Corsair's midrange MP400 PCIe Gen4 SSD features 3D QLC and 3400 MB/s sequential read, but the 8TB model costs a staggering US$1379

Corsair recently launched the MP400, a midrange PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD that promises storage capacities of up to 8TB. The SSD features reasonable specs, with up to 3400 MB/s sequential reads and up to 3000 MB/s sequential write speeds. Corsair is leveraging 3D QLC technology to enable higher storage space. This does come at a cost, though.

Corsair sells the 4TB variant for US$609. Meanwhile, the 8TB model retails for an unapproachable US$1379. To that into perspective, NVIDIA's top-end GeForce RTX 3090 is nearly US$200 less than this PCIe Gen3 SSD. 

The timing of the MP400's market entry is interesting, too. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are set to arrive in less than a month. Both of these consoles leverage ultra-fast custom SSD storage solutions. At this point, it isn't completely clear as to how developers will use SSD storage to create new game experiences.

However, fast storage will likely become a minimum requirement in the months and years to come. It'll be interesting to see how midrange PCIe Gen3 offering stack up to newer PCIe Gen4 SSDs that promise transfer speeds in excess of 5000 MB/s.