We may live in a world where the latest PCIe 5.0 NVMe solid state drives are setting performance records, but it’s the previous generation of PCIe 4.0 SSDs that are far more popular. Given many users don’t have access to a full PCIe 5.0 platform yet, that’s hardly surprising, and either way there are still plenty of machines that benefit from upgrading to a PCIe Gen4 drive. The MP600 ELITE is the latest family of drives from CORSAIR, combining great cooling options with impressive throughput to make for a versatile and powerful storage solution.
The MP600 ELITE lineup includes three different cooling options: a bare drive without any additional cooling, one with a heatspreader, and a version specifically designed for the PlayStation 5 with a funky colorway to match the PS5's black & white vibe. All three versions offer the same blazing fast PCIe Gen4 performance, with sequential reads and writes of up to 7,000MB/s and 6,500MB/s respectively as well as 4K random read and write speeds of up to 1,000K and 1,200K IOPS. This translates into impressively fast save and load times as well as faster booting of Windows. It also means that the MP600 ELITE is much quicker than the likes of the MP600 GS.
Here are the key features for the MP600 ELITE family of SSDs:
| FEATURE | MP600 ELITE | MP600 ELITE with Heatspreader | MP600 ELITE for PS5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacities | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB* | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB* | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB* |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 key M | M.2 2280 key M | M.2 2280 key M |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| PCIe Protocol | NVMe 1.4 | NVMe 1.4 | NVMe 1.4 |
| Heatsink | None | Passive | Passive |
| Heatsink Color | N/A | Black | White |
| NAND Type | 3D TLC | 3D TLC | 3D TLC |
| Storage Temperature | -40°C to +85°C | -40°C to +85°C | -40°C to +85°C |
| Endurance | 1,200TBW | 1,200TBW | 1,200TBW |
| Max Sequential Read | 7,000MB/s | 7,000MB/s | 7,000MB/s |
| Max Sequential Write | 6,500MB/s | 6,500MB/s | 6,500MB/s |
| 4K Random Read | 1.0M | 1.0M | 1.0M |
| 4K Random Write | 1.2M | 1.2M | 1.2M |
| Smart Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TRIM | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Garbage Collection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bad Black Management | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption | AES 256-bit | AES 256-bit | AES 256-bit |
As we've already said, the MP600 ELITE is available with three different cooling options. The base MP600 ELITE is designed for use in laptops and motherboards with their own heatspreaders, to make for a quick and painless installation. This is an M.2 2280 drive that has quickly become the standard for NVMe drives in most machines.
The exception here being handheld gaming PCs and some ultra-thin and light notebooks. We do have smaller drives for such devices, such as the MP600 MINI for the likes of the Steam Deck and Microsoft Surface Pro, while the MP600 MICRO slots into the Lenovo Legion Go and some Lenovo and HP laptops. For most machines though, the M.2 2280 form factor of the MP600 ELITE will have you covered.
The second option is the MP600 ELITE with Heatspreader, which as the name suggests ships with passive cooling attached. This is designed to be plugged into your motherboard and doesn’t require any additional cooling—useful if your motherboard doesn’t include any SSD heatspreaders, or you’re looking for the peace of mind that comes with having large heatsink attached to your drive.
If you’re looking for a drive to boost the storage capabilities of the latest Sony console, then the MP600 ELITE for PS5 is the option of interest. It comes with a white heatsink that helps keep the drive cool even during the most intense gaming sessions.
The MP600 ELITE for PS5 meets or exceeds all of Sony’s requirements for a NVMe SSD drive destined for its console. Original PS5s only have 825GB of storage and newer ones have 1TB, and honestly that isn't a lot given the sheer size of games these days. This means that the MP600 ELITE for PS5 can instantly double or triple the capacity of your PS5
You can find out more about how to upgrade your PS5 with our guide to installing the MP600 ELITE for PS5 into the console.
The MP600 ELITE family is built using the high-bandwidth NVMe 1.4 interface along with 3D TLC NAND flash memory, which offers the best combination of performance, value for money, and reliability right now.
The MP600 ELITE family is initially available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, with the 4TB options due to launch in April 2024. These drives also support AES 256-bit encryption and endurance up to 1,200TBW.
The MP600 ELITE comes with a reassuring five-year warranty as well as the CORSAIR SSD Toolbox to help you manage and monitor your drive. This utility also allows you to securely erase your drive as well as update the firmware easily from your desktop.
These drives perform optimally on a PCIe 4.0 platform, but they are backwards compatible with PCIe 3.0 systems too. You won’t hit the impressive maximum sequential throughputs on such systems, with PCIe 3.0 topping out at just over 3,000MB/s. The MP600 ELITE family does give you an easy upgrade path for such systems though.
If you’re looking for a Gen4 PCIe SSD right now, then the CORSAIR MP600 ELITE lineup offers the great combination of high-performance, attractive price point, and plenty of options when it comes to cooling. Check out the CORSAIR webstore for additional information and purchase options.
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