TeamGroup MP44S review: A decent Steam Deck SSD for a great price

There will not be something thrilling in regards to the look of the TeamGroup MP44S – with its black and white, text-covered sticker, it appears decidedly uninspiring, however behind that unassuming exterior lies an honest SSD when you’re trying to improve your handheld. Not solely is it very best for a Steam Deck, however it could additionally run a bit sooner in PCIe 4.0 mode, making it a strong improve for an Asus ROG Ally X as effectively.

Mix its strong efficiency with a surprisingly cheap value, and you find yourself with an ideal product – it’s not as when you’re going to see this TeamGroup drive when it’s in your handheld anyway. After a number of months of utilizing the 2TB drive in my Steam Deck, in addition to testing in a PC to gauge its peak efficiency, I’ve put this drive straight on our information to the very best gaming SSD, and it’s a strong alternative for lots of the finest gaming handheld fashions.

You do should dismantle your Steam Deck to be able to set up this drive, and set up SteamOS on it your self, nevertheless it’s effectively value it. It’s nice once you’re greeted with a lot spare storage on the subject of putting in video games – you get 1.84TB on the 2TB drive as soon as it’s formatted and also you’ve put in SteamOS, and you may genuinely match a great deal of video games on certainly one of these drives. Even a giant recreation resembling Baldur’s Gate 3 can match onto this drive 12 occasions.

Specs

The primary bit that jumps out in regards to the MP44S specs is that 4x PCIe 4.0 interface, which supplies it a stage of future-proofing not at all times discovered on M.2 2230 SSDs, that are sufficiently small to suit right into a handheld. The Steam Deck itself solely has a PCIe 3.0 interface, in order that additional velocity is wasted on the deck, however shopping for this drive provides you some additional headroom if the Steam Deck 2 helps PCIe 4.0, and it’s additionally a super accomplice for the brand new Asus ROG Ally X, which does assist PCIe 4.0.

The jump-up in velocity with the brand new interface isn’t large with this drive, with TeamGroup’s quoted 3,500MB/s write velocity being in the identical league as high PCIe 3.0 drives anyway. Nonetheless, the quoted high sequential learn velocity of 5,000MB/s is effectively in entrance of any PCIe 3.0 drive, even when top-end desktop PCIe 4.0 drives, such because the Samsung 990 Professional, can learn at over 7,000MB/s.

There’s a steadiness to be struck right here, although. The MP44S must run at an honest velocity whereas additionally not overheating within the tight confines of a handheld, and 5,000MB/s is about the best steadiness right here. We examined it at PCIe 4.0 speeds with out a heatsink, and it was nonetheless capable of hit this velocity with out a lot throttling.

The opposite areas of the spec that stand out are the usage of quad-level cell (QLC) NAND, which has a repute for being slower than triple-level cell (TLC), and the dearth of a DRAM cache. This drive isn’t designed for record-breaking efficiency, however as you’ll see within the efficiency part, it does nonetheless ship greater than sufficient velocity for a gaming handheld.

It’s additionally value noting the endurance time of this drive, which is way larger on the 2TB mannequin than the 1TB mannequin. The latter is simply rated to put in writing as much as 250 terabytes over its lifetime (TBW stands for terabytes written), which may be very low in comparison with the 1,000+ TBW we frequently see on desktop drives.

The 450TBW ranking of the 2TB drive is a lot better, and extra in step with what we see on different 2230 drives. This isn’t an enormous subject for a handheld, the place you’re primarily simply putting in and uninstalling video games, moderately than repeatedly coping with particular person recordsdata on the desktop, however we’d positively advocate shopping for the 2TB drive over the 1TB drive right here.

Benchmarks

I can attest to the MP44S’ snappy efficiency once you’re utilizing it in a Steam Deck, particularly compared to loading video games from a microSD card, however I additionally ran it on a desktop PC to be able to assess its high speeds objectively. As well as, I examined it with and with out a heatsink to see the way it throttles when it heats up. I examined the drive in a Gigabyte B660 Aorus Grasp DDR4 motherboard, utilizing its PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot and heatsink, with an Intel Core i9 14900K CPU and 32GB of Corsair 3,600MHz Vengeance Professional SL DDR4 reminiscence.

