We mentioned that fortunately it doesn’t get too hot as Corsair says the operating temperature of this unit can reach 65ºC, compared to 70ºC which is typical for solid-state devices of this interface. Of course, it uses a Phison E27 controller which tends to get quite hot, so we’ll see if there is any thermal throttling or not.
Unboxing and external analysis
The Corsair MP600 Mini is packaged in a small rectangular cardboard blister, on the front of which you can see an image of the device accompanied, as always, by the brand, model and its main technical specifications.
On the other hand, there is not much to highlight, because apart from the barcode and the usual compliance logos, we only have a brief description in several languages.
Inside we find the SSD protected by a transparent plastic blister, as well as the usual information notices.
It is almost curious to see the size of the packaging and the plastic blister, already small, compared to the small size of the SSD. In fact, the image we saw on the front of the packaging is larger than the product itself, it is oversized.
Here you have the Corsair MP600 Mini, in its M.2 2230 format it has on the top side a simple label covering the NAND Flash memory chip and the controller.
And on the opposite side, no chip is installed on the PCB, just another label.
The label is just that, a label, it doesn’t have a copper layer to act as a heat sink like we’ve seen in other units or anything. Once removed, we can see the Phison PS5027-E27-61 controller and the 2TB memory chip, made by Micron.
After seeing the SSD, let’s install it and see how it works.
How does the Corsair MP600 Mini perform when things are going well?
As we mentioned before, this Corsair MP600 Mini is an ideal SSD to be used as mass storage in portable consoles, but that does not mean that it is only intended for them, since you can install it on a PC without any problem as long as the M .2 socket in which you install it has an anchor for the 2230 format.
Precisely, we tested it on PC, using our usual test bench:
- Intel Core i9-14900K Processor
- be calm! Dark Rock Pro 5
- ASUS ROG STRIX Z790 Gaming Wi-Fi II
- 2 x 24GB G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 7200MHz
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Founders Edition
- TeamGroup Cardea A440 Pro 2TB PCIe 4.0 Motherboard
- Corsair Obsidian 4000D Airflow
- Corsair RM1000x Swift
Logically, we connected the MP600 Mini to one of the secondary M.2 sockets on the motherboard, and although these sockets on the board come with their own heat sink, we decided to leave it “in the air” to see if it is really an SSD that does not require a heat sink, or if on the contrary the Thermal Throttling phenomenon occurs due to the temperature.
Noise and temperature
We started with just that. There is no noise, since this SSD does not have a heat sink and even less a fan, so we go directly to the temperature.
Without a heatsink and when idle, the SSD stays at a temperature between 35 and 40ºC more or less, but if you look at the screenshot above, that’s exactly the same temperature as the main SSD in the system, which has a heatsink.
Under maximum load, we recorded temperatures between 60 and 65ºC, exactly the maximum that according to Corsair this unit supports in operation, but we did not notice at any time any drop in performance due to Thermal Throttling, so we can say that Indeed, it is not necessary to put a heatsink on it because it does not heat up enough to need it. Of course, if you want/can wear it, it never hurts, of course.
Performance test
Let’s see how this SSD behaves when needed, and for that, there is nothing better than CrystalDisk Brand.
Corsair promised us 7,000MB/s read and 6,200MB/s write on this MP600 Mini, and that’s exactly what we got in this benchmark. These speeds are nothing but not bad, practically covering what the PCIe 4.0 interface is capable of offering.
To swindle AS SSD Reference We’ll run a similar test, but it uses other algorithms to measure SSD performance, and typically the numbers are much lower.
This benchmark has two additional subtests, the first of which measures the time it takes to copy different types of files.
And also another one that will measure the behavior of this SSD when it comes to handling non-compressible files, which, in addition to small files, are the ones that do the worst with SSD algorithms.
Overall, the tests of this benchmark were very satisfactory, although it is true that with non-compressible files there were three drops in writing speed. Nothing to worry about though.
As we said, another of the weak points of SSDs are always the small files; Normally, it is from 64 KB files that they deliver their full potential, and this is something that we are going to verify with ATTO Disk Review.
Exactly what we expected: from 64 KB, that’s when the MP600 Mini shines in all its glory. However, it must also be said that with smaller sizes it works just as well, so it’s a pretty versatile SSD in that sense.
Finally, we need to see what performance it gives us with Anvil Reference.
Here the data obtained is a bit disparate; the reading speed was particularly low, while the writing speed was surprisingly higher. Overall the data is good, although it must also be said that the writing remains at 748,000 IOPS compared to the million promised by the manufacturer, but the bad is the 216,000 IOPS compared to the 750,000 promised.
Conclusion and verdict
If you were looking to expand the storage of your portable consoles, this is the best SSD you can buy for them. The Corsair MP600 Mini has an M.2 2230 format, ideal for this type of device, and despite its size, it offers 2TB of capacity with impressive speeds that will make booting, installing and loading games easy.
It must be said that there are currently not many SSDs of this format on the market, and those that exist are usually of low capacity and/or very expensive. Well, the question of capacity is now a thing of the past with this 2TB model, although the price is a hindrance since Corsair sells it for $265. Fortunately, there are promotions as at the time of publishing this analysis, as we can find it on Amazon Europe with a fairly interesting discount that leaves it at a more appropriate price.
For all these reasons, we think this Corsair MP600 Mini deserves our Gold award (it would be Platinum if it had a lower price), as well as our recommendation for its performance.
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