Test Setup
Please read our SSD Storage Review Format and Methodology article for an explanation of our test system, how we test, procedures, and goals for SSD reviews. It has been changed and updated for PCIe Gen5 SSD reviews.
We are using the motherboard’s current default BIOS settings. We are running the latest motherboard BIOS. We have Windows 11 Pro configured to run in the “Balanced” power profile. Windows has the latest updates. We are running the latest Win11 23H2 update from October 2023.
Note that our computer test build has been updated as of August 2023, with a new system build to facilitate PCIe Gen5 SSD reviews. Starting August 23rd, 2023 all SSD reviews onward utilize the new test system, format, and methodology in this article. Prior to this date, SSD reviews used a different test system build, please refer to the Test Setup page on each SSD review where system specs are listed for each review. All Gen4 SSD performance data shown on the graphs was acquired on this previous test system build, but the benchmark programs remain the same. Check each SSD for the test setup page for the specific build used.
In today’s PCIe Gen5 SSD review, you will find the MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 2TB FROZR compared to the CORSAIR MP700 PRO 2TB PCIe Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSD and an ADATA LEGEND 970 2TB PCIe Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSD which have both been reviewed on this same system. Therefore, there are three specific PCIe Gen5 SSDs for comparison. However, the ADATA LEGEND 970 is rated at a slower speed in comparison, it has a max read and write speed rated at 10,000MB/s, and by comparison, will be slower in throughput.
The MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO and CORSAIR MP700 PRO both have the same rated throughput of 12,400MB/s read and 11,800MB/s write. In this review, you will be able to see what a Gen5 SSD offers over the previous fastest Gen4 SSDs as well as we will include several of the fastest Gen4 SSDs we have tested.
CrystalDiskInfo
Installation of the SSD went smoothly, this SSD does not need a special NVMe driver. It uses the default Windows NVMe driver. In CrystalDiskInfo we can see information on the SSD below. The current Firmware version is EQFM22.2 which is .1 higher in version than the CORSAIR MP700 PRO that we reviewed (EQFM22.1 version on that). We checked for firmware updates on the CORSAIR MP700 PRO, and we did not find a new version available. However, we can see that the MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO is using a newer firmware version. The drive is running at the NVM Express 2.0 protocol at PCIe 5.0 x4.
