Famed for its quality memory modules, Crucial has also become a trusted name in the solid-state drive business. Its RealSSD C300 made waves back in 2010 as the first consumer SSD series to natively support 6Gb/s SATA, though at $600 for the 256GB model, it was too pricey for most.

The company has since offered various successful upper-end products, including the M4 (2011's C300 successor) as well as the M500/M500DC for enthusiasts and data centers. However, Crucial's entry-level efforts have been less than laudable to date. In fact, the biggest hitch along the company's road has been its budget-minded v4 series.