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Micron’s Strategy in the M.2 2230 Segment

Hand-held gaming consoles based on notebook platforms (such as the Valve SteamDeck, ASUS ROG Ally, and the MSI Claw) are among 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 are participating in this market, and even Micron has OEM SSDs (such as the Micron 2400, 2550, and 2500 series) in this form factor. Crucial, surprisingly, has not had an offering with its own brand name to target this segment—until now, 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 options: 1 TB and 2 TB. Micron claims that the use of its 232L 3D NAND and Phison’s latest E27T DRAM-less controller (fabricated using TSMC’s 12nm process) helps reduce 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 positive aspects for the Crucial P310 family. However, the endurance ratings are quite low. Gaming workloads are inherently read-heavy, which may not be a concern for the average consumer. However, a 0.12 DWPD rating might be viewed negatively when compared against the competition’s 0.33 DWPD offerings in the same segment.

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