Game Load Time Performance
Forspoken (DirectStorage)
We are using the full retail game Forspoken, which supports DirectStorage to test game loading time. Forspoken was released on January 24th, 2023, on the PC and uses the Luminous Engine. We are using an EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 XC BLACK GAMING 12GB video card. We enable the highest graphics settings, including Ultra High Texture Memory, and run at 1080p. We use the built-in benchmark and report the scene load times. We add the sum of all seven scene load times and run the benchmark three times. We then take the average of the three sums from each run. We graph the average result.
In Forspoken, the MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO 2TB FROZR has an average sum of all scene load time results of 8.96 seconds. The breakdown of each run and each scene is shown below, and you can compare these numbers to previous reviews of the CORSAIR MP700 PRO 2TB PCIe Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSD and the ADATA LEGEND 970 2TB PCIe Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSD.
We are talking about very small differences between these PCIe Gen5 SSDs in DirectStorage loading times, differences that are only a hundredths of a second. For all intents and purposes, all three have an average loading time of 8.9 seconds, but if we get down to the hundredths, the MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO 2TB FROZR is 0.33% faster than the CORSAIR MP700 PRO and the ADATA LEGEND 970 is 0.67% faster. 
Overall, not even a 1% difference between these three PCIe Gen5 SSDs for DirectStorage load times in a real game. These differences between runs are not noticeable, so each SSD here, including the MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO 2TB FROZR has excellent load times that are extremely fast as you can see from the breakdown below for load times of each scene, the slowest scene load time was 2 seconds, so very fast.
| CORSAIR MP700 PRO 2TB | Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scene 1 | 0.605 s | 0.627 s | 0.571 s |
| Scene 2 | 2.145 s | 2.195 s | 2.243 s |
| Scene 3 | 2.043 s | 1.994 s | 2.004 s |
| Scene 4 | 1.18 s | 1.187 s | 1.129 s |
| Scene 5 | 1.12 s | 1.028 s | 1.086 s |
| Scene 6 | 0.911 s | 0.985 s | 0.918 s |
| Scene 7 | 1.013 s | 0.998 s | 0.926 s |
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Benchmark
We use the Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Benchmark which benchmarks the load times of several game scenes. The benchmark calculates the sum load time of the scenes and reports the number. We run the benchmark three times, and take the average of the load times. This provides consistent, objective game load testing data we can use for comparison in a game scenario outside of DirectStorage.
The MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO 2TB FROZR is again very fast in load times in the Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Benchmark. The total time for loading averaged between 3 runs is 6.43 seconds, so again we are talking about a hundredths of a second difference between it and the CORSAIR MP700 PRO. However, compared to the ADATA LEGEND 970 the difference is in tenths, and the MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO 2TB FROZR is 2.5% faster than the ADATA LEGEND 970 in loading times.
The big difference is when we compare the loading times compared to the previous generation MSI SPATIUM M480 HS and M470. The new MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO 2TB FROZR produces loading times here that are 46% faster than the M470 and 47% faster than the M480. Until now, these had the fastest times for loading in this game for a PCIe Gen4 SSD, but the MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO 2TB FROZR beats them squarely by knocking three full seconds off the loading time.