Crucial P310 NVMe SSD Unveiled: Micron's Play in the M.2 2230 Market
by Ganesh T S on July 17, 2024 9:00 AM EST
Hand-held gaming consoles based on notebook platforms (such as the Valve SteamDeck, ASUS ROG Ally, and the MSI Claw) are one of the fastest growing segments in the PC gaming market. The form-factor of such systems has created a demand for M.2 2230 NVMe SSDs. Almost all vendors have a play in this market, and even Micron has OEM SSDs (such as the Micron 2400, 2550, and 2500 series) in this form-factor. Crucial has strangely not had an offering with its own brand name to target this segment, but that changes today with the launch of the Crucial P310 NVMe SSD.
The Crucial P310 is a family of M.2 2230 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSDs boasting class-leading read/write speeds of 7.1 GBps and 6 GBps. The family currently has two capacity points - 1 TB and 2 TB. Micron claims that the use of its 232L 3D NAND and Phison's latest E27T DRAM-less controller (fabricated in TSMC's 12nm process) help in reducing power consumption under active use compared to the competition - directly translating to better battery life for the primary use-case involving gaming handheld consoles.
Based on the specifications, it appears that the drives are using 232L 3D QLC. Compared to the recently-released Micron 2550 SSD series in the same form-factor, a swap in the controller has enabled some improvements in both power efficiency and performance. The other specifications are summarized in the table below.
| Crucial P310 SSD Specifications | ||
| Capacity | 2 TB | 1 TB |
| Controller | Phison E27T (DRAM-less) | |
| NAND Flash | Micron 232L 3D QLC NAND | |
| Form-Factor, Interface | Single-Sided M.2-2230 PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe |
|
| Sequential Read | 7100 MB/s | |
| Sequential Write | 6000 MB/s | |
| Random Read IOPS | 1 M | |
| Random Write IOPS | 1.2 M | |
| SLC Caching | Yes | |
| TCG Pyrite Encryption | Yes | |
| Warranty | 5 Years | |
| Write Endurance | 440 TBW 0.12 DWPD |
220 TBW 0.12 DWPD |
| MSRP | $215 | $115 |
The power efficiency, cost, and capacity points are plus points for the Crucial P310 family. However, the endurance ratings are quite low. Gaming workloads are inherently read-heavy, and this may not be a concern for the average consumer. However, a 0.12 DWPD rating may turn out to be a negative aspect when compared against the competition's 0.33 DWPD offerings in the same segment.
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James5mith - Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - link
Very confused here. You have two sentences literally back to back that seem like they were written by different people who didn't talk to each other."Micron claims that the use of its 232L 3D NAND and Phison's latest E27T DRAM-less controller (fabricated in TSMC's 12nm process) help in reducing power consumption..."
followed by:
"Based on the specifications, it appears that the drives are using 232L 3D QLC."
Yeah, you just said that in the previous sentence as a derived quote from Micron themselves. Why act like it's detective work in the following sentence? Reply
neo_1221 - Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - link
He's specifying that it's QLC NAND, something that isn't mentioned in the previous paragraph. I believe Micron also makes 232L TLC NAND. Replymeacupla - Thursday, July 18, 2024 - link
Endurance has always been a sore spot for these 2230 drives.The P310 1TB is especially bad, considering WD SN740 1TB does 400TBW. Reply
deil - Friday, July 19, 2024 - link
temp is the issue. They are mostly used in spots where cooling is not an option.they tend to overheat repeatedly, usually halving its lifespan.
especially DRAM less, this is painful.
maybe we are asking for too much for such a tiny thing. Reply
nandnandnand - Saturday, July 20, 2024 - link
220-to-1 ratio isn't out of the ordinary for QLC NAND. It's probably that. ReplyMakaanPL - Thursday, July 18, 2024 - link
Goodram's IRDM Pro Nano was released last month and based on the specs it might be one of the fastest. It is confirmed that it uses E27T controller as well (at least 2TB one) and 3D TLC, based on the specs BiCS6 162L are likely but manufacturer's support did not answer my question about NAND specifics. Reply