The Corsair MP700 Pro has arrived and looks to be Corsair’s answer to the latest wave of PCI-E Generation 5.0 NVMe drives arriving on the market. Taking advantage of the improved bandwidth of PCI-E Generation 5, when compared specifically to PCI-E Generation 4, these drives are startlingly fast and give us a glimpse into the next generation of solid-state storage.
Arriving as part of a wider range of PCI-E 5.0 M.2 SSDs from Corsair, the MP700 Pro with Air Cooler variant looks to improve thermals by mounting a dedicated heatsink and fan to the drive, ensuring the MP700 Pro stays cool while offering high throughput. This, in theory, should allow the MP700 Pro to maximise its speeds by keeping the flash memory chips cool.
Corsair drives are often renowned for being reliable and consistent, making them a popular option on the market. But is Corsair’s rather elaborate cooling solution for the MP700 Pro the answer to Gen5 SSDs’ thermal woes? We’ve tested the Corsair MP700 Pro with Air Cooler variant to determine how this drive holds up against alternative Gen5 SSDs, looking at specs, read and write performance, and thermal output.
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Specifications
The Corsair MP700 Pro offers 12.4GB/s across the sequential read speeds and 11800MB/s on the sequential writes. However, these speeds only apply to the 2TB version of the MP700 Pro, as the 1TB drive comes with 11700MB/s and 9600MB/s on the read and writes, respectively. At the time of writing, there isn’t any performance information for the 4TB MP700 Pro, but we speculate that it will offer similar speeds to the 2TB variant, if not better.
The 2TB Corsair MP700 Pro looks to be the go-to option, striking the best balance between usable capacity, speeds and cost. When looking at the broader market, the MP700 Pro looks to be one of the most capable drives, whereas most other options tend to cap out around 10GB/s on the read and write speeds. The biggest competitor to the Corsair MP700 Pro looks to be the Crucial T705, where the read and write capabilities reach 14500MB/s/s and 12700MB/s on their 2TB drive.
| Specification | Corsair MP700 Pro with Air Cooler |
|---|---|
| PCI-E Generation | Gen5 |
| Capacity | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB |
| Sequential Read Speed | 1TB: 11,700MB/s 2TB: 12,400MB/s 4TB: N/A |
| Sequential Write Speed | 1TB: 9600MB/s 2TB: 11,800MB/s 4TB: N/A |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Endurance | 1TB: 700TBW 2TB: 1400TBW 4TB: N/A |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
The MP700 Pro uses the 2280 form factor, which is commonly supported by most modern motherboards. The heatsink stack and fan add around 28mm to the height of the MP700 Pro. While we have some aesthetic concerns about this SSD, the additional height will not likely cause clearance issues for most people.
This drive has a five-year warranty, which is standard across other Corsair SSDs. The MP700 Pro also has an endurance rating of 1400TBW, meaning 1400 terabytes can be written to the drive over time before functionality becomes a problem.
Suggested Article: Seagate Firecuda 540 SSD Review
Corsair MP700 Pro with Air Cooler Design
My first impression of the MP700 Pro is that Corsair has done its best to make this SSD look clean. The 28mm heatsink features a black finish across the entire design, which includes the screws holding the heatsink together, and the fan located towards the left side of the drive.
The consistent black colouring across the MP700 Pro looks excellent and will help it blend well with a darker motherboard PCB. The MP700 doesn’t offer any RGB, which is disappointing, as I feel some lighting would brighten up the ridged chunky aesthetic.
Our most significant point of contention is the fan and SATA power cable attached to the drive’s end. While the fan is small, it will only increase the noise floor of a PC build, so those prioritising silence may want to consider picking up a drive that doesn’t have a fan. Furthermore, the SATA power cable is out of place compared to the rest of the SSD. The unsleeved black and red wiring sticking out of the corner doesn’t look clean, and I feel Corsair could have done a better job of covering these wires.
I commend Corsair for using SATA power, as this frees up any PWM headers on a motherboard for additional fans and coolers. The 450mm cable should be more than ample to route the header down towards your PSU, but managing an extra cable isn’t something we’re a fan of, especially for those aiming for a clean and cable-free build.
