CORSAIR MP600 Elite
Under severe loads, the Corsair MP600 Elite’s heatsink keeps the drive cool. Hot SSDs slow down, therefore this is crucial. The low-profile heatsink fits most laptops and desktops.
Advantages of the CORSAIR MP600 Elite:
- Game and app loading is quicker with the Corsair MP600 Elite than with a SATA SSD.
- Improved responsiveness: The Corsair MP600 Elite might make your system seem quicker and snappier.
- The MP600 Elite’s fast speed reduces game latency and stuttering.
- Creative workers: The Corsair MP600 Elite is ideal for creative professionals that work with huge files like images and films. The quick speeds boost productivity and workflow.
- The CORSAIR MP600 Elite is suitable for rapid storage. Gamers and creatives that demand maximum performance will love it. However, it is a pricey SSD, so examine the pros and cons before buying.
Corsair offers three MP600 Elite models. Like, the first version has a black aluminium heat sink. The PlayStation 5-inspired version has a white heat sink. A third option, Corsair’s heat sink-free version, is ideal for notebooks or motherboard coolers.
The Corsair MP600 Elite is an 8-cm M.2 with PCIe 4.0 x4. The cheaper MP600GS can read and write at 4,800 and 4,500 MB/s, while the Pro XT can read and write at 7,100 and 6,800. Corsair claims 7000 MB7s read and 6500 MB/s write for the MP600 Elite, just below the MP600 Pro XT. Will they notice this tiny theoretical disadvantage in practice or will performance differ even more?
The write speed of the storage medium depends on the amount of data written without interruption and the memory fill level. This is why life cycle write speed is hard to predict.
Controller NAND and Dynamic pSlC cache
Corsair uses soft, sticky pads to dissipate the 5 to 7 watts peak (measured) at maximum load from the top. After removing these, you can see the TECHVEST PCB, customised and assembled for Corsair. The Corsair MP600 Elite deliberately uses the smaller and cheaper Phison E27 instead of the faster Phison E18.
This has four NAND channels and one core (three with the co-processor), half of the Pro XT. From Windows 10, the SSD uses the host memory buffer to access the computer’s system RAM instead of a DRAM cache. This is fine because this standard NVMe feature usually compensates for the lack of a DRAM cache.
The 12nm-processed E27T controller uses PCIe 4.0. The E27T is DRAM-less despite its 7,400 MB/s read and 6,700 MB/s write speeds. This method simplifies SSD design and may reduce production costs. The low-power PCIe Gen 4 SSD controller is designed for 2230 M.2 SSDs, which are used in handheld gaming devices like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally.
This controller uses TSMC’s 12nm process and Phison’s “Single CPU Architecture”. The Gen 4 PS5027-E27T controller supports 8TB of storage and 3D TLC and QLC NAND flash, like the PS5031-E31T. Sequential performance can reach 7,400MB/s read and 6,700MB/s write, and random performance can reach 1,200,000 IOPS.
NAND flash manufacturers advise against dynamically changing flash block configurations as pSLC or TLC memory for reliability reasons, but in the consumer sector, where temperature windows are less important, this is more relaxed.
The Phison E27T supports NVMe 1.4 and has many standard functions. It supports Trim and S.M.A.R.T. It uses ASPM, APST, and L1.2 ultra-low power status like other controllers. In most applications, thermal throttling is unnecessary because the controller does not overheat.
For robust error correction and data reliability, it uses the fourth generation LDPC ECC engine, SmartECC (RAID ECC), and end-to-end data path protection. A crypto-erase function and hardware-accelerated AES 128/256-bit encryption (TCG, Opal 2.0, and Pyrite compliant) are included. Phison E27T supports a fully dynamic write cache. Phison also uses SmartFlush for fast cache recovery and consistent performance.
When the great cache performance ends is unknown. After exactly 47.98 GB in one piece, the glory ended, and at more than 80% capacity, you’re only at mediocre SATA. You’ll barely be able to do that, but it’s better to fill up slowly and possibly more often.
An empty (but not virgin) SSD shows that the dynamic pSLC works as intended. The 2 TB SSD has plenty of space, so never fill it more than 2/3 full. A higher load does not affect reading, but the dynamic SLC will max out when writing. It will become impossible to switch memory modules between the two methods if you do it repeatedly. Even though the figures are smaller, the cache still matters, synthetic benchmarks should not be taken too seriously, especially if the firmware has been optimised for them.
A video stream
What happens when you stream a bigger video? For this, the industry uses the AJA benchmark, which bridges synthetic benchmarks and practical applications. Due to the trimmed cache, the Corsair MP600 Elite fails brutally here, especially since it already deviates from the theoretical write and read rate. The comments on the previous page about the dynamic pSLC cache and larger file blocks are correct. Caching collapses at just under 48 GB.
Applications benchmark Overview and conclusion
Let’s compare the MP400 (QLC), MP600 GS (QLC), and MP600 Pro XT (TLC) in a workstation. The Corsair MP600 Elite performs well in the middle of the tested models, while the QLC variants lose significantly in every case (also subjectively noticeable). In writing, many programmes weaken greatly, with the MP600 PRO XT leading and the Corsair MP600 Elite almost reaching MP600-GS levels. Due to its neutered cache, the Corsair MP600 Elite writes like the GS rather than the Pro XT.
Reading is similar, except for NAMD, and the performance boost over the cheap MP600 GS is still extreme, but more pronounced than the slight writing advantage. The cache doesn’t matter when reading, and Aja’s value is confirmed again because theory and practice don’t match.
Performance is sufficient for applications. You have to consider whether you really feel it subjectively and whether it increases productivity in the individual case enough to justify the surcharge compared to an MP600 PRO GS or whether you should go straight for the Pro XT if you want more and want Corsair.
