Corsair MP700 PRO SE 4TB PCIe 5.0 x4 SSD Review: The fastest SSD, now even faster!

We didn’t have to wait long for the updated version of the already exceptional Corsair MP700 Pro SSD. The SE version brings us multiple improvements, which we will present in this review. Corsair provided us with the 4TB version of the MP700 Pro SE SSD, which has the highest capacity so far and is also the fastest Corsair SSD available in stores. In the upcoming weeks, we will see lower capacities and various cooling options for the MP700 Pro SE.

As usual in our reviews, we start with the specifications and features of the MP700 Pro SE SSD, and later, I will tell you more about things you can’t find on Corsair’s website.

Specifications and Features

Experience the outstanding performance of the latest PCIe 5.0 technologies and 3D TLC NAND flash combined with the NVMe 2.0 interface to offer outstanding sequential read and write speeds.

Key Features

• OUTSTANDING GEN5 SSD PERFORMANCE
  MP700 PRO SE combines the latest PCIe 5.0 technologies with the NVMe 2.0 interface to unleash higher-speed data transfers and greater M.2 SSD performance than ever before.
• YOUR PC MADE FASTER
  Delivers nearly double the sequential read and write speeds of PCIe 4.0 SSDs and up to 25 times the speed of some SATA SSDs.
• HIGH-DENSITY 3D TLC NAND
  Combines high-speed performance with outstanding endurance, ensuring that your drive will last and perform well through years of use.
• COMPACT M.2 2280 FORM FACTOR
  Fits directly into your motherboard, designed to be used with the integrated SSD cooling provided by your motherboard.
• MICROSOFT DIRECTSTORAGE
  Enables the MP700 PRO SE to communicate directly with your graphics card while playing compatible games, for unbelievably fast load times.
• COMPREHENSIVE FIVE-YEAR WARRANTY
  Long-term reliability and industry-leading customer support for peace of mind.

  

Full specifications and features for the MP700 Pro can be found on the Corsair product website.

As we can see in the specifications, even though the SE version uses the same Phison E26 controller, it has a larger and more optimized cache. All the “little changes” give us higher bandwidth and even 100K IOPS more in more demanding operations. Although it’s not mentioned, our results also suggest optimization on the firmware level as the SSD runs at lower temperatures, even though peak wattage is about the same—around 11-12W.

The version with an active heatsink (fan) will be released in about a month. Until then, the only widely available option for the MP700 SE is the reviewed 4TB SSD. The version with the cooler designed for liquid loops can also be found in the Corsair store, but current availability can be limited.

The lack of heatsinks is not a big problem for most gamers and enthusiasts using the motherboard’s cooling solutions. For users like me, it’s an advantage, as all the motherboards I use daily are equipped with large and efficient heatsinks. Most motherboards that support M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD are equipped with proper cooling designed for the fastest and the highest-wattage SSDs and don’t need active cooling unless the most power-hungry graphics cards heat them.

Packaging and Product Photos

The MP700 Pro SE SSD arrived in a retail package that is surprisingly small but large enough to protect the package’s contents. The package’s exterior tells us everything we may need about the SSD, and we can find more details on Corsair’s website. Inside the box, we will see a well-protected SSD, a safety and compliance information card, and a quick user’s guide—everything we may need for the installation.

On the blister protecting the SSD, we find a sticker telling us to use a motherboard or a third-party heatsink, as the product requires good cooling for optimal results. It’s understandable, considering that every user can have different needs and different computers, and not everyone wants an SSD with a preinstalled heatsink, which is often hard to remove or may lead to losing a warranty.

The MP700 PRO SE  is in the most popular M.2 2280 standard and should fit every gaming PC. The tested version has only a thin copper heatsink. Under the heatsink, we will find well-known components like the Phison E26 series controller, Micron 232-layer TLC NAND, and two 4GB cache chips from Hynix.

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Since we know what is under the labels, I decided not to remove them, as the original heatsink would be destroyed, and it’s hard to remove it in the first place. Corsair lists the detailed specifications, and nothing has changed besides double the cache (visible in one of the above photos).

The SSD looks good with a black PCB and black labels. It doesn’t matter much since it requires additional cooling, and we won’t see it during work. Below are a few photos of the MP700 Pro SE installed on the Gigabyte B650E Master motherboard. This is one of the only motherboards that provides four PCIe 5.0 x4 slots, so it is perfect for storage tests and, if we wish, a large RAID on the fastest SSDs. A large motherboard heatsink will cover the SSD.

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Diagnostic Software – Corsair SSD Toolbox

Corsair gives us SSD Toolbox software, which provides various diagnostic and optimization tools. It is nothing really new, but it gathers everything we may need in a simple application.

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The software is available on the MP700 Pro SE product page’s support section and the general Corsair support page.

Comparison Tests

Tests were performed on popular synthetic benchmarks and benchmarks that simulate daily workloads. Most tests are free, so you can compare some results at home without spending money.

