (as per specs, e.g., 4k rand reads).

I wish I had bought a 256gb, of course. A lot of this is just price points, once you have settled on reliable SSDs.