Corsair MP700 Micro 4TB SSD Review

1. Introduction2. Corsair MP700 Micro 4TB3. Testing Methodology4. CrystalDiskMark5. ATTO Disk Benchmark6. AS SSD7. 128KB Sequential Performance8. 4K Random Read v QD Performance9. 4K Random Write v QD Performance10. 4K 70/30 Mixed Performance11. 4K Random Performance QD1-QD812. Throughput13. PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark14. 3DMark Storage Benchmark 15. Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Official Benchmark16. Temperatures17. Real Life File Testing18. Closing Thoughts19. View All Pages

Corsair already offers a number of small format SSDs, including the MP600 Mini and Core Mini (M.2 2230), alongside the MP600 Micro (M.2 2242), all utilising PCIe Gen 4 interfaces. Joining these and bringing the format up to date is the M.2 2242 MP700 Micro, now using a Gen 5 interface.

At launch, the MP700 Micro comes in just two capacities: 2TB, and a flagship 4TB unit (the drive Corsair provided for review). The drive uses a Phison PS5031-E31T, 4-channel controller (with data transfer speeds of up to 3600 MT/s) together with a single 218-layer BiCS8 NAND package. The E31T is an ideal controller to use in small-format drives as it is a DRAM-less design (uses HMB technology instead of a dedicated DRAM IC), negating the space needed for a separate cache IC.

Corsair rates the 4TB drive at up to 9,400MB/s and 8,100MB/s for sequential reads/writes, respectively. Random 4K performance for the MP700 Micro is quoted as up to 1.3 million IOPS for reads and up to 1.4 million IOPS for writes.

When tested with the ATTO 4 benchmark, we couldn't quite hit those official sequential maximums with a best read result of 8,790MB/s with writes at 7,440MB/s. Switching over to the more up-to-date ATTO 5, we could confirm the official read figure with a test result of 9,420MB/s. Writes of 7,790MB/s, on the other hand, were still shy of the official rating.

When it comes to 4K random performance, Corsair rates the MP700 Micro at up to 1.3 million IOPS for reads and up to 1.4 million IOPS for writes. Using the default Peak Performance profile in CrystalDiskMark 8, which displays the IOPS result for the test run, we could confirm the official read ratings with best test results of 1,346,718 IOPS for reads and 1,530,463 IOPS for writes.

The 4TB Corsair MP700 Micro has an MSRP of £479.99, while the 2TB model is £209.99.

Pros

• Performance.
  
• Capacity in a small format.
• 5-year warranty.

Cons

• We couldn’t match the official maximum 4K random figures in all our testing.
• DRAM-less design.
• Pricey.

KitGuru says: Corsair continues to develop its small format drive line, and the latest offering, the Gen5 4TB MP700 Micro, shows what can be achieved in a small format using a small DRAMless design controller and dense NAND Flash.

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