PCIe 5.0 gaming SSDs just got a whole lot cheaper, thanks to Corsair

Corsair has simply launched a brand new PCIe 5.0 gaming SSD that doesn’t have a prohibitive price ticket connected to it. The brand new Corsair MP700 Elite nonetheless boasts quick speeds of as much as 10,000MB/s, but it surely prices simply $144.99 for the 1TB drive at MSRP, that means PCIe 5.0 drives are actually lastly coming down in value.

That’s already $35 cheaper than this drive’s extra highly effective sibling, the Corsair MP700 Professional, which has a spot on our information to one of the best gaming SSD, and in our expertise, SSDs repeatedly go for lower than their MSRPs as effectively. So what do you lose by going for the cheaper Corsair drive?

Corsair MP700 Elite specs

These are the Corsair MP700 Elite specs:

The principle reply right here is efficiency, however that is nonetheless a really quick drive. Corsair says the brand new MP700 Elite’s sequential learn velocity stands at a pleasingly spherical determine of 10,000MB/s, whereas its sequential write velocity tops out at 8,500MB/s. Comparatively, the MP700 Professional can learn and write at as much as 12,00MB/s and 11,800MB/s respectively, however the MP700 Elite’s speeds are nonetheless a considerable step up from PCIe 4.0 drives, such because the WD Black SN850X.

Aside from the cheaper value, the opposite principal advantage of these slower efficiency speeds is working temperatures. Whereas the MP700 Professional has choices for a waterblock and an actively cooled heatsink and fan meeting, Corsair is assured that the MP700 Elite might be saved in examine by a comparatively modest heatsink.

Choosing the heatsink-equipped model solely provides an additional $5 to the fee, or you should buy the drive and not using a heatsink and depend on a PCIe 5.0-capable heatsink out of your motherboard. Keep in mind that you just’ll want a 4x PCIe 5.0 2280 M.2 slot to run this drive at full velocity. It should nonetheless work on PCIe 4.0 motherboards, however you received’t get any greater than 7,500MB/s out of it.

The brand new drive is predicated on high-density 3D TLC (triple-level cell) NAND flash reminiscence, and is predicated on the brand new 7nm Phison PS5031-E31T controller. You additionally get a five-year guarantee with the drive, and Corsair says the 1TB drive has an endurance score of 600TBW (terabytes written), however the 2TB drive is even hardier, with a large 1,200TBW score.

Corsair guarantees that the brand new MP700 Elite will carry you “quicker boot occasions” and “faster recreation hundreds,” though in our exams we’ve discovered that the principle advantages of PCIe 5.0 drives are seen in large-scale file transfers, with solely minimal impression on recreation load occasions.

The Corsair MP700 Elite value is $144.99 for the 1TB drive and not using a heatsink, and $254.99 for the 2TB drive. That’s low cost for a PCIe 5.0 drive, though there are sometimes good offers to be discovered on different drives. For instance, the quicker 1TB Essential T705 is at present decreased from $239.99 to only $154.99 on Amazon, and that might be the higher buy at this value. At MSRP, although, the Corsair MP700 Elite will hopefully set a pattern for cheaper, quicker SSDs.

Should you’re excited about upgrading your storage, try our information on how one can set up an SSD, the place we take you thru the entire course of step-by-step.