Team Group MP44S 1 TB

[W1zzard]

The Team Group MP44S SSD is a storage solution designed specifically for the Valve Steam Deck and other similar handheld devices. Offering capacities of up to 2 TB, it provides ample space for expanding gaming storage. Our in-depth review covers performance, thermals, power consumption and more.

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[Cheeseball]

I have this exact Team drive in both of my Steam Decks (SteamOS & Windows-only). Surprisingly I get slightly better battery life (around 20m+ more battery life, from 100%, tested 5 times with Apex Legends and My Time at Portia ) compared to the stock Kingston and Crucial drives that came with them.

Sadly did not get one for the ROG Ally as ASUS opted to refund me the entire cost of the device during RMA. The microSD card slot and XG mobile port stopped working.

 

[THU31]

Is it expensive just because it's 2230? What's the reason for it? One cheap NAND module, one cheap controller, small PCB.

Faster 2280 drives are half the price.

 

[Chrispy_]

This is a bottom-of-the barrel SSD using the lowest-end new parts available. It's overpriced, but in fairness, the MSRP of similar drives from Solidigm, Micron, Addlink, and Silicon Power is also $70-80. The difference is that you can find a few of those selling for $45-50 at any given point in time with current street prices. Poor performance isn't really an issue for something like a tablet, ultra-low-power laptop, or portable like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally. Those things are hampered by CPU and bandwith issues decompressing data anyway, not that their typical application even needs fast storage in the first place.

If the MSRP = street pricing, this thing is dead in the water. At $60 street price it has a slim chance of selling to people who just sort by price because not every reseller has sub-$50 2230 drives on sale all the time.

 

[W1zzard]

Is it expensive just because it's 2230?

That seems to be the case. We don't know Phison's pricing structure though, all 2230 drives with that same controller are priced similarly (and use the exact same hardware and PCB)

 

[lexluthermiester]

Our in-depth review covers performance, thermals, power consumption and more.

Good review as normal. Have to agree with the "Cons", but I disagree with the "Highly Recommended" badge.

Here's why: High price, QLC, dramless and very lackluster performance make for a product that should be avoided completely, even IF the small form-factor is attractive.

 

[W1zzard]

that should be avoided completely

so you have a Steam Deck or MS Surface and want to upgrade your storage. If avoided, you have no options to increase your storage. That's also why Recommended. For cases where 2230 fits and 2280 does not

 

[chrcoluk]

This is £93 on Amazon UK, I got my MP600 mini for £75 for my steam deck, its now £82 which is still cheaper than this drive. The MP600 mini is TLC and 2230.

This drive is horrible from a spec vs price point perspective. Isnt QLC supposed to be cheaper than TLC? I am confused.

 

[W1zzard]

$90 on Newegg, looks like a good alternative indeed

CORSAIR MP600 MINI PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD – M.2 2230 – Up to 4,800MB/sec read – High-Density TLC NAND – Great for Steam Deck and Microsoft Surface - Newegg.com

Buy Corsair MP600 MN M.2 2230 1TB PCI-Express 4.0 x4 3D TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) CSSD-F1000GBMP600MN with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[chrcoluk]

Yeah (sorry if you read this pre edit, misread your reply).

Hopefully these drives drop in price, I remember on another one of your reviews, I moaned about the price, then you replied it dropped haha.

 

[Chrispy_]

so you have a Steam Deck or MS Surface and want to upgrade your storage. If avoided, you have no options to increase your storage. That's also why Recommended. For cases where 2230 fits and 2280 does not

Exactly.
You're a clueless moron if you're buying a 2230 for a 2280 slot.
You only buy a 2230 when you have no other choice, because there are compromises to cost, capacity, and DRAM that must be made to get everything phsically squeezed down to 2230.

 

[Selaya]

I have this exact Team drive in both of my Steam Decks (SteamOS & Windows-only). Surprisingly I get slightly better battery life (around 20m+ more battery life, from 100%, tested 5 times with Apex Legends and My Time at Portia ) compared to the stock Kingston and Crucial drives that came with them.

Sadly did not get one for the ROG Ally as ASUS opted to refund me the entire cost of the device during RMA. The microSD card slot and XG mobile port stopped working.

power consumption is also very important a characteristic for mobile devices
this is why the (hynix) p31 was king of the hill (maybe still is) for mobile, it consumes less than half as much power as the competitors'

 

[lexluthermiester]

so you have a Steam Deck or MS Surface and want to upgrade your storage. If avoided, you have no options to increase your storage. That's also why Recommended. For cases where 2230 fits and 2280 does not

This is £93 on Amazon UK, I got my MP600 mini for £75 for my steam deck, its now £82 which is still cheaper than this drive. The MP600 mini is TLC and 2230.

This drive is horrible from a spec vs price point perspective. Isnt QLC supposed to be cheaper than TLC? I am confused.

$90 on Newegg, looks like a good alternative indeed

CORSAIR MP600 MINI PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD – M.2 2230 – Up to 4,800MB/sec read – High-Density TLC NAND – Great for Steam Deck and Microsoft Surface - Newegg.com

Buy Corsair MP600 MN M.2 2230 1TB PCI-Express 4.0 x4 3D TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) CSSD-F1000GBMP600MN with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

This is what I was talking about above. The drive you reviewed is a very poor value when compared to similar offerings from competitors. Chroluk ninja'd me on a response.

Exactly.
You're a clueless moron if you're buying a 2230 for a 2280 slot.
You only buy a 2230 when you have no other choice, because there are compromises to cost, capacity, and DRAM that must be made to get everything phsically squeezed down to 2230.

No one is arguing that point. You don't buy the drive shown in this article when much better and less expensive options are out there. That Corsair drive isn't the only example.

Silicon Power 1TB UD90 2230 NVMe 4.0 Gen4 PCIe M.2 SSD R/W up to 4,900/3,200MB/s Solid State Drive Compatible with Steam Deck (SU01KGBP44UD9007MN) - Newegg.com

Buy Silicon Power 1TB UD90 2230 NVMe 4.0 Gen4 PCIe M.2 SSD R/W up to 4,900/3,200MB/s Solid State Drive Compatible with Steam Deck (SU01KGBP44UD9007MN) with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

KingSpec SSD NX Series 1TB M.2 2230 Internal Solid State Drive NVMe PCIe 3.0 * 4 Compatible with Microsoft Surface and Steam Deck 1TB - Newegg.com

Buy KingSpec SSD NX Series 1TB M.2 2230 Internal Solid State Drive NVMe PCIe 3.0 * 4 Compatible with Microsoft Surface and Steam Deck 1TB with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Even Micron themselves have an offering;

1TB Micron 2400 M.2 2230 NVMe PCIe 4.0x4 SSD MTFDKBK1T0QFM-1BD1AABYYR - Newegg.com

Buy 1TB Micron 2400 M.2 2230 NVMe PCIe 4.0x4 SSD MTFDKBK1T0QFM-1BD1AABYYR with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

However, in all fairness, the drive in question is being sold currently for $78, so that changes the value of it.

Team Group MP44S M.2 2230 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 with NVMe Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) TM5FF3001T0C101 - Newegg.com

Buy Team Group MP44S M.2 2230 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 with NVMe Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) TM5FF3001T0C101 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Still, I would much rather go for a TLC drive, even if it were $20 more instead of just $12. And if QLC was the only option, the Kingspec drive is much more attractive for similar performance specs.

But one could argue a more fine-grained perspective than that. With a SteamDeck, the system isn't booting from the drive in question so durability and write speeds are less a factor. However with a Surface Tablet or other such device where the system will be booting from the drive, durability and write speeds are very important. So use-case-scenario plays an important part of the buying decision.

 

[chrcoluk]

Yeah US pricing isnt as messed up, I agree it should be lower on newegg, UK pricing is just broken for it right now.