# Faster NAND, Same Controller: The Phison E26 Pushed Further (2026)

The Corsair MP700 PRO SE 4TB is the current flagship of Corsair's PCIe 5.0 lineup, reaching 14,000 MB/s sequential reads by pairing the proven Phison PS5026-E26 controller with Micron's faster 232-layer TLC NAND running at 2400 MT/s.

Quick answer: The Corsair MP700 PRO SE 4TB is a well-executed iteration on an established PCIe 5.0 platform. The upgrade from 2000 MT/s to 2400 MT/s NAND is a genuine hardware improvement — not a marketing rebrand — and the sequential speed gain over the base MP700 PRO is measurable in benchmarks and in large file transfers. The 3,000 TBW endurance rating and five-year warranty are strong for a consumer drive at this capacity, and the three cooling SKUs give buyers flexibility based on their thermal situation.

## Specifications

| Specification | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Capacity | 4 TB |
| Interface | M.2 5.0 |
| Controller | Phison PS5026-E26 8 Channel |
| Memory type | Micron 232-L TLC |
| DRAM cache | Yes |
| Sequential read | 14000 MB/s |
| Sequential write | 12000 MB/s |
| Random read IOPS | 1700000 |
| Random write IOPS | 1600000 |
| Endurance | 3000 TBW |
| MTBF | 1600000 |
| Warranty | 5 years |

## Performance

Corsair rates the MP700 PRO SE 4TB at 14,000 MB/s sequential reads and 12,000 MB/s sequential writes, with random performance specified at 1,700,000 read IOPS and 1,600,000 write IOPS at queue depth 32. Independent tests by StorageReview confirmed sequential reads reaching 14.1 GB/s and writes at 12.2 GB/s in CrystalDiskMark — right on spec.

The 2400 MT/s NAND is the source of the SE's advantage over the base PRO. The Phison E26 controller was not changed; Corsair and Phison extracted the additional speed through faster flash and firmware tuning rather than a new silicon design. The 4TB drive benefits from having the most NAND dies active in parallel across all eight channels, which is why the 4TB model achieves the full rated speeds while smaller capacities peak slightly lower.

Under sustained sequential writes that exhaust the SLC write cache — workloads such as copying hundreds of gigabytes in a single session — throughput drops to between 750 MB/s and 1,300 MB/s as the controller writes directly to TLC cells. This behavior is normal for all TLC-based SSDs regardless of PCIe generation and is rarely encountered in typical desktop or workstation use. The large 4TB NAND pool means the SLC cache itself is proportionally large, so cache exhaustion requires a genuinely heavy write session to trigger.

Random IOPS at low queue depths — the workloads most relevant to OS responsiveness and application load times — are excellent. PCIe 5.0 drives consistently outperform their PCIe 4.0 counterparts in 4K random reads, and the E26 platform with dedicated DRAM keeps latency tightly controlled.

## Endurance, TBW & Warranty

The Corsair MP700 PRO SE 4TB is covered by a five-year limited warranty and carries a 3,000 TBW endurance rating. At 3,000 TBW, the drive is rated for up to 600 TB written per year over the warranty period — well above what any desktop or workstation user is likely to accumulate. A user writing 100 GB per day, which represents a heavy content creation or software development workload, would accumulate roughly 36 TB per year, reaching the TBW rating in approximately 83 years. Even at 500 GB written daily, the TBW budget lasts over 16 years. The five-year warranty expiration is the governing limit for virtually every buyer. MTBF is rated at 1.6 million hours, a standard fleet-reliability figure.

## Pros and Cons

**Pros:**

- 14,000 MB/s sequential reads — among the fastest consumer SSDs on the PCIe 5.0 platform
- Micron 232-layer TLC at 2400 MT/s delivers a genuine speed advantage over the base MP700 PRO
- 8GB SK Hynix DRAM on the 4TB model supports consistent random I/O without HMB compromises
- 3,000 TBW endurance is above the ~600 TBW-per-TB industry norm for this capacity
- Five-year warranty with AES 256-bit hardware encryption included
- Three cooling SKUs: bare drive, Air Cooler, and Hydro X for custom water loops
**Cons:**

- Requires a PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot to reach rated speeds — PCIe 4.0 hosts will see lower throughput
- Sustained sequential writes after SLC cache exhaustion drop to 750-1,300 MB/s
- Generates significant heat under load; the bare-drive SKU needs a quality motherboard heatsink
- Premium pricing over PCIe 4.0 alternatives that handle most workloads adequately
- No 1TB SE SKU — only 2TB and 4TB available in the Special Edition lineup


## Verdict

The Corsair MP700 PRO SE 4TB is a well-executed iteration on an established PCIe 5.0 platform. The upgrade from 2000 MT/s to 2400 MT/s NAND is a genuine hardware improvement — not a marketing rebrand — and the sequential speed gain over the base MP700 PRO is measurable in benchmarks and in large file transfers. The 3,000 TBW endurance rating and five-year warranty are strong for a consumer drive at this capacity, and the three cooling SKUs give buyers flexibility based on their thermal situation.

Buyers who should look elsewhere: those whose workloads are dominated by random small-file I/O where PCIe 4.0 drives already saturate real-world application needs, and those who cannot confirm their motherboard M.2 slot supports PCIe 5.0. For anyone building or upgrading a high-throughput workstation, content creation rig, or gaming PC with a PCIe 5.0-capable platform, this is among the strongest 4TB options available at the time of writing.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What does SE mean on the Corsair MP700 PRO SE?

SE stands for Special Edition and refers to a specific hardware upgrade: the drive uses Micron 232-layer TLC NAND running at 2400 MT/s, up from 2000 MT/s in the standard MP700 PRO. The Phison PS5026-E26 controller is the same in both drives; the faster NAND, combined with firmware tuning, is what pushes sequential reads from 12,400 MB/s to 14,000 MB/s. It is a distinct SKU with measurably higher performance, not a cosmetic or bundle-only designation.

### What capacities does the Corsair MP700 PRO SE come in?

The MP700 PRO SE launched in 2TB and 4TB only. There is no 1TB version in the SE lineup. Each capacity is available in three cooling configurations: a bare drive (no heatsink), an Air Cooler variant with an active fan, and the Hydro X Series for custom water-cooling loops. If you need 1TB, the standard MP700 PRO or the entry-level MP700 are the options within Corsair's PCIe 5.0 range.

### Do I need a PCIe 5.0 slot to use the MP700 PRO SE?

The drive requires a PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot to reach its rated 14,000 MB/s sequential reads. In a PCIe 4.0 x4 slot, it will operate at PCIe 4.0 speeds — roughly 7,000 to 7,500 MB/s sequential reads — still functional but well below the rated maximum. In a PCIe 3.0 slot, performance is limited further. Check your motherboard or laptop specifications to confirm PCIe 5.0 M.2 support before purchasing.

### What is the TBW endurance rating of the MP700 PRO SE 4TB?

The 4TB model is rated at 3,000 TBW under a five-year limited warranty. At 3,000 TBW, the drive allows up to 600 TB written per year across the warranty period. For context, a user writing 100 GB per day accumulates about 36 TB per year — less than a tenth of the annual budget. The five-year warranty expiration, not the TBW limit, is the practical constraint for the overwhelming majority of buyers.

### Does the MP700 PRO SE need a heatsink?

PCIe 5.0 SSDs generate more heat than PCIe 4.0 drives under sustained load, and the MP700 PRO SE is no exception. Corsair sells the bare drive without a heatsink, relying on the motherboard's M.2 heatsink to manage thermals. If your motherboard has a quality built-in M.2 heatsink, the bare drive SKU is sufficient. If not — or if you run sustained heavy writes regularly — the Air Cooler SKU adds an active fan heatsink for a modest premium. The Hydro X Series variant integrates into a custom water-cooling loop.

### How does the MP700 PRO SE compare to the Crucial T705 4TB?

The Crucial T705 4TB and Corsair MP700 PRO SE 4TB are direct competitors: both use the Phison PS5026-E26 8-channel controller and similar Micron 232-layer TLC NAND, and both target 14,000 MB/s sequential reads. Real-world benchmarks show them within one percent of each other in sequential performance. The choice typically comes down to price at the time of purchase, available cooling options, and brand ecosystem preference rather than a meaningful performance difference.

### What happens to write speeds after the SLC cache is full?

After the SLC write cache is exhausted — which requires writing several hundred gigabytes in a single sustained session — the drive writes directly to TLC cells at between 750 MB/s and 1,300 MB/s. This is normal behavior for all TLC NAND SSDs regardless of PCIe generation. The 4TB model has a proportionally large SLC cache due to its large NAND pool, meaning lighter workloads rarely exhaust it. For everyday desktop tasks, application launches, and typical file transfers, the cache is not a limiting factor.

### Is the MP700 PRO SE compatible with PS5?

The MP700 PRO SE uses the standard M.2 2280 form factor, which is compatible with the PS5 M.2 expansion slot. However, Sony recommends a drive with a heatsink for PS5 installation, so the Air Cooler SKU is the better choice for console use. The drive's PCIe 5.0 interface is backwards-compatible with the PS5's PCIe 4.0 slot — it will operate at PCIe 4.0 speeds inside the console, which is sufficient for the PS5's internal bandwidth requirements.

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Last updated: 2026-06-18. Source: https://ssdrive.net/corsair-mp700-pro-se-4-tb