The Corsair MP600 Core XT is a mid-range, QLC-based PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD designed to offer additional capacity at a reasonable price. It’s very similar to the Crucial P3 Plus with all the same advantages and caveats, although it is currently slated to be more expensive. However, this price will likely decrease after launch and provide a reasonable alternative for additional, fast storage.
QLC flash lacks TLC’s endurance and performance characteristics, but often this can be difficult to tell, particularly when paired with a solid controller like the Phison E21T. The MP600 Core XT offers nothing new or exciting here, but more competition is a good thing. In addition, recent SSD pricing trends are making large SSDs more affordable, and this drive is sufficiently faster than older PCIe 3.0 options to make it a comfortable selection.
Specifications
| Product | 1TB | 2TB | 4TB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $59.99 | $136.95 | $284.99 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Controller | Phison E21T | Phison E21T | Phison E21T |
| DRAM | N/A (HMB) | N/A (HMB) | N/A (HMB) |
| Flash Memory | 176-Layer Micron QLC | 176-Layer Micron QLC | 176-Layer Micron QLC |
| Sequential Read | 5,000 MBps | 5,000 MBps | 5,000 MBps |
| Sequential Write | 3,500 MBps | 4,400 MBps | 4,400 MBps |
| Random Read | 700K | 700K | 600K |
| Random Write | 900K | 1000K | 1000K |
| Security | AES 256-bit | AES 256-bit | AES 256-bit |
| Endurance (TBW) | 250TB | 450TB | 900TB |
| Part Number | CSSD-F1000GBMP600CXT | CSSD-F2000GBMP600CXT | CSSD-F4000GBMP600CXT |
| Warranty | 5-Year | 5-Year | 5-Year |
The Corsair MP600 Core XT is available at 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB at $59.99, $136.95, and $284.99, respectively. These prices were at the time of writing and our expectation is that pricing will come down closer to the Crucial P3 Plus sometime after launch. The drive can manage up to 5,000 / 4,400 MBps for sequential reads and writes and 700K / 1000K IOPS for random reads and writes. The former is somewhat higher than the P3 Plus.
Endurance is also close to the P3 Plus at 250TB, 450TB, and 900TB written for each capacity, which is significantly lower than the 1TB and 2TB Solidigm P41 Plus. This is under a five-year warranty.
Software and Accessories
The MP600 Core XT comes with Corsair SSD Toolbox support. This downloadable application displays drive and S.M.A.R.T. information, and additionally allows for some relevant operations. The latter includes overprovisioning, secure erase, cloning, and TRIM optimization.
A Closer Look
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The drive has an SSD controller and four NAND packages. This is also true of the 4TB model, but the 1TB has only two NAND packages. There is no DRAM present as this controller can utilize system memory via the Host Memory Buffer (HMB) NVMe feature.
The SSD controller is the Phison E21T which we have seen many times. It is a good performer with TLC, as with the Silicon Power UD90, Team Group MP44L, and Corsair’s own MP600 GS. As with the MP600 GS, Corsair is somewhat late to the game as we have already tested this controller with QLC as well on the Crucial P3 Plus.
Each NAND package contains 512GB of Micron’s 176-Layer QLC (N48R) in a quad die package (QDP) configuration. This is also true of the 1TB, which has half the package count, while the 4TB packs in 1TB per package with an octal die package (ODP) configuration. This enables the MP600 Core XT to be single-sided at all capacities which is convenient for space-limited builds.
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