At first we would like to thank CORSAIR for offering us their Force Series MP300 480GB M.2 SSD for testing and reviewing.

 

About Corsair:

"Founded in 1994, Corsair has grown from pioneering the high-performance DRAM market to one of the world’s leading providers of enthusiast-grade PC components and peripherals. Our groundbreaking technology and innovation can be found in our high-performance memory, ultra-efficient power supplies, PC cases, PC and CPU cooling solutions, and solid-state storage devices. Under the Corsair Gaming brand, launched in 2014, we provide gaming keyboards, mice, headsets and mouse mats to eSports professionals and anybody who is passionate about competitive PC gaming.

 

Corsair hardware is regularly featured in showcase “dream systems,” and we have earned the adulation and respect of the press, professional gamers and overclockers, high-end system integrators, and PC enthusiasts worldwide by delivering leading-edge technology backed by renowned service and support.

 

Corsair has developed a global operations infrastructure with extensive marketing and distribution channel relationships, and our products are available through leading distributors and retailers in over sixty countries worldwide."

Product Features:

 

HIGH SPEED NVME PCI EXPRESS GEN3 X2 INTERFACE

 

Up to 1600MB/sec sequential read speeds for performance 3x faster SATA SSDs.

 

3D NAND

 

State-of-the-art, high-density 3D TLC NAND offers the ideal mix of performance, endurance and value.

 

COMPACT M.2 2280 FORM FACTOR

 

Ultra-compact M.2 2280 size fits directly into your notebook or motherboard with no additional cables or connectors.

 

MULTI-PLATFORM OS SUPPORT

 

Compatible with Microsoft Windows 10, and Linux with no special driver or administrative rights required.

 

THERMALLY OPTIMIZED

 

Surface materials are optimized for thermal conductivity, dispersing heat away from the source and minimizing performance throttling.

 

ENHANCED ERROR CORRECTION AND WEAR LEVELING

 

Advanced error correction and improved data retention ensures your data is safe, while static and dynamic wear leveling enhances reliability and extends drive life span.

 

SSD Toolbox

 

Configure drive over-provisioning, secure erase, disk cloning, firmware updates and more, all from your desktop.

 

FIVE-YEAR WARRANTY

 

Comprehensive five-year CORSAIR warranty for peace of mind.

 

 

Product Specifications:

 

With the release of the Force Series MP300 SSD, CORSAIR is aiming the mainstream segment by providing affordable storage in compact, M.2 format. It houses 3D TLC NAND ICs and can perform up to three times faster than conventional SATA3 drives. The platform where the product will be installed must support NVMe standard (PCI-Express Gen 3.0 x2), so do your research before the actual purchase!

 

The drive is shipped in a very compact cardboard enclosure, which shows the speed ratings along with the main product features on the top cover:

 

 

 

The box sides do also describe the size of the drive, along with the supported bus:

 

 

 

On the back, CORSAIR has included a small product description in multiple languages, along with the product serial number and internal code name:

 

 

 

In order to avoid damages during transit, the MP300 M.2 SSD is further secured inside a transparent plastic mold; a “Warranty against defects” leaflet is supplied as well:

 

 

 

MP300 comes with a black/white color scheme, while the top sticker does present heat conductivity properties (it is basically a very thin heatsink):

 

 

 

The back side of the PCB does come with a single, smaller sticker that contains the S/N but also the internal code name and drive total capacity description:

 

 

 

The cut-outs for this particular model are described as M.2 module with “B+M” Key:

 

 

 

The opposite side presents itself with the mounting half-ring:

 

 

 

After peeling off the thermal sticker, we can take a look at the internals:

 

 

 

The Nanya NT5CC256M16DP 512Mb DDR3L cache runs at 1600MHz:

 

 

 

The main controller is a Phison PS5008-E8 PCIe 3.0 X2 NVMe 1.3:

 

 

 

The TA7AG55AIV NAND ICs are the manufactured by Toshiba (3D TLC BiCS):

 

 

 

Test Bench:

 

CPU: Intel I5 8600K Retail

CPU Cooler: Deepcool Captain 240 EX RGB AIO

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming

RAM: Currently tested kit

Video: KFA2 GeForce GTX 1060 OC 6GB

Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W

SSD: OCZ Vector 150

Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840

 

 

The drive has arrived unformatted:

 

 

For testing purposes, we have formatted it NTFS; here is the total remaining free space afterwards:

 

 

With the help of AIDA64, we could extract more information regarding the drive:

 

The Tests

 

HDTach Short Test

Blank SSD

 

HDTach Long Test

 

Blank SSD

 

CrystalMark HDD Test Suite

AIDA64 Disk Test Suite

PCMark05 HDD Test Suite

 

 

CrystalDisk Test Suite (Random)

HDTune Test Suite

Blank SSD

 

PCMark Vantage HDD Test Suite

 

PCMark 7

 

Anvil [Read]

Anvil [Write]

 

Extra Tests:

 

AS SSD Benchmark

Blank SSD

AS SSD Benchmark (IOPS)

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ATTO Disk Benchmark

Blank SSD

PCMark 8

Blank SSD

 

 

 

The Tests

 

HDTach Short Test

Filled SSD

 

HDTach Long Test

 

Filled SSD

 

CrystalMark HDD Test Suite

AIDA64 Disk Test Suite

PCMark05 HDD Test Suite

 

 

CrystalDisk Test Suite (Random)

HDTune Test Suite

Filled SSD

 

PCMark Vantage HDD Test Suite

 

PCMark 7

 

Anvil [Read]

Anvil [Write]

 

Extra Tests:

 

AS SSD Benchmark

Filled SSD

AS SSD Benchmark (IOPS)

Filled SSD

ATTO Disk Benchmark

Filled SSD

PCMark 8

Filled SSD

 

 

 

The MP300 SSD from Corsair does offer good mainstream performance, with test results hovering around the rated speeds. By using Toshiba’s BiCS 3D TLC NAND ICs, the MP300 is no speed demon, but it is a very good replacement for the aging SATA3 standard. Thanks to the M.2 standard, the MP300 is very compact, single-sided and does not require extra cables in order to operate; the only thing you need to check before purchase is that your motherboard does support NVMe PCI-Express Gen 3.0 x2, otherwise the drive won’t be usable.

 

Many motherboard manufacturers do include heatsinks for the M.2 drives, which avoid overheating and throttling (often an issue with high-performance NVMe storage), but in this case we did not feel the need to use it, thanks to the included thin heatspreader; the only condition is to have a good airflow inside the computer case!

 

Here are our final take on the MP300:

 

Pros:

 

-affordable

-good performance for mainstream computers

-an ideal replacement for standard SATA3 drives, which also need extra cabling to operate

 

Cons:

 

-none

 

The MP300 can be found online with multiple SKUs:

 

-120GB for about 39.5 Euros

-240GB for about 60.5 Euros

-480GB for about 115 Euros

-960GB for about 215 Euros

 

CORSAIR Force Series MP300 480GB M.2 SSD is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Corsair for making this review possible!