Crucial M4 firmware update to 0009

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btb

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I've just updated my M4 to the new firmware, straightforward enough. Details here Crucial

M4 users are in for a treat!

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Release Date: 08/25/2011
Change Log:

Changes made in version 0002 (m4 can be updated to revision 0009 directly from either revision 0001 or 0002)
Improved throughput performance.
Increase in PCMark Vantage benchmark score, resulting in improved user experience in most operating systems.
Improved write latency for better performance under heavy write workloads.
Faster boot up times.
Improved compatibility with latest chipsets.
Compensation for SATA speed negotiation issues between some SATA-II chipsets and the SATA-III device.
Improvement for intermittent failures in cold boot up related to some specific host systems.
 
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read through the change log looks very promising, I wait until someone verify a huge performance increase over the last firmware
 
absolutely impressive, no time to open up the case and switch to SATA II port to do the firmware upgrade now. maybe over the weekend. M4 is already the best ssd to buy now, with this huge increase performance, I'll buy another 256 GB.
 
Code: 
tests run by the wonderful..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1 x64 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
                           Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

against a 64GB crucial M4.

0001 firmware:

           Sequential Read :   413.313 MB/s
          Sequential Write :   102.600 MB/s
         Random Read 512KB :   372.131 MB/s
        Random Write 512KB :    96.850 MB/s
    Random Read 4KB (QD=1) :    25.786 MB/s [  6295.4 IOPS]
   Random Write 4KB (QD=1) :     3.287 MB/s [   802.6 IOPS]
   Random Read 4KB (QD=32) :   192.086 MB/s [ 46895.9 IOPS]
  Random Write 4KB (QD=32) :    55.052 MB/s [ 13440.4 IOPS]

  Test : 1000 MB [C: 44.4% (26.4/59.5 GB)] (x5)
  Date : 2011/07/27 3:30:03
    OS : Windows 7  SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)
  

0009 firmware:

           Sequential Read :   522.981 MB/s
          Sequential Write :   107.789 MB/s
         Random Read 512KB :   423.067 MB/s
        Random Write 512KB :   104.284 MB/s
    Random Read 4KB (QD=1) :    26.436 MB/s [  6454.2 IOPS]
   Random Write 4KB (QD=1) :    69.828 MB/s [ 17047.9 IOPS]
   Random Read 4KB (QD=32) :   207.896 MB/s [ 50755.9 IOPS]
  Random Write 4KB (QD=32) :   100.755 MB/s [ 24598.5 IOPS]

  Test : 1000 MB [C: 49.6% (29.5/59.5 GB)] (x5)
  Date : 2011/08/27 10:44:33
    OS : Windows 7  SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)


* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]
 
I jsut picked up one of these on sale and will upgrade to 0009 firmware immediately.

Can't... Friggin.. Wait. (first ssd)
 
just upgrade in AHCI mode, it work fine, big performance improvement. M4 is the best ssd money can buy now
 
icecpu said:
just upgrade in AHCI mode, it work fine, big performance improvement. M4 is the best ssd money can buy now
Click to expand...

Hey your sig is very close to mine (same ssd/proc/mobo).

You have any mouse stuttering on your M4? I don't generally get full system freezes, but I'm getting these mouse pauses intermittently that are annoying as hell. Mouse won't move for 2-3 secs or will just stutter as I try to do anything.
 
Darknyt said:
Hey your sig is very close to mine (same ssd/proc/mobo).

You have any mouse stuttering on your M4? I don't generally get full system freezes, but I'm getting these mouse pauses intermittently that are annoying as hell. Mouse won't move for 2-3 secs or will just stutter as I try to do anything.
Click to expand...

Is your ssd FW 002 or 009, if yes then do you have any device connected to USB 3.0??
I had mouse stuttering before when USB 3.0 device connect and using wireless mouse. it turn out to be the wireless mouse transmitter interfering with usb 3.0
 
icecpu said:
Is your ssd FW 002 or 009, if yes then do you have any device connected to USB 3.0??
I had mouse stuttering before when USB 3.0 device connect and using wireless mouse. it turn out to be the wireless mouse transmitter interfering with usb 3.0
Click to expand...

Shipped with FW 002. No devices connected to USB 3.0.

Do have a wireless Logitech Performance MX.

Interesting to note though, thanks for heads up in the future.
 
Darknyt said:
Shipped with FW 002. No devices connected to USB 3.0.

Do have a wireless Logitech Performance MX.

Interesting to note though, thanks for heads up in the future.
Click to expand...

You got the same mouse as me, how far is the transmitter to the mouse ? could be the mouse, try a non wireless mouse first
 
I've got 2 Logitech wireless mouses (g700, mx1100) but no USB 3.0 devices to see if they interfere.
 
icecpu said:
You got the same mouse as me, how far is the transmitter to the mouse ? could be the mouse, try a non wireless mouse first
Click to expand...

Will dig around for a corded mouse to confirm. It's been behaving the past day or so, fingers crossed.

Mouse is maybe 3 feet from tower under desk.
 
Okay, I'm guessing my gut knows the answer to this already, but does anyone know if this firmware flash works on a Mac? I'd really rather be lazy at work and not have to take the few we have out and find PCs to flash them on.
 
mpeg4v3 said:
Okay, I'm guessing my gut knows the answer to this already, but does anyone know if this firmware flash works on a Mac? I'd really rather be lazy at work and not have to take the few we have out and find PCs to flash them on.
Click to expand...

it should. it's just a bootable dos that has the flash utility in it. it doesn't rely on your existing operating system.
 
Seems the firmware is doing really good,

StorageReview Crucial m4 SSD Review (Firmware 0009)

Conclusion

It's nice to see Crucial fixing bugs and compatibility issues with the latest m4 firmware; but it's great to see the substantial performance boost across the board when it comes to read speeds. The firmware lived up to its claims of increasing sequential read speeds by 20% and surpassed that big step up in our real-world gaming trace with a boost in performance of 32%.

There were some areas where performance dropped, such as the server profile tests in areas with a mix of read and write activity. Given the client-focus of this drive, Crucial doesn't expect most users to notice changes in these types of areas. Instead, with most users putting more stress on read performance on a day to day basis, the gains the firmware focused on will outweigh the areas it might have subtracted from.

Overall we are very pleased with the firmware changes to the Crucial m4 and highly recommend applying the update. In fact, the performance increase coupled with likely best-in-class compatibility and aggressive pricing lead us to issue a post-release Editor's Choice to the Crucial m4.
Click to expand...
 
zod96 said:
I am returning my Corsair Force GT and getting the M4 :)
Click to expand...
Atm is drive to get, im just wating to see how Intel 520 or the Samsung 830 do, else im going with M4 to replace my x25m.
 
Can't wait to get me one of those. For now i'm gonna get a new motherboard with sata 3 ports to be ready for this baby.
 
Just picked one of these up in the buy.com sale. This is my first SSD and I plan on installing W7 on it soon. I already updated to firmware 0009, but is there any comprehensive or centrally located guide on how to properly setup your SSD once the OS is installed? I've heard about stuff like turning indexing off, but wasn't sure on what all else should be done to maximize its life/efficiency.
 
No, just make sure AHCI is set in your BIOS first and then install windows normally. Nothing else needs to be done.
 
Even with this new FW for the M4, I didn't see an improvement on the 4k random reads/writes when I had my 64GB drive. My C300 still bests it by at least 20MB/s
 
Burner27 said:
Even with this new FW for the M4, I didn't see an improvement on the 4k random reads/writes when I had my 64GB drive. My C300 still bests it by at least 20MB/s
Click to expand...
Way to many people are focusing on 4k these days, yes its important, but not the only thing to look on ssd, personally i prefer real scenario tests, where the M4 usually does better than the C300. Check HardwareHeaven real world tests (btw this is with the old firmware), windows and office installed faster, Outlook aswell, and even games like SC2, crysis, win7 loads, im not dishing the C300, its still a great ssd, but syntentic benchmarks, or thinking that 4k is what rules ssds is not accurate.
 
Abula said:
Way to many people are focusing on 4k these days, yes its important, but not the only thing to look on ssd, personally i prefer real scenario tests, where the M4 usually does better than the C300. Check HardwareHeaven real world tests (btw this is with the old firmware), windows and office installed faster, Outlook aswell, and even games like SC2, crysis, win7 loads, im not dishing the C300, its still a great ssd, but syntentic benchmarks, or thinking that 4k is what rules ssds is not accurate.
Click to expand...

I kind of feel like what you're referencing as "real-world tests" are more of the 1 time non-real-world uses, NOT everyday usage that most people experience. Sequential performance for initial setup and installation usually doesn't have as big a bearing for most people as 4k. In any case, either the m4 or the c300 seem to be at the head of the pack these days in terms of high performance with good reliability, while still having fantastic pricing. I don't think anyone is going wrong purchasing either of these drives.
 
My ssd benchmarks are low?:confused: I have a EVGA X58 Classified 4-Way SLI SATA 3Gb/s BIOS is set to AHCI.

m4.png
 
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Mike211 said:
My ssd benchmarks are low?:confused: I have a EVGA X58 Classified 4-Way SLI SATA 3Gb/s BIOS is set to AHCI.
Click to expand...
Results seem in line with Sata II, until you move into a Native Sata III (Sandy Bridge) you will not be able to unlock the M4 true potential.
 
Has anyone stuffed these M4's in a server to see if the world implodes?
 
we have at work on an lsi 9265 with fastpath. I believe it's a raid6 of 6 m4 drives, 64k stripe. it's good.

if you can afford it though, the raid10 is much better.
 
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