MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO 2TB PCIe 5 NVMe Review

Final Score: 97 out of 100

The all new MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO series is without a doubt the most consistent, most reliable performing M.2 NVMe PCIe 5.0 drive we have seen to date. To be blunt it is not the M.2 SSD we may all want, but it is the one the market needed. It underscores precisely what is wrong with the M.2 form-factor and then adapts, overcomes, and out and out ignores parts of the standard that are not just useless but downright harmful.

Yes. Other manufactures also offer “over-sized” heatsinks. Yes. Excellent aftermarket cooling solutions like the Acidalie and Thermalright HR-09 Pro do exist. Some of which are just as large. However, neither are as good at cooling a hot running PCIe 5.0 M.2 drive like MSI’s latest and greatest. The simple fact of the matter is when dealing with widths that are measured in millimeters ‘off the shelf’ heat pipes are not optimal. Yes, when done right they can get the job done, but cooling is where MSI excels and being able to translate their Core-Pipe technology over to SSD is a major, paradigm shifting change for this industry.

That is a bold statement, but unless you are willing to go to an actively cooled Add In Card (AIC) form-factor this new cooling solution is about as good as you are going to find. This in turn translates to a well-known ‘hot running’ design in to one that actually runs relatively cool. Even when pushed thermal limiting events are going to be rather difficult to create and we sincerely doubt many will ever notice a thermal limiting event… let alone a Thermal Crash that can still happen with the E26 controller if temperatures spike suddenly.

Of course, as the MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO series does ignore the z-height standards, this is not a model that will be right for all scenarios or all builds. For example, good luck finding a motherboard with a secondary M.2 port that will not interfere with a large 2/3/4 slot GPU when this bigly… nay… YUGE… beast is installed. The same is true of small form-factor “shoebox” builds where z-height is at a premium. Heck. Good luck sticking this in the typical PCIe AIC adapter and having the end result fit in all but the largest of large cases – as even a Corsair 7000X does not offer enough room between the bottom of the motherboard and the PSU covering. Thankfully, MSI understand that the M.2 PCIe 5.0 slot is always the one nearest the CPU (as to minimize the length of the tracings) so it will fit in most desktop systems and play nicely with most motherboards and most video cards.

To be blunt, compatibility is the major downside to this new Pro series. MSI may not have precisely taken the “bigger hammer” approach to solving the thermal limiting issue plaguing modern M.2 SSDs… but it certainly is not a rapier let alone a laser. As such, it is a wonderful ‘C’ drive. It just is not without a few issues you will have to work around. However, when you do take into account its… height handicap the end results speak for themselves. It is the fastest E26 available today and even outmuscles Micron’s own Crucial T700 at their own game. Needless to say, the SPATIUM M570 Pro series not only lives up to its ‘pro’ moniker it is now the Gold Standard upon which all other NVMe 2.0 M.2 drives will be compared. So, while we sincerely hope the E.1 or E.2 EDSFF ‘server’ standard kills M.2 in the prosumer and enthusiast market this is about as good a solution you are going to find this side of active cooling. As such if you are looking for a fast SSD that runs as cool as it looks look no further than the SPATIUM M570 Pro. It is the model you want.

Congratulations MSI for not only making the best, but also the most innovative E26 based SSD going. We look forward to seeing what industry you shake up next.