I must point out that the results were made on the latest AMD Ryzen platform, so some of the presented results may vary if we compare them to the same SSDs tested on Intel chipsets.

Benchmarks list includes:

• AIDA64 Storage Benchmark: Random Read and Write
• ATTO Disk Benchmark
• CrystalDiskMark: Sequential Read and Write, Random Low Queue Read and Write, IOPS
• PCMark 10 Storage Benchmarks:  Data, Quick, and Full System Tests
• 3DMark Storage Benchmark

ATTO Disk Benchmark

ATTO used to be the most popular benchmark for testing storage performance. However, it focuses on sequential bandwidth, which, in recent years, hasn’t been as crucial as random operations. It still counts and is the main factor describing the storage performance by the marketing of all brands.

The latest versions of the ATTO Benchmark show slightly lower maximum results on all tested SSDs than in their general specifications, which is normal. Even though we couldn’t reach 14GB/s, the MP700 Pro SE performs significantly better than the recently tested MP700 Pro, which makes it the fastest single SSD tested in our redaction.

CrystalDiskMark

Nowadays, CrystalDiskMark is the leading benchmark for home and office storage devices. It’s free, easy to use, and provides many valuable results.

Our sequential test results are better than those declared by Corsair by about 100-200MB/s, depending on the pass. It’s incredible how Corsair improved the already great MP700 Pro with something as simple in theory as a faster and larger cache.

Low queue random operations are essential for daily usage, and the random read bandwidth is significant for gaming. The MP700 Pro SE is slightly faster than the MP700 Pro and achieves the best result in the random 4K read test. It could be even better if we used the latest Intel chipset.
The write test reacts well to caching, so the results are sometimes hard to predict. As we can see, the highest bandwidth still belongs to the Corsair MP600 Core Mini, a DRAM-less SSD, so it only uses RAM as its cache.

IOPS results are more important for professional work and content creation. The MP700 Pro SE shows significant improvements in IOPS, making it probably the fastest SSD on the market and the fastest SSD we tested.

PCMark 10 Storage Benchmarks

PCMark 10 shows us expected performance gains in popular applications and daily workloads. This test shows us there is something more that causes Corsair to be the fastest, and it’s probably optimized firmware, as the components used by the MP700 Pro and Crucial T700 Pro are about the same. On top of that, the MP700 Pro SE is a bit faster, but the difference between the two fastest Corsair SSDs isn’t so spectacular.

3DMark Storage Benchmark

The 3DMark Storage Benchmark seems limited to our test rig, as all the SSDs based on the latest Phison controllers do not have significantly different scores. Corsair is again at the top of the list with the best result for a single SSD we have seen on our test platform.

AIDA64 Disk Benchmark

Ultimately, the AIDA64 Disk Benchmark is in random read and write operations. This benchmark isn’t popular but gives us one specific workload—extended random operations. We wouldn’t expect that, but all the newest and top-speed SSDs based on Phison E2x series controllers perform well but are still far from the best results for a single SSD. As long as it doesn’t describe the whole performance of the SSD, it’s an interesting test showing if the SSD throttles during the extended high load.

Temperatures

The tested MP700 Pro SE SSD didn’t throttle in our tests, or we couldn’t notice that, and it maintained a sustained bandwidth.

We couldn’t believe the temperatures, but on our test rig, every diagnostic software reported the same – around 33-34°C idle and around 55°C under load. Perhaps it’s a wrong sensor reading, but as I already mentioned, the SSD had no problems with thermal throttling and optimal performance, which would trigger if the SSD overheated. The motherboard heatsink is quite large, and it was warm but not hot.

Conclusion

The MP700 Pro SE is a fantastic SSD that proves great things can be improved. The SE version of the MP700 Pro offers higher performance, making it one of the fastest, if not the fastest, SSDs available in stores. The SSD was working perfectly stable, and we had no problems with compatibility with various motherboards. It’s recommended to use a high-performance cooling solution, but gamers and enthusiasts who buy the latest motherboards with M.2 PCIe 5.0 x4 sockets shouldn’t have problems with that. A great example are Gigabyte motherboards, which always have large M.2 heatsinks, even in mid-shelf options.

Like with the MP700 Pro, the main problem with the SE version is the price. The 4TB version costs around $625 in Corsair’s online store and at Amazon. Newegg has the lowest price of around $580, but it’s still far from the prices of PCIe 4.0 SSDs.  The lower capacities will be significantly cheaper and probably spacious enough for most users, but we must wait for them. The only alternative is the Hydro X version, which can already be ordered at a 2TB capacity but is equipped with a liquid cooling block.

Corsair MP700 Pro SE 4TB is the fastest option for demanding users. It’s well-designed and provides impressive results. The only stopper can be its price, but I’m sure it won’t be a problem for avid gamers and computer enthusiasts.

Click the stamp for an explanation of what this means.

Bartosz Waluk – Woomack

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