Earlier this year, we got our first taste of the latest PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSDs, offering up to 10,000 MB/s read and write capabilities. These drives were first but we knew that faster drives would be entering the market sooner or later as the technology matured. Furthermore, Gen5 platforms are more accessible to a wider range of audiences with the introduction of mainstream AMD & Intel motherboards.
But while Gen5 NVMe SSDs keep pushing the envelope of what storage products can achieve, the market for Gen4 drives is still very vivid with lots of competition and some really good options out for everyone. Crucial already has one of the fastest SSD solutions out at the moment in the form of its T700 Pro series, peaking out at over 12 GB/s speeds and now, the company is also introducing a brand new T500 Pro lineup which delivers top-notch Gen4 capabilities.
For today's review, we will be taking a look at both, Crucial's T700 PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSDs powered by the Phison E26 controller & T500 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSDs powered by the Phison E25 controller.
Crucial T700 PRO 1 TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD
The Crucial T700 Gen5 SSD is part of the new Pro series lineup. The Crucial T700 Gen5 SSDs are based on the NVMe SSD form factor and feature the latest Micron 232-layer TLC NAND flash which offers larger capacities of up to 4 TB, twice the performance of Gen4 drives, & full compliance with Microsoft's DirectStorage API. The Crucial T700 SSDs are based on the high-end Phison E26 SSD controller which is in use by some of the fastest Gen5 drives at the moment.
- Sequential reads/writes up to 12,400/11,800MB/s
- Nearly 2x faster than our Gen4 SSD
- More than 22x faster than SATA
- Capacities of 1, 2, and 4TB for more games and UHD/8K+ videos
- Compatible with Intel 13th Gen & AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPUs
- Backward compatibility in Gen3 and Gen4 systems
- Built with Micron 232-layer TLC NAND
- Premium heatsink for maximum heat dissipation without noisy fans or liquid cooling blocks (non-heatsink option available)
- Reduce game texture load times with Microsoft DirectStorage
- Hardware encryption for storage security with TCG Opal 2.01
As for the specs, the Crucial T700 Gen5 NVMe SSDs will come with the standard NVMe 2.0 PCIe Gen 5 x4 interface in the M.2 2280 form factor. It will feature 1 TB, 2 TB, and up to 4 TB capacities with a rated speed of 12.4 GB/s (Sequential Read) and 11.8 GB/s (Sequential Write). The majority of Gen 5 drives available right now peak out at 10 GB/s Read and 9.5 GB/s Write speeds. Furthermore, these T700 Gen5 SSDs will be available in a Non-heatsink and Heatsink option but will drop the active-fan cooler which means that you don't have to worry about extra noise in your PC when running these.
Note - The 1 TB model that we tested had a peak sequential read speed of 11,700 & a write speed of 9,500 MB/s. The Random Reads and Writes IOPS were rated at 1350K/1400K IOPS & endurance was rated at 600 TBW.
Crucial goes further into the heatsink design of the T700 Gen5 NVMe SSDs which feature a double-sided PCB with targeted thermal materials, a nickel-plated copper bottom plate, an aluminum plate & a sleek design to maximize airflow. The heatsink is quite chunky and measures 20.5mm tall. The prices are as follows:
- T700 1.0 TB No Heatsink - $159.99 US
- T700 2.0 TB No Heatsink - $269.99 US
- T700 4.0 TB No Heatsink - $479.99 US
- T700 1.0 TB W/ Heatsink - $167.99 US
- T700 2.0 TB W/ Heatsink - $284.99 US
- T700 4.0 TB W/ Heatsink - $499.99 US
Crucial T700 Gen5 SSD Lineup Specifications:
Crucial T500 PRO 2 TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD
The Crucial T500 Gen5 SSD is also part of the new Pro series lineup. The Crucial T500 Gen4 SSDs are based on the NVMe SSD form factor and feature the latest Micron 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash which offers larger capacities of up to 4 TB, twice the performance of Gen3 drives, & full compliance with Microsoft's DirectStorage API with Phison's I/O+ technology. The Crucial T500 SSDs are based on the high-end Phison PS5025-E25 SSD controller which peaks out the Gen4 speeds beyond 7 GB/s.
- Sequential read/write speeds up to 7,400/7,000MB/s2
- Random read/write speeds up to 1.18/1.44M IOPs2
- PCIe 4.0 NVMe 2280 M.2 SSD
- Built with Micron 232-layer 3D TLC NAND1
- Available with and without a low-profile integrated heatsink, perfect for PS5 console upgrades
- Spacious capacity options: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB8
- Micron LPDDR4 DRAM, 1GB per 1TB of NAND flash
- Phison PS5025-E25 Controller
- Microsoft DirectStorage optimized with Phison I/O+ technology
- Works with laptops, desktops, and PS5 consoles
- Backward compatible with PCIe 3.0
- 5-year limited warranty10
As for the specs, the Crucial T500 Gen4 NVMe SSDs will come with the standard NVMe 2.0 PCIe Gen 5 x4 interface in the M.2 2280 form factor. It will feature 1 TB, 2 TB, and up to 4 TB capacities with a rated speed of 7.4 GB/s (Sequential Read) and 7.0 GB/s (Sequential Write). The Phison E25 'PS5025-E25' SSD controller is designed to offer external DRAM and a maximum transfer speed of up to 7.2 GB/s+. That's a 200 MB/s increase over the existing Phison E18 controllers & also features thermal & power management updates.
Note - The 2 TB model that we tested had a peak sequential read speed of 7,400 & a write speed of 7,000 MB/s. The Random Reads and Writes IOPS were rated at 1180K/1440K IOPS & endurance was rated at 1200 TBW.
The SSD comes in both heatsink and heatsink-less variants with the heatsink being a super-slim design with a thickness of 9.7mm. That's about as much as three T500 SSDs stacked on top of each other. The heatsink SKUs are also fully compatible with the PlayStation 5 console. The prices are as follows:
- T500 0.5 TB No Heatsink - $89.99 US
- T500 1.0 TB No Heatsink - $119.99 US
- T500 2.0 TB No Heatsink - $169.99 US
- T500 1.0 TB W/ Heatsink - $129.99 US
- T500 2.0 TB W/ Heatsink - $179.99 US
Crucial T500 Gen4 SSD Lineup Specifications:
Phison Controller Specs
| PS5016-E16 | PS5018-E18 | PS5020-E20 | PS5026-E26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe 1.3 | NVMe 1.4 | NVMe 1.