By way of uncooked sequential learn velocity, the TeamGroup MP44S greater than delivers on its promise. Even with out a heatsink, it ran at a sequential learn velocity of 5,089MB/s in CrystalDiskMark, beating TeamGroup’s declare by 89MB/s. Add a heatsink and it runs at 5,171MB/s, so it does throttle somewhat when it heats up, however to not a disastrous diploma. To place this determine in context, it’s a good bit faster than the 4,183MB/s you get from a WD Blue SN580 desktop drive, however a good approach off the 6,878MB/s you get from a high drive such because the Samsung 980 Professional.

In comparison with different M.2 2230 drives, that is in the identical league because the WD Black SN770M and Corsair MP600 Core Mini, which each high out at 5,150MB/s and 5,000MB/s respectively. If you would like even sooner speeds, the Essential P310 can learn at as much as 7,100MB/s, nevertheless it additionally has a better value.

Likewise, whereas the sequential write speeds aren’t the quickest outcomes we’ve ever seen, they’re effectively in entrance of TeamGroup’s claims. The drive writes at 3,702MB/s in CrystalDiskMark, making TeamGroup’s said speeds look somewhat conservative. This goes as much as 3,902MB/s with a heatsink connected, nevertheless it’s clear you may simply obtain TeamGroup’s said high speeds on a system with out a heatsink, which is good for a handheld.

After all, whereas sequential learn and write speeds could be a helpful metric for measuring high velocity, they don’t provide you with a sign of real-world efficiency, so I additionally ran the PCMark 10 full drive take a look at on the MP44S, in addition to CrystalDiskMark’s random learn and write assessments. The PCMark 10 results of 2,299 reveals this drive can deal with operating an OS effectively when it’s being hammered – that is the form of consequence we normally count on from a PCIe 3.0 drive on the desktop. It’s a good bit behind the two,921 of the WD Blue SN580, nevertheless it’s advantageous for a handheld operating Home windows.

The MP44S’ random write was additionally strong at 306MB/s, beating each the Samsung 980 Professional and WD Blue SN580, though it falls behind each these drives on the subject of random reads.

Value

The TeamGroup MP44S value is $134.99 for the 2TB drive, and $69.99 for the 1TB drive, that are each nice costs for the capability on supply, however we advocate going for the 2TB drive out of the 2 choices. Comparatively, the 2TB WD Black SN770M 2230 drive goes for round $190 and isn’t any faster, and that is cheaper than the Corsair MP600 Core Mini as effectively.

Alternate options

Essential P310 2230

If velocity is your high precedence, the brand new 2024 Essential P310 is the hand held drive to get, with a high velocity of seven,100MB/s, it makes full use of the 4x PCIe 4.0 interface. Nonetheless, keep in mind that you simply hardly ever see the advantages of excessive sequential learn and write speeds in a handheld, and also you’ll additionally must pay extra for it, with this drive typically going for round $200. Within the UK, nonetheless, this drive typically goes for a less expensive value and is effectively value contemplating.

Corsair MP600 Core Mini

Corsair’s PCIe 4.0 2230 SSD is a bit more costly than the TeamGroup MP44S, and its speeds are very related, albeit with a barely larger quoted write velocity of three,800MB/s. Nonetheless, this drive can also be repeatedly on supply. When you’re trying to purchase a brand new SSD on your handheld, it’s value looking for this drive on Amazon to see if it’s discounted, particularly if the TeamGroup MP44S is out of inventory.

Verdict

TeamGroup has struck the steadiness good with the MP44S. This handheld SSD can supply respectable efficiency on a PCIe 4.0 system, even with out a heatsink, and its 2TB capability is superior on a Steam Deck as effectively. It’s the worth that actually sells it, although, as $134.99 is an effective deal for a 2TB Steam Deck improve, plus you may run it even sooner in an Asus ROG Ally X.

It’s not all plain crusing – particularly, the low endurance ranking of the 1TB mannequin is poor, and we firmly advocate going for the 2TB drive. Additionally, whereas that sequential learn velocity of over 5,000MB/s is ok, and overkill for the PCIe 3.0 Steam Deck, it’s already been out-performed by the brand new Essential P310. At this value, although, the 2TB MP44S is a superb improve on your handheld, providing you with a great deal of space for storing, in addition to some future proofing, for effectively below $150.

For extra improve concepts on your handheld, try our information to the very best Steam Deck equipment, the place we cowl all types of goodies, from docks to microSD playing cards.