MP700 PRO SE vs MP700 PRO vs MP700

The MP700 PRO SE is the third PCIe 5.0 SSD launch from CORSAIR. Like the MP700 PRO and the MP700 before it, this latest drive represents the state of the art for cutting-edge PCIe 5.0 NVMe 2.0 performance. The MP700 PRO SE, which you can read more about in this article, shows the top rate sequential reads go from 10,000MB/s from the original MP700 all the way up to 14,000MB/s, with a similar boost in write performance as well. This means that you’re now essentially looking at double the throughput compared to the best of the previous generation PCIe 4.0 SSDs. Progress.

You may be left wondering how the new drive compares to what came before it. Well, the easiest way of showing the differences is with the use of a table, which you’ll find below. This includes the two other PCIe 5.0 drives as well as the MP600 PRO LPX, which is one of our speedier options from the previous PCIe 4.0 generation.

The key takeaway from all this is that SSD performance continues to improve over time. And this is something that can be seen in the likes of the well-respected CrystalDiskMark benchmark, which offers plenty of ways of measuring the throughput of an SSD across a range of different usage patterns.

The headline grabbing performance here is going to be the sequential throughput as this shows something of a best-case scenario for any drive. This is the kind of performance you’ll see when reading or writing larger files from the drive, such as videos or particularly large game install files.

Another important metric is the 4K random performance, which is essentially the opposite of the sequential performance and focuses on much smaller files, the is the sort of performance that is important to your operating system. You’ll find that your everyday operations use a combination of both – moving smaller and larger files around, so the performance is a combination of the two.

Like the MP700 PRO before it, the MP700 PRO SE is available with three different cooling options. You can elect to buy the bare drive on its own and use your motherboard’s M.2 SSD heatsink to keep it chilled, or you can go for a beefier cooling option with either a Hydro X Series water block or an active air cooler. The choice is yours. For reference, the original MP700 was only available as a bare drive.

It's worth stating that for most users the bare drive is all that’s needed. Motherboards that support PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs are generally aimed at enthusiasts and include heatspreaders for such drives. The reason we offer different cooling options is to cover power users that are going to push their storage even harder.

Apart from the raw performance and the cooling options available, the MP700 PRO SE is very similar to the MP700 PRO and the MP700. This isn’t too surprising as it uses the same core technologies, albeit with the most recent, fastest 3D TLC NAND Flash memory. The controller has also been updated to make the most of the new memory and ensure you have a trouble-free experience.

These changes aside, you’re looking at the same AES 256-bit encryption, a healthy endurance of 3000TBW, software support from CORSAIR SSD Toolbox and a five-year warranty for peace of mind.

If you’re looking for the pinnacle of PCIe 5.0 performance right now, then the MP700 PRO SE delivers. It’s faster, more up to date, and offers a range of cooling options compared to its predecessors.

In the market for a new SSD? Check out our full list of M.2 NVMe SSDs.