Corsair MP510 SSD review

Corsair was already able to shake up the SSD market at the beginning of 2017. The MP500 series at that time caused even the industry’s industry leader Samsung to shake its knees. Not without reason. As a result, the powerful MP500 series could even keep up with the untouchable models of Samsung’s EVO and PRO series. So there are more than enough reasons to take a look at the successor. We’d like to take a closer look at the Corsair MP510 in our practical test.

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Technical details

Always a premium SSD

Without a doubt, the Corsair MP510 is a solid state drive (SSD) in the luxury class segment. And as was the case with its predecessor, the EVO and PRO models from Samsung are clearly competitors. However, one should not make the mistake of attributing the production of the Corsair MP510 solely to Corsair. The experts from Kioxia (formerly Toshiba Memory) are responsible for a not to be sneezed at. The Japanese tech company has donated the flash memory to the SSD. This is the BiCS-3, a 3D NAND flash with 64 layers. This is one reason for the success of the SSDs from Corsair.

Changes to the predecessor

Compared to the Corsair MP500 a lot has changed. This is especially true for the controller and the available capacities of the new series. As a result of the upgrades, the new SSD should offer up to 25% faster transfer times. Furthermore, a reliable encryption option (AES256) is available. What has not changed, however, is the form factor of the Corsair MP510. M.2 2280 is still the preferred choice, and more precisely, the SSD is 2.2 cm wide and 8 cm long.

Different sizes are available

With the Force Series MP510 you have the choice between three different sizes. These differ from each other not only in the area of memory size. They also offer different transfer rates. For example, the version with 960 GB memory capacity is supposed to offer faster writing performance than the smaller versions with 240 GB or 480 GB. Interestingly, the version with 960 GB also offers faster writing performance than the largest with a proud 1.92 TB.

Aged memory, but current controller

The NAND memory from Toshiba is more at home in the entry or middle class of SSDs. In contrast, Corsair relies on a controller that is state of the art. The Phison PS5012-E12 is a reliable and above all powerful controller.

Powerful version with 960 GB

If you choose the MP510 with 960 GB, you get the most powerful version of the series, at least on paper. For example, it uses all 32 NAND chip lines. In contrast, the versions with less memory only use eight (240 GB) or 16 (480 GB) lines. However, the reliable controller provides a practical protection function in all versions. The so-called SmartECC is capable of eliminating unwanted errors when reading data.

SmartECC relies on a sophisticated algorithm that collects important information while writing data. This information is stored in a backup and can be used at a later time. Besides SmartECC, the controller also offers SmartRefresh. This feature ensures reliable monitoring of the individual memory cells. The controller detects areas that no longer work reliably and replaces them if necessary.

SLC cache increases transfer rates

Like many other SSDs, the MP510 uses an SLC cache. For SSDs with a TLC NAND this is more rule than exception. And there are some good reasons for this. Among other things, the cache ensures that the SSD can perform much better when writing. However, for many manufacturers the SLC cache is a big secret that should not be revealed at all. Corsair goes a different way with the MP510. Here the manufacturer speaks quite openly about how high the buffer of the SSD is. With the MP510, Corsair relies on a total of 24 GB SLC cache.

Performance test

So far, we’ve examined the MP510 in theory. But the facts and data from the sheet alone are not enough for us. That’s why we subjected the upper class SSD to an extensive performance test. It should be urgently noted here that we tested the version with 480 GB storage space. The MP510 with 960 GB, respectively 1.92 TB offers more performance.

Our test system

In order for an SSD to develop its full performance, it needs appropriate support. Accordingly, we rely on a high-performance system for testing. This offers the SSD the support it needs. This allows us to put the storage medium through its paces without compromise.

• MSI Z390I Gaming Edge AC Motherboard*
• Intel Core i5-9600K processor*
• 16 GB Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 3200 RAM*
• MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Super Ventus GP OC graphics card*
• Corsair MP510 480GB SSD*
• Corsair SF450 power supply*

Benchmark

Drops of bitterness: high energy demand

As the benchmarks clearly show, the MP510 is quite obviously rightly a high-end SSD. This is confirmed by the convincing results in the performance measurement. However, a high performance often unfortunately also goes hand in hand with a high power consumption. Unfortunately, even a modern controller cannot change this. According to the manufacturer, the SSD should consume an average of 5.6 watts (writing) and 6.9 watts (reading). However, we had to realize that these rates are far exceeded. Thus, the SSD consumed 7 watts (writing) and 9 watts (reading) in our test. Corsair’s specifications should probably only be correct if the SSD runs in energy-saving L1.2 mode. You have to live with less performance here, though.

Practical software is included

Conveniently, Corsair includes custom software with its MP510. With the SSD Toolbox, the user can view data from the SSD and make special settings. In particular, the temperature of the drive and data volumes can be viewed. It also offers practical cloning features. Optimizations can also be made on the drive.

Conclusion

The market for SSDs is now flooded with a multitude of different providers. As a result, the competition is also increasing for the manufacturers. Nevertheless, it is noticeable that the number of vendors has not changed anything at the top of the manufacturers. After our review of the MP510, it’s clear that Corsair is still one of them. However, the direct competition to Samsung’s EVO and PRO models obviously still exists. One must especially praise Corsair’s willingness to change. Unlike the multitude of other manufacturers, the tech experts are not resting on their laurels. Yet it would have been easy to make only marginal changes to the already successful MP500 series. However, Corsair is not just giving the successor a newer memory, but a completely new controller. And this one can do a lot.

So it is hardly surprising that the new model offers much higher performance than its predecessor. All in all, Corsair has not only reworked the MP500 series, but has also developed an entirely new SSD. As the MP500 was not a high-end SSD at the time, this is a commendable step by Corsair. With very good values for writing and reading data, the MP510 convinced us throughout the test. Here it became clear that the SSD can’t only keep up with Samsung’s premium models. In some points, Corsair even managed to score higher than the Koreans. One of these is the durability of the SSD. After all, the MP510 offers very high TBW rates and MTBF values. Not without reason, Corsair gives its flagship SSD a five-year warranty.

Unfortunately, the MP510 is not perfect either. So we noticed a few points in the test where we were annoyed. For example, we asked ourselves why Corsair relies on a brand new controller, but goes old ways in the area of NAND flash. Here, one could have resorted to a more modern technology in order to get the maximum out of it. Under certain circumstances this would not only have brought an advantage in the area of performance. Because a modern NAND flash can also provide for a lower energy requirement. And this is quite considerable in the MP510.

The few points of criticism are all complaints at a high level. Of course, Corsair could have taken a few other paths here and there. However, the negative aspects will never really get noticed by the average user. All in all, the MP510 is a very good SSD. Especially the price-performance ratio is more than respectable. There is hardly any competition in the upper class of SSDs that can offer so many gigabytes at such a price.

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