Page 10 - Conclusion
With another M.2 2230 format mainstream SSD for size-constrained ultrathin laptops and portable gaming devices in our labs for testing, how did the Crucial P310 2230 2TB stack up against other M.2 2230 drives, as well as the rest of the PCIe 4.0-based NVMe SSD world? In terms of linear read performance, the P310 2230 is top notch. Its linear write speed is also reasonably fast. We also saw good real world results in PCMark 10, appropriate for its performance class as a mainstream drive. In all of the linear tests, the Crucial P310 2230 2TB was considerably faster than the other two M.2 2230 SSDs on the list, the Lexar PLAY 1TB and WD_BLACK SN770M 2TB. I also like the P310's native full drive encryption support and 5-year warranty. However, the P310's medium workload results came in at the lower end, as evidenced by our Crystal Disk Mark's RND4K numbers and PassMark PerformanceTest 10's Advanced Disk Test graphs. Its 3DMark Storage Benchmark figures were also below average, even though it was in front of the compared Lexar and Western Digital products. However, the P310's biggest limitation, by far, is its write endurance with the QLC NAND IC. Simply put, 440TBW is very low write endurance for a 2TB drive. For reference, the SN770M 2TB is rated at 1200TBW -- almost three times higher than the P310 2230 2TB. For about $205 at press time, the Crucial P310 2230 2TB is $5 more than the WD_BLACK SN770M 2TB. The P310 2230 2TB has way better linear read and write performance as well as native full drive encryption support, but if you are looking for significantly better write endurance and higher medium workload speed, the SN770M 2TB will be the better pick.
Crucial provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
Since April 30, 2007, Number Ratings have been dropped for all CPUs, motherboards, RAM, SSD/HDDs, and graphics cards. This is to ensure the most appropriate ratings are reflected without the inherent limits of using numbers. Everything else will continue using the Number Rating System.
More information in our Review Focus.
The Crucial P310 2230 2TB SSD offers tons of storage with fast linear read and write speeds in the compact M.2 2230 form factor, but watch out for its limited medium workload performance and low write endurance.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look, Test System
3. Benchmark: AIDA64 Disk Benchmark
4. Benchmark: ATTO Disk Benchmark
5. Benchmark: Crystal Disk Mark 8.0
6. Benchmark: HD Tune Pro 5.70
7. Benchmark: PassMark PerformanceTest 10
8. Benchmark: PCMark 10
9. Benchmark: 3DMark
10. Conclusion
