Crucial C400 256 GB

Crucial RealSSD C400 256GB

2011 was a very good year for SSDs. This year, every single new SSD released supported the SATA 6Gbps interface that finally puts the 6Gbps SATA connectors on our motherboard to full use. Unlike mechanical drives (which cannot saturate the bandwidth), SSDs are able to put the SATA III ports into great use offering exceptional performance. This year, three big SSD controllers dominated the landscape: the Marvell 88SS9174, SandForce SF-2000, and Indilinx Everest. Crucial was the first company to bring us a 6Gbps-compatible SSD: the C300 featuring the Marvell 9174 controller. Then at the beginning of 2011, the SandForce brought us their SF-2200 controller to the market. While the OCZ Vertex 3 was the first drive with such controller, various vendors, such as Silicon Image, Patriot, Corsair, and Kingston quickly followed the footstep and launched their own drives. Then, a few weeks ago, OCZ brought the Octane featuring the latest Indilinx Everest controller. Being the first with 6 Gbps controller, Crucial/Micron did not launch a new lineup this year, instead choosing to fine-tune the existing SATA III line, resulting in the newest iteration called the m4/C400.