Test protocol:
We’re going to take a slightly different approach to our usual SSD test protocol. The reason is simple: I’m not usually in charge. To test this Corsair MP700 PRO SSD, you needed a motherboard with a PCIe 5.0 slot, which is why I volunteered. To take full advantage of Corsair’s claimed throughput, you’ll need a motherboard built around either the AMX X670 chipset or the Intel Z790 chipset, making sure it has a PCIe 5.0 slot. The idea will be to judge the gains made by this new SSD compared with our current Samsung 990 Pro 1 TB, should you need to upgrade your configuration, for example.
Here’s the configuration we’ll be using for these tests:
- Motherboard: ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore (BIOS 0601)
- Processor: Intel i9-13900KS
- Memory: 32 GB Teamgroup Delta RGB 7200 MT/s CL34
- Graphics card: Galax GT 710 Fish
- Cooling system: Alphacool Core 1 CPU 480 mm EK radiator
- SSD: Samsung 990 Pro 1 TB and Corsair MP700 PRO 2 TB
- Power supply: be quiet! Dark Power PRO 12 1500w
- Operating system: Windows 11 64-bit 23H2
Our two SSDs, for testing purposes, will be inserted in the M.2 PCIe 5.0 x4 slot closest to the CPU and on the CPU’s PCIe lines. The heatsink used will be the original one present on our ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore motherboard for the Samsung 990 Pro and, of course, the original one for the Corsair MP700 PRO.
As a reminder, the Samsung 990 Pro 1 TB has a theoretical read speed of 7450 MB/s with up to 1400K IOPS and a write speed of 6900 MB/s with up to 1550K IOPS.
The Windows 11 version is the latest, 23H2. The idea is to carry out a “normal” installation, without any optimization, in order to be as close as possible to the use of the average person. Our installation is therefore limited to the OS and the various software programs we’ll be using.
A quick tour of the Corsair SSD Toolbox software to check that everything is perfectly recognized, and above all to check that there are no firmware updates . Everything seems to be in order, and we’ll be able to start testing, but it’s about time Corsair gave its software a facelift!
