Corsair MP600 Core Mini 2TB SSD Review - Tiny but Potent

TweakTown's Rating: 93%

The Bottom Line

Corsair's MP600 Core Mini 2TB offers a value proposition that's hard to beat.

Pros

• + 2230
• + Capacity
• + Single sided

Cons

• - None

Should you buy it?

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Buy at Amazon

Buy at Newegg

Introduction & Drive Details

Today's test subject is the second high-capacity E21T-controlled micro drive to make its way to our test bench. Corsair's MP600 Core Mini 2TB is their take on fast storage expansion for handheld gaming devices such as ROG Ally and Steam Deck. The MP600 Mini 2TB isn't offering anything hardware-wise that's not already coming from competing E21T controlled 2230 SSDs such as the TeamGroup 2TB MP44S we reviewed a short time ago.

Even though the MP600 Core Mini 2TB shares an identical hardware configuration with several of its contemporary competitors, it's still a welcome addition as we see it because more competition means better prices for the consumer. Additionally, if you are going to the trouble of upgrading the internal storage on your handheld gaming device, it only makes sense to make it a 2TB drive, which will significantly increase the overall user experience.

Corsair's MP600 Core Mini 2TB and those of its kind come arrayed with Micron 176-Layer QLC flash, making them inherently value-oriented in that they typically can be had for significantly lower price points than TLC alternatives such as the Western Digital SN770M 2TB. Now, the more expensive SN770M 2TB is a more performant and higher endurance micro drive than the MP600 Core Mini 2TB. However, this is not so cut and dried because there is likely little to be gained from going with the more expensive option due to these handheld gaming devices being limited to a PCIe Gen3 interface. Additionally, endurance isn't much of a consideration for these handheld gaming devices because data turnover is usually much less than that of a typical PC environment.

We consider 2TB the current sweet spot capacity point for gaming duties, so if you want the best upgrade for your Steam Deck or ROG Ally, Corsair's MP600 Core Mini 2TB fits the bill perfectly.

Drive Details

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Like all CORSAIR SSDs, the MP600 Core Mini is supported by free CORSAIR SSD Toolbox software, enabling convenient features such as secure erase and firmware updates directly from your desktop. Get it HERE.

Jon's Test System Specifications

Intel Test System

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE AORUS Z790 Xtreme X
• CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 - Buy from Amazon
• RAM: Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 8000 48GB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3080 12GB - Buy from Amazon
• Case: PrimoChill's Praxis Wetbench - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit - Buy from Amazon

AMD Test System

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE X670E AORUS Master
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 - Buy from Amazon
• RAM: Sabrent Rocket DDR5 32GB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3080 12GB - Buy from Amazon
• Case: PrimoChill's Praxis Wetbench - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit - Buy from Amazon

Because we at TweakTown like to be first at everything whenever we can, we will present our storage performance results for the test subject on both 14th Gen Intel and 7000 Series AMD platforms going forward for the foreseeable future. Because Intel still delivers the best real-world storage performance, (Look Here), our running chart will continue to be Intel-based until AMD can deliver better real-world storage performance than its rival.

Corsair MP600 Core Mini 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$174.99	$174.99	$174.99	$164.99	Buy
	$174.99	$174.99	$174.99	$169.99	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 4/26/2024 at 9:20 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Synthetic Benchmarks: CDM, Anvil, ATTO

CrystalDiskMark

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We employ CDM as our standard measurement for both sequential throughput and Q1T1 random read. In terms of sequential throughput, we find our test subject fully capable of meeting and exceeding quoted up to specifications. As expected, 4K Q1T1 random read speed is the lowest on our chart, but as we know from our testing of the TeamGroup 2TB MP44S our test subject can deliver better real-world performance than this synthetic metric typically indicates.

Anvil's Storage Utilities

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A read score of 7,500 is indicative of the tuned-down firmware designed specifically for its intended device constraints.

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We employ Anvil's random read test as our standard for measuring max random read IOPS. This test is very accurate as it at its core is Iometer skinned over. We test at QD128. 578K is a very nice result here as it is one of those rare instances where an SSD can meet or exceed factory up to specifications, while running in our more demanding user state. Impressive.

ATTO

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ATTO gives us a clear picture of what transfer sizes a particular SSD favors in terms of QD4 sequential throughput. We chart 128K transfers. At a queue depth of four, the MP600 Core Mini 2TB favors sequential transfers of 64K or larger when serving data to the host (reading) and 64K or larger when programming (writing) data. The smaller the transfer size at full speed is what we want to see here, so we find this impressive. Additionally, we need to point out that the sequential read speed here is much more than the drive can realistically deliver. This is due to the way that Phison architected controllers handle reading fully compressible sequential data.

Real-World Testing: Transfers, 3DMark SSD Gaming Test, PCM10 Storage

Transfer Rates

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Our 100GB data transfer test is not your ordinary 100GB of data. Ours is a crushing mix composed of more than 62K files. Write performance, random or sequential, is an infrequent operation, and as such, we do not consider it to be an important performance metric in the consumer space. An example being how many times is a game installed vs. how many times it's played. If we compare our test subject to the E21T/TLC arrayed MP44L, we can see an instance where 176L 4-word line N48R QLC has the advantage over 176L B47R 2-word-line TLC.

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Unlike programming (writing) data, serving data to the host (reading) is always an important performance metric as it relates to the consumer space. Again, N48R has the advantage over B47R behind the same controller, so again, we are not giving up anything by going QLC.

3DMark SSD Gaming Test

UL's newest 3DMark SSD Gaming Test is the most comprehensive SSD gaming test ever devised. We consider it superior to testing against games themselves because, as a trace, it is much more consistent than variations that will occur between runs on the actual game itself. This test is the same as running the actual game, just without the inconsistencies inherent to application testing. In short, we believe that this is the world's best way to test an SSD's gaming prowess and accurately compare it against competing SSDs. The 3DMark SSD Gaming Test measures and scores the following:

• Loading Battlefield V from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Call of Duty Black Ops 4 from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Overwatch from launch to the main menu.
• Recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60 FPS with OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) while playing Overwatch.
• Installing The Outer Worlds from the Epic Games Launcher.
• Saving game progress in The Outer Worlds.
• Copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike Global Offensive from an external SSD to the system drive.

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Gaming is a performance metric that matters to most DIY consumers, especially for the enthusiast crowd that TweakTown caters to. Now we've reached the point where results start to matter as they are a direct reflection of user experience. As expected, our tiny down-tuned contender lands at the bottom of our otherwise fully powered, full-sized running chart. Again, we don't think this will manifest itself significantly negatively in the PCIe Gen3 interfaced environment this SSD is intended for.

PCM10 Storage Tests

PCMark 10 Storage Test is the most advanced and most accurate real-world consumer storage test ever made. There are four different tests you can choose from; we run two of them. The Full System Drive Benchmark and the Quick System Drive Benchmark. The Full System Drive Benchmark writes 204 GB of data over the duration of the test. These tests directly correlate with mainstream user experience.

PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark

This test writes 204GB data and covers a broad range of common consumer tasks, including booting Windows 10, file transfers, Adobe and Office applications, and startup times for games including Battlefield V, COD Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. Unlike synthetic numbers, this is comprehensive real-world data which is why we use it to rank SSDs in terms of user experience.

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Moderately heavy consumer workloads are where we find our test subject struggling in comparison to its full-sized contemporaries.

PCMark 10 Quick System Drive Benchmark

The Quick System Drive Benchmark writes 23 GB of data over the duration of the test.

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This is performance that matters as it is highly reflective of normal consumer data patterns. Here we see the MP600 Core Mini 2TB delivering more than a whole host of SSDs that are considerably faster on average. Impressive.

Final Thoughts

As the only 2230 SSD represented in our test pool, Corsair's MP600 Core Mini 2TB lands at the bottom of most of our charts; this is exactly as expected for a down-tuned tiny drive such as it is. However, we still believe that it will deliver a nice user experience upgrade over what comes preinstalled with most handheld PC gaming devices.

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We rank SSDs in terms of overall user experience (performance where it matters most) as expressed by PCMark 10 storage and 3DMark gaming storage tests. Currently, we consider a user experience score of 15K or more to verify an SSD as a TweakTown Elite performer.

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Currently retailing at the lowest price point in its class while offering compelling performance, it makes for one of the best overall value propositions in its class, earning it our Best Value Award.