Corsair, as they usually are, is the first of Phison's partners to deliver a retail SSD featuring Phison's latest and greatest controller. This round it's an SSD powered by Phison's newly minted PCIe Gen5 x4 PS5031-E31T DRAMless controller, better known as simply the "E31T" controller. Phison's new E31T controller is making some noise on the enthusiast front because, unlike its 8-channel predecessors, it doesn't generate a ton of heat.

Phison's PS5031-E31T is a DRAMless PCIe Gen5 x4 single-CPU architecture controller with built-in 32-bit microcontroller. The new controller is manufactured on TSMC's 7nm process technology, which allows it to run cool and simultaneously set new standards for Gen5 efficiency.

The NVMe 2.0 compliant E31T controller can support up to 8TB of 3D TLC or QLC NAND flash memory and can be paired with flash from various NAND fabs (Kioxia, Micron, etc.) with compliance up to Toggle 5.0 and ONFi 5.1 standards. For the MP700 Elite BOM, Corsair is pairing Phison's E31T controller with 3,600MT Kioxia BiCS8 3D TLC NAND. This is the exact configuration we previewed back in September of 2024, so we already know it will be an elite performer.

And finally rounding out the package, the MP700 Elite is fortified with Phison's exclusive gaming firmware - fully optimized for DirectStorage. Microsoft's DirectStorage technology loads high-resolution, detailed game assets faster, and maximizes I/O performance. When enabled, a properly equipped PC can load up to 60% more gaming data with 99% less CPU utilization.

Now, let's get into this review so we can show you firsthand what Corsair's MP700 Elite 2TB SSD can do for you by the numbers.

The drive is a preferred single-sided design. Variants include the bare drive or a passive heatsink version. Like all Corsair SSDs, the MP700 Elite is supported by free SSD Toolbox software, enabling convenient features such as secure erase and firmware updates directly from your desktop. Get it HERE.

Because we at TweakTown like to be first at everything whenever we can, we will present our storage performance results for the test subject on both Intel Core Ultra 200 Series and 9000 Series AMD platforms going forward for the foreseeable future. Because Intel still delivers the best real-world storage performance, our running chart will continue to be Intel-based until AMD can deliver better real-world storage performance than its rival.

Please note that we have completely retested all the 50 SSDs that comprise our comparison products using our new Intel Ultra Core 9 285K test platform. Results going forward cannot be compared with our previous 14th Gen Intel results or previous AMD results, as we've updated there as well. We believe it is important to keep our platforms current in terms of the latest hardware and operating system versions. We have also updated our OS to Windows 11 Pro 24H2. Overall, the pecking order has remained the same, at roughly 5% lower real-world performance than before.

With Sony's wildly popular PlayStation 5 console now enabled for M.2 NVMe SSDs to be used as fast storage expansion, we are including results for PS5-compatible SSDs we test as a part of our reviews going forward.

For SSDs that don't have an adequately sized PS5 compatible heatsink or other SSDs where the heatsink provided doesn't fit right and can be removed, we both use and recommend Sabrent's unparalleled PS5 heatsink available HERE.

We only chart SSDs that can deliver a minimum of 5,500 MB/s read, which is Sony's original recommendation.

Although not advertised for PS5 storage expansion, Corsair's MP700 Elite 2TB can be an excellent choice for this role. Not only does it deliver more than enough read throughput to serve competently, but its power efficiency and thermal characteristics bode well for this implementation.

We employ CDM as our standard measurement for both sequential throughput and Q1T1 random read. In terms of sequential throughput, we find our test subject capable of easily exceeding quoted up-to-factory sequential throughput specifications. Q1T1 random read performance is exceptional, landing behind only Samsung's 990 Pro Series, and those are running in a special full power mode. Impressive.

The MP700 Elite 2TB is factory spec'd for up to 1300k random read IOPS and up to 1400k random write IOPS. We are getting up to 91k better 4K random reads and up to a whopping 505k better 4K random writes. Outstanding.

