Corsair MP600 Core Mini SSD review: Too expensive and out of touch

Corsair was one of the first companies to launch a 2230-sized SSD for gaming, particularly with the Steam Deck in mind. Its MP600 Mini was good but a little on the slow side, and, most importantly, it lacked a 2TB model. That’s ostensibly why Corsair released the MP600 Core Mini, which features a performance bump and a 2TB variant. That alone is a pretty decent improvement without too much work on Corsair’s part.

However, the market has changed substantially since the original MP600 came out. Today, there are way more options Corsair has to compete with, and the MP600 Core Mini simply doesn’t offer a competitive price or a competitive level of performance. The underlying hardware is just as good as any other gaming SSD in the 2230 form factor, but the MP600 Core Mini’s value is worse than even the original MP600 Mini.

Corsair MP600 Core Mini

Too expensive, period

This SSD is in desperate need of a price cut

While Corsair’s MP600 Core Mini offers performance on par with many other 2230 SSDs, it’s held back by an absurdly high price tag. Wait for this SSD to go on sale before buying it.

Storage capacity

1TB, 2TB

Hardware Interface

Gen4x4

Transfer rate

5,000/3,800MB/s Reads/Writes

TBW

250TBW (1TB), 450TBW (2TB)

MTBF

1.5 million hours

Pros

• 1TB and 2TB sizes available
• Good performance boost

Cons

• Virtually identical to cheaper 2230 SSDs
• Nearly as expensive as the SN770M, which is much faster
• Doesn’t offer anything that hasn’t been done before

Pricing and availability

The MP600 Core Mini launched on Oct. 31, and although there’s nothing particularly spooky about the SSD itself, the pricing is quite scary. It’s priced at $100 for the 1TB model and $200 for the 2TB model, which is pretty expensive even now that SSD prices are rising. Of course, SSD prices tend to go down over time (unlike other PC components), but that obviously will take time.

The pricing situation means the MP600 Core Mini is brushing shoulders with the high-end SN770M from Western Digital, which is only 10% more expensive than Corsair’s latest drive. By contrast, Teamgroup’s MP44S is far cheaper at $78 for the 1TB model and $153 for the 2TB, and even Seagate’s relatively expensive FireCuda 520N 2TB is cheaper than the MP600 Core Mini 2TB at $190.

Performance

How the Corsair MP600 Core Mini 2TB was tested

Like with all my SSD reviews, I tested the MP600 Core Mini 2TB on my Intel test bench, which is equipped with a Core i9-13900K running with Core i9-14900K clock speeds, effectively making it a 14900K. This fast CPU was running on ASRock’s Z790 Taichi Lite and 32GB of DDR5-5600 RAM using CL40 timings. Considering the vast majority of users will be putting SSDs like the MP600 Core Mini inside AMD-powered gaming devices like the Steam Deck, it’s fair to say that the test bench isn’t the most realistic, but that will be factored into my conclusion.

I’ve tested the MP600 Core Mini and three of its competitors in three apps to get a sense of each drive’s overall performance. These benchmarks were done in CrystalDiskMark, 3DMark’s storage test, and IOMeter. Again, since these SSDs will primarily be used for gaming, I’ll largely focus on the performance results in 3DMark, but the performance data in the other tests is also relevant.

CrystalDiskMark

CrystalDiskMark comes preloaded with six tests that differ significantly in certain aspects, with three tests being sequential and the other three random. Some testing is done at a high queue depth while others test at a low queue depth. This data is primarily useful for considering how an SSD performs under a wide range of conditions despite being a synthetic benchmark. The SEQ1M Q1T1 data, for instance, is similar to peak performance while transferring Windows files.

Scores are organized by read/write and are measured in MB/s.

The MP600 Core Mini shows performance that’s on par with the 520N while maintaining a consistent but very slim lead. However, the SN770M is far ahead in pretty much every test, especially when it comes to writing performance. It’s worth considering that peak, synthetic file transfer performance might not be super relevant for a gaming-oriented SSD like the MP600 Core Mini, but it’s worth noting regardless.

The fact that the MP600 Core Mini costs as much as it does is already becoming an obvious problem though. It offers nearly identical performance to much cheaper SSDs while costing almost as much as a noticeably faster drive. Unfortunately, this is a pattern that is going to more or less hold for the MP600 Core Mini, as you’ll see in the next two benchmarks.

3DMark

The storage test in 3DMark uses real games, albeit older ones like Battlefield V, to test load speeds and latency. The overall score averages out the performance in each individual game.

Regarding gaming performance, the MP600 Core Mini is neck and neck with the SN770M and a fair bit ahead of the 520N and MP44S. However, we’re only talking around a 15% gap between the MP600 Core Mini and the other drives, so it’s not exactly a huge difference. Again, that’s not exactly a great place to be when pricing is not in the MP600 Core Mini’s favor.

IOMeter

IOMeter can be configured to showcase the sustained writing performance of an SSD. Maintaining strong writing performance over a long period of time can be difficult for SSDs; long writing operations will inevitably fill up an SSD’s fast but limited cache, and filling up an SSD reduces the amount of free space that data can be put into quickly. The difference between peak and sustained performance can be quite stark, which is why IOMeter is one of my key benchmarking tools, even for gaming SSDs like the MP600 Core Mini.

In the graph below, you’ll see the performance of the four drives when filled to 50%. The graph tracks the performance of each drive over the course of the test, while the table details the average writing speed.

Scores are measured in MB/s.

Unfortunately, the MP600 Core Mini is in last by a pretty substantial margin. 141MB/s is still faster than gigabit internet, but only by a hair, which makes this level of performance pretty concerning, especially since the MP600 Core Mini was this slow from the moment that the test started. This data won’t likely have any bearing on gaming performance in today’s titles, especially as reads are more important, but it does indicate that this SSD (though meant for gaming) won’t be suitable for laptops, unlike every other SSD here.

Next up is how performance changes from 10% filled, to 50%, to 90%. I already showed 50% in the last graph and table, but the data for 10% and 90% is new.

Scores are measured in MB/s.

Although the MP600 Core Mini is plenty fast at 10% filled, most gamers will want to use all the space to store games. So, the performance at 10% filled isn’t exactly relevant, and the drive’s slow speeds at 50% and 90% filled are likely more relevant for most users. Unfortunately, for the MP600 Core Mini, that’s exactly where it’s the slowest, though at least at 90%, it has more company (minus the SN770M, which is way out in the lead).

I hate to sound like a broken record here, but the MP600 Core Mini is priced like it’s at least in second place, even though here, it’s firmly in last. Again, this won’t really matter for games since reading performance is usually more important, but it’s just not great for a product with a high price tag to not do well, especially in edge cases.

Should you buy the Corsair MP600 Core Mini 2TB?

You should buy the Corsair MP600 Core Mini 2TB if:

• You want a well-performing SSD
• You want more storage for your Steam Deck or ROG Ally

You shouldn’t buy the Corsair MP600 Core Mini 2TB if:

• You care at all about how much you’re spending
• You want something faster, even just a little

It’s important that Corsair finally has a 2TB SSD for the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, especially since today’s games are so large. Granted, the gaming handhelds of today can’t run a ton of games well in the first place, but even more graphically intensive titles like Hitman 3 that are playable on the Deck will require lots of space. It’s just nice to have more than enough space for your PC games, and the MP600 Core Mini 2TB accomplishes this.

However, as long as it’s priced the way it is right now, it doesn’t make sense to buy. You can either get the much cheaper MP44S and improve performance in sustained writing workloads or grab the much better SN770M for just a few more bucks. Even the 520N’s 2TB model is a better option since it’s a little cheaper and has slightly better sustained writing performance, and although that’s not a super relevant performance metric for an SSD like this, you might as well save money and get a hypothetically faster SSD.

If you’re still not convinced, consider that the original MP600 Mini 1TB is $80, $20 cheaper than the MP600 Core Mini 1TB and likely has roughly the same performance. For the MP600 Core Mini to be worth buying, it realistically needs to cost roughly as much as the MP44S. The MP600 Core Mini has good hardware for gaming behind it; it’s just too expensive right now to make much sense. I expect Corsair to correct the price eventually, especially since 2230 SSD buyers can be pretty discerning customers.

Corsair MP600 Core Mini

This drive is too expensive

While Corsair’s MP600 Core Mini offers performance on par with many other 2230 SSDs, it’s held back by an absurdly high price tag. Wait for this SSD to go on sale before buying it.