Jesper Berg
- Exceptional sequential performance
- Excellent endurance rating
- Heatsink included
- Marginally slower than competitors
Corsair was one of the first manufacturers – along with Gigabyte and Sabrent – to release a consumer SSD in the M.2 form factor (or any form factor) that utilizes the PCI Express (PCIe) 4.0 interface. Through 2019, the only commercially available consumer platform that supports the interface is AMD’s X570 chipset in combination with a Ryzen 3000-series CPU. 3rd-generation AMD Threadripper motherboards are also PCIe 4.0-enabled.
Overview: Memory Type, Controller, and Cache
The Corsair Force MP600 (this drive), Gigabyte’s Gen4 Aorus and the Sabrent Rocket Gen4 were the first PCIe 4.0-compatible M.2 drives on the consumer market, and they have a lot in common. All of them use the same 96-layer Toshiba TLC (triple-level cell) NAND memory in combination with the Phison E16 controller. Similarly, like most high-end TLC-based SSDs, a DDR4 DRAM buffer and SLC-mode cache help this drive reach the advertised transfer rates.
Corsair MP600 Vs. Aorus Gen4 Vs. Sabrent Rocket Gen4
| Phison E16 PCIe 4.0 SSD Comparison | Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 1TB | Sabrent Rocket Gen4 1TB | Corsair Force MP600 1TB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | Phison E16 | Phison E16 | Phison E16 |
| Form Factor (Interface) | M.2 2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 1.3) | M.2 2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 1.3) | M.2 2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 1.3) |
| NAND Flash type | Toshiba 96-layer 3D TLC | Toshiba 96-layer 3D TLC | Toshiba 96-layer 3D TLC |
| Random Read | 750K IOPS | 750K IOPS | 680K IOPS |
| Random Write | 700K IOPS | 750K IOPS | 600K IOPS |
| Sequential Read (max) | 5,000 MB/s | 5,000 MB/s | 4,950 MB/s |
| Sequential Write (max) | 4,400 MB/s | 4,400 MB/s | 4,250 MB/s |
| Write Endurance | 1800 TBW | 1800 TBW | 1800 TBW |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years |
Corsair’s MP600 comes in 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities; 256 GB and 512 GB. The maximum sequential read speed is marginally lower than its competitors at 4,950 MB/s and the same goes for sequential writes, which caps out at 4,250MB/s (lower in the 500 GB model: 2,500 MB/s). In actual use, users are unlikely to notice the difference and the transfer rates are nevertheless higher than all PCIe 3.0 SSDs.
There are apparently firmware differences and a slight performance gap between the Gigabyte Aorus Gen4, Sabrent Rocket Gen4, and the MP500 although the memory chips/controller combination are identical.
The Corsair drive is equipped with a heat sink, which is a common sight among high-end PCIe 4.0 SSDs as these devices have a tendency to run hot under load.
Power Consumption (Laptop Suitability)
Due to the heat sink covering the device, the Corsair Force MP600 is impossible to install in the vast majority of laptops. Even if removed, few if any laptops come with a PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot at the end of 2019 and early 2020.
Warranty and Endurance Rating
Corsair follows the industry standard with a 5-year limited warranty for the Force MP500. The endurance ratings in TBW (terabytes or total bytes written) are very impressive at 900 TBW (500GB), 1,800 TBW (1TB) and 3,600 TBW (2TB).
Expert Reviews
It shatters records given the right conditions, but on in other workloads, you are down to high-end class TLC NVMe performance.
The MP600 exemplifies quality from top to bottom. From its attractive and highly functional heat sink design, to its 5-year warranty, to its endurance rating – SSDs don’t get much better than this.
Official presentation (Corsair):
Specification: Corsair Force MP600 Gen4
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