ATTO gives us a clear picture of what transfer sizes a particular SSD favors in terms of QD4 sequential throughput. We chart 128K transfers. At a queue depth of four, the MP700 Elite 2TB favors sequential transfers of 2MB or larger when serving data to the host (reading) and 64KB or larger when programming (writing) data.

Our 100GB data transfer test is not your ordinary 100GB of data, ours is a crushing mix composed of more than 62K files. Write performance, random or sequential, is an infrequent operation, and as such, we do not consider it to be an important performance metric in the consumer space. An example being how many times is a game installed vs. how many times it's played. Our power-efficient 4-channel contender delivers a head-turning performance here by outperforming a whole host of 8-channel PCIe Gen5 SSDs. Impressive.

Unlike programming (writing) data, serving data to the host (reading) is typically an important performance metric as it relates to the consumer space. Here we find our test subject to be slower than the 8-channel Gen5 SSDs, but significantly faster than any PCIe Gen4 SSD currently in circulation.

UL's newest 3DMark SSD Gaming Test is the most comprehensive SSD gaming test ever devised. We consider it superior to testing against games themselves because, as a trace, it is much more consistent than variations that will occur between runs on the actual game itself. This test is the same as running the actual game, just without the inconsistencies inherent to application testing. In short, we believe that this is the world's best way to test an SSDs gaming prowess and accurately compare it against competing SSDs. The 3DMark SSD Gaming Test measures and scores the following:

Gaming is a performance metric that matters to most DIY consumers, especially for the enthusiast crowd that TweakTown caters to. Now we've reached the point where results start to matter as they are a direct reflection of user experience.

Corsair's MP700 Elite 2TB is the best DRAMless SSD for gaming that we've ever tested. The most performance where it matters the most. Gotta love that.

PCMark 10 Storage Test is the most advanced and most accurate real-world consumer storage test ever made. There are four different tests you can choose from; we run two of them. The Full System Drive Benchmark and the Quick System Drive Benchmark. The Full System Drive Benchmark writes 204 GB of data over the duration of the test. These tests directly correlate with mainstream user experience.

This test writes 204GB of data covering a broad range of common consumer tasks, including booting Windows 10, file transfers, Adobe and Office applications, and startup times for games such as Battlefield V, COD Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. Unlike synthetic numbers, this is comprehensive real-world data, which is why we use it to rank SSDs in terms of user experience.

We consider a score here of 5,000+ to be a milestone. Few SSDs can achieve this level of performance. Additionally, this marks the first time for any DRAMless SSD to do so with our new Ultra 285K based test bench.

The Quick System Drive Benchmark writes 23 GB of data over the duration of the test.

Of all the benchmarks we run, it can be argued that this one offers the best reflection of a typical consumer use case scenario. A score of 5,684 is the second-best showing for a DRAMless SSD tested with our new Core Ultra 9 285K system.

Corsair's MP700 Elite 2TB is the highest-performing DRAMless SSD we've encountered to date. There is a lot to love about Corsair's newest offering. It is a preferred single-sided design, and as such, it will fit in places where double-sided SSDs cannot. It delivers PCIe Gen5 throughput without generating an excessive amount of heat, and it's by far the best DRAMless choice for gaming, as evidenced by its 3DMark Storage score. And finally, rounding it all out is Corsair's best-in-class SSD toolbox.

We rank SSDs in terms of overall user experience (performance where it matters most) as expressed by PCMark 10 storage and 3DMark gaming storage tests. Currently, we consider a user experience score of 15K or more to verify an SSD as a TweakTown Elite performer. And there you have it. Corsair's MP700 Elite 2TB is certified as TT Elite.

Corsair's MP700 Elite is the first of its kind to bring true PCIe Gen5 throughput suitable for the masses and in doing so has earned our highest award. Editor's Choice.