256GB Crucial M4 2.5" SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive SSD (CT256M4SSD2) $150 + Free Shipping (Ebay Daily Deal)

These are the average read speeds for drives in this bracket. The M4 is at 78% of the speed of the 840. (We are not talking the 840 pro which is significantly more expensive). None of these are at 500. I'm assuming by mechanical drives you are referring to the Velociraptor drives, since any drive using a hybrid SSD built in won't count.

Samsung Serie 830 256GB 2.5" CXM03B1Q 323.80 MB/s
Crucial m4 256GB 2.5" 0009 278.13 MB/s
Intel 520 Series 240GB 2.5" 400i 286.56 MB/s
Samsung Serie 840 250GB 2.5" DXT06B0Q 357.16 MB/s

these are the average write speeds

Samsung Serie 830 256GB 2.5" CXM03B1Q 257.68 MB/s
Crucial m4 256GB 2.5" 0009 191.45 MB/s
Intel 520 Series 240GB 2.5" 400i 254.11 MB/s
Samsung Serie 840 250GB 2.5" DXT06B0Q 206.26 MB/s

Yes, the M4 is the slowest, but really? 278 vs 357 when the average read/write is only a few hundred MB during boot. How often are you doing large read/write cycles?

Then you add in actual boot times, can you measure 0.2 seconds of difference in real world use?

Samsung Serie 830 256GB 2.5" CXM03B1Q 9.4 s
Crucial m4 256GB 2.5" 0009 9.1 s
Intel 520 Series 240GB 2.5" 400i 11.3 s
Samsung Serie 840 250GB 2.5" DXT06B0Q 9.3 s

Or starting photoshop for the first time when it needs to initialize (notice the 840 actually loses this one, but not by a measure anyone will notice at 0.6 seconds.

Samsung Serie 830 256GB 2.5" CXM03B1Q 2.2 s
Crucial m4 256GB 2.5" 0009 2.0 s
Intel 520 Series 240GB 2.5" 400i 4.4 s
Samsung Serie 840 250GB 2.5" DXT06B0Q 2.6 s

More real world numbers here - http://www.ssdreview.com/review/c...llife.html

Even on average power consumption, the difference is negligible and this is an area a mobile user is really going to care about.

Samsung Serie 830 256GB 2.5" CXM03B1Q 0.14 Watts
Crucial m4 256GB 2.5" 0009 0.45 Watts
Intel 520 Series 240GB 2.5" 400i 0.81 Watts
Samsung Serie 840 250GB 2.5" DXT06B0Q 0.09 Watts

What about temperature under load, this is actually significant. 88F vs 107F for the M4 vs the 840.

Samsung Serie 830 256GB 2.5" CXM03B1Q 43.8 °C
Crucial m4 256GB 2.5" 0009 31.3 °C
Intel 520 Series 240GB 2.5" 400i 26.3 °C
Samsung Serie 840 250GB 2.5" DXT06B0Q 41.9 °C

My point is, any of them are fine options. Some do better than others in every test. No one drive wins. Buy the one with the lowest price, update the firmware, don't look back.

Very curious about the power consumption because while I already own one of these for my desktop, I was going to purchase another for a laptop. Do you think there would be a decent difference in terms of battery life improvement between the M4 and the Samsung SSD's?

I grabbed one yesterday. Been watching since late fall and this ties the lowest for a 240-256GB drive without rebates. Yes, they will probably get cheaper through the year, but I'm tired of waiting. Regardless of any perceived performance advantage the Samsung 840 might have, it is still a simple matter of TLC vs MLC. MLC will last longer no doubt. For the same money, I will buy MLC every time.

does this come with the installation kit?

FYI for any who bought this. Mine just came with the latest firmware so no updating needed.