The Crucial P310 is the fastest 2230 NVMe SSD we’ve tested, offering blazing-fast speeds in a compact form factor. While not the cheapest option, its performance makes it a top contender for devices like the Steam Deck.
Crucial P310: Features and Specifications
Designed for smaller devices like the Steam Deck, the Crucial P310 is a 2230 (22mm wide, 30mm long) NVMe SSD utilizing a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. It features a Phison PS5027-E2 controller and 232-layer QLC NAND.
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One potential drawback is its relatively low TBW (Terabytes Written) rating of 220TBW per terabyte of capacity. This is typical for QLC SSDs but significantly lower than the 600TBW average for TLC SSDs. While 220TBW is still substantial and likely sufficient for most users within the 5-year warranty period, it’s a factor to consider for heavy workloads.
Crucial P310: Pricing and Availability
The Crucial P310 is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, priced at $115 and $215, respectively. While not budget-friendly, the price is justifiable considering the exceptional performance and compact size.
Crucial P310: Performance Analysis
The Crucial P310 delivers impressive speed, particularly in sequential transfers. It excels in CrystalDiskMark 8 and AS SSD benchmarks, as well as our 48GB transfer tests.
The P310’s performance is simply remarkable.
However, its performance drops significantly during sustained heavy writes, like our 450GB write test, due to secondary cache limitations. The drive’s speed plummeted from over 3GBps to 350MBps when the cache was exhausted.
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While it didn’t dominate in random operations, the P310 still achieved respectable speeds.
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The P310’s performance in the 48GB transfer tests further solidified its position as a top performer.
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The performance drop during the 450GB write test is visualized below. This is particularly noticeable in the 2TB model and would occur even sooner in the 1TB version.
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The following graph illustrates the impact of sustained heavy writes on the P310’s performance.
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For everyday tasks, the P310 is exceptionally fast. As long as you avoid consistently writing large amounts of data, the performance will remain excellent.
Crucial P310: Final Verdict
Despite its higher price, the Crucial P310 is the fastest 2230 NVMe SSD we’ve tested for everyday use, offering impressive sequential transfer speeds and decent random operation performance. This makes it a compelling choice for users seeking top-tier performance in a compact form factor.
Testing Methodology
Our storage tests are conducted on a Windows 11 system with an X790 motherboard (PCIe 4.0/5.0), an i5-12400 CPU, 64GB of Kingston Fury DDR5 4800MHz RAM, integrated 20Gbps USB and Thunderbolt 4, and Intel CPU/GPU graphics. 48GB transfer tests utilize an ImDisk RAM disk. The 450GB file transfer test uses a 2TB Samsung 990 Pro.
Each test is performed on a freshly formatted NTFS drive with TRIM enabled. Performance may decrease as the drive fills up due to reduced space for secondary caching. Results are specific to the tested drive and capacity. Vendor component swaps may also impact performance.