While the heatsink and fan aim to control thermals, the design could look better overall. Considering how much the air cooler variant of the MP700 is, the aesthetic of this drive has much room for improvement.
Why Are Gen5 SSDs So Hot?
Since the launch of Gen5 SSDs, the most significant sticking point of these new drives has been that they run so hot compared to Gen4 M.2 SSDs, which have no major thermal issues. So why are Gen5 SSDs so hot? This primarily comes down to their increased throughput. Gen4 SSD speeds capped out around 7.5GB/s, with average power consumption maxing out at 3-5W (watts) across most drives.
Gen5 SSDs double the overall throughput, meaning power consumption is generally much higher around the 7-12W mark, depending on the drive’s speed. Drawing more power leads to higher temperatures, so Gen5 SSD manufacturers are utilising large heatsinks, or even active cooling measures like fans, to keep thermals under control.
The high thermals of Gen5 SSDs will improve over time as manufacturers find better solutions that aren’t as aggressive or invasive. The Seagate Firecuda 540, for example, has no heatsink but maintains stable average temperatures well below 80 degrees across our testing. And while the Firecuda 540 caps out at 10GB/s across the read and writes, this isn’t extremely far away from the performance of the MP700 Pro, demonstrating that Gen5 drives can offer solid performance without compromising thermals.
Thermals
Looking at temperatures, the MP700 Pro with Air Cooler was highly impressive, maxing out at 43 degrees when speeds were reaching their maximum. While the SSD heatsink on the MP700 Pro is unsightly, it is working here to ensure thermals stay at reasonable levels. 43 degrees is more than reasonable, considering this is a Gen5 drive, so we’re happy to see that Corsair has found a great solution to keep temperatures low.
Performance
To test the Corsair MP700 Pro, we used CrystalDiskMark, which features across all of our SSD tests. CrystalDiskMark stress tests storage devices, providing sequential read and write speeds by placing an artificial load on the drive. This indicates how an SSD will perform in a real-life setting when your drive is constantly written to and read from within games and various applications. You can find full write-ups of our testing procedures in our Behind the Scenes articles.
Looking at the performance of the MP700 Pro, this drive reached its rated read and write speeds within a 10% margin of error. On the reads, CrystalDiskMark recorded that the MP700 Pro reached 12372.69MB/s, while the write speeds sat at 11574.59MB/s. While these recorded results sit below the advertised read and write speeds of 12400MB/s and 11800MB/s, our data is well within the margin of error.
Compared to other SSDs we’ve tested, the MP700 Pro is impressively strong. The only other major competitor is the Crucial T700, which offers sustained performance of around 12.2GB/s on reads and 11.7GB/s on writes. The MP700 Pro presents a strong showing compared to the Firecuda 540, which caps out speeds around 10GB/s. Overall, the MP700 Pro is a very capable drive compared to other SSDs on the market.
Conclusion
Corsair MP700 Pro with Air Cooler
Product Name: MP700 Pro
Brand: Corsair
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Design
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Thermals
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Performance
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Value For Money
Summary
The Corsair MP700 Pro with Air Cooler is one of the most impressive Gen5 SSDs, offering exceptional read and write speeds that are effectively unrivalled in the current market. While large and unsightly, the MP700 Pro’s heatsink keeps thermals to a minimum, providing a solution for the higher temperatures of PCI-E 5.0 drives without hindering the overall performance. Gen5 storage options are still developing and improving in the current market, so Corsair’s MP700 Pro SSD is a welcome addition aimed at enthusiasts looking for top-end speeds.
The only major caveat to consider is the price. With an MSRP of $324.99, the MP700 Pro with Air Cooler variant is highly expensive and has a price premium that sits well above other Gen5 storage options. While the MP700 Pro delivers strong thermals alongside highly competitive read and write speeds, the price point of this drive is difficult to swallow, especially when compared to other Gen5 drives on the market.
Pros
✅ Great thermals
✅ Read and write speeds
✅ Long power cable
Cons
❌ Very expensive
❌ Crucial T305 as competition
❌ Large heatsink
