Corsair MP600 CORE XT 1TB SSD Review – Value For Money

Corsair is a powerhouse brand when it comes to peripherals, cases, and cooling but if you’ve been in the PC space for a long time then you may know Corsair as a leading brand in memory and SSDs. Corsair is taking a much more aggressive approach in the Gen 4 SSD market with the release of its MP600 Core XT NVMe SSD. It’s the brand’s first budget Gen 4 drive serving as an entry point for first-time PC Builders or those who simply want to add storage to their PC or PlayStation 5. Let’s take a closer look at a Corsair MP600 Core XT 1TB Gen4 SSD and see if it’s worth the purchase.

Corsair MP600 CORE XT 1TB SSD – A Closer Look

The Corsair MP600 Core XT 1TB SSD comes in a simple yet attractive packaging design with the brand’s signature yellow design. Key specs such as speed and capacity are labeled on the front of the SSD. Moving to the back you’ll see a description of the MP600 Core XT written in different languages as well as a cutout where you can see the SSD model serial number.

Being a budget SSD, the Corsair MP 600 Core XT doesn’t have any included heatsink as it only has a sticker that covers the NAND flash and controller. The back doesn’t have any chips soldered.

The Corsair MP600 Core XT 1TB SSD is rated at a 5,000 MB/s read speed and 3,500 MB/s write speed while the 2TB and 4TB variants have a higher rated write speed at 4,400 MB/s. What makes the MP600 Core XT a budget SSD is that it’s a DRAM-less SSD that uses a Phison E21T controller and a 176-Layer Micron QLC Flash to achieve a competitive Php 3,110 price tag for the 1TB model.

Test Bench Setup and Benchmark Methodology

Gadget Pilipinas’ testing philosophy is to provide detail-oriented results as accurately as possible so that our readers can replicate our tests given that these conditions are met. Different benchmarking apps and sequences are used depending on the tested component or device.

CORSAIR MP600 CORE XT 1TB Testbench Specs

We use CapFrameX 1.7.2 Stable as our primary FPS capture and analysis tool for all our gaming benchmarks. The latest build version of Windows 11 Pro and WHQL-certified drivers are used for our benchmarks. Readings such as temperatures and power draw are recorded using HWINFO64, and other relevant software for cross-checking.

For more info, read our Review and Benchmark methodology article.

THROUGHPUT Performance

Developed by Noriyuki Miyazaki, CrytalDiskMark is a free benchmark tool that is being used by thousands of experts. This tool measures SSD’s sequential read and write speeds. That means how fast files can be read from and written to the drive, usually measured in MB/s.

IOPS Performance

IOPS or Input/Output Operations Per Second is a measure of how many inputs or outputs an SSD can perform in a short period. IOPS is a useful parameter to measure how fast it can process small amounts of workload that are similar to real-world usages, such as loading a webpage and launching apps.

ACCESS TIME

Access time or latency is just as crucial as sequential, random, and IOPS for an SSD. It wraps up all the values from the previous performance and shows the SSD’s responsiveness, whether it be small or heavy workloads.

AS SSD’s Copy benchmark simulates copying various file types namely, ISOs, Games, and applications. Different file types result in different transfer speeds.

CORSAIR MP600 CORE XT 1TB Temperatures

Despite not having a dedicated heatsink as well as having a high-rated speed the Corsair MP600 Core XT Gen4 1TB SSD only managed to peak at 65°C throughout our testing period. You should expect lower temperatures if you install the MP600 Core XT in an M.2 slot that has a heatsink from the motherboard.

Performance Summary and Conclusion

The Corsair MP600 Core XT 1TB suffers a loss in performance and endurance in sustained workloads or in scenarios where the cache runs out – like any other QLC drive in the market. However, that does not mean that the MP600 Core XT SSD isn’t any good as the Phison E21T controllers make up for the QLC flash. In scenarios where the cache isn’t crucial, the SSD’s performance rivals other Gen 4 drives in our test suite especially in latency and throughput. In circumstances where the cache is a problem, at least the MP600 Core XT’s performance doesn’t plummet below Gen 3 SSD performance.

Where the Corsair MP600 Core XT 1TB shines is its price per GB. At Php 3,180, the Corsair MP600 Core XT 1TB is one of the cheapest, if not, the cheapest 1TB Gen 4 drive in the market albeit it’s also not the slowest which is currently held by the Kingston NV2 1TB at 3,500MB/s read and 2,800MB/s write. That said, unlike the NV2 which sports the same controller but a TLC flash, the MP600 Core XT’s higher speed is undercut by its lower endurance at only 250 TBW compared to the NV2’s 320TBW rating. That said both clearly have trade-offs to achieve a Php 3,000~ price and eliminating those compromises would simply make the price tag skyrocket to at least Php 5,000.

Overall, despite the Corsair MP600 Core XT 1TB Gen4 SSD’s shortcomings brought upon by the usage of QLC flash its price-per-GB to performance ratio simply remains irresistible, especially for those on a tight budget. Its price kills the remaining Gen 3 drives in the market as you’re getting an overall faster SSD for the price of a 1TB Gen 3 drive at a slight expense of endurance. But Corsair has backed the MP600 Core XT with a 5-year warranty. So, if you’re looking for an SSD to expand your Steam library, PS5 storage, or any other task that isn’t cache or write-intensive, then the Corsair MP600 Core XT is an option you should consider should you want the maximum value for your money.

Where to Buy Corsair MP600 Core XT 1TB Gen 4 SSD

The MP600 Core XT 1TB has a PH SRP of Php 3,180 and is available at the CORSAIR Official Store over at Lazada and Shopee.

Grant Soriano

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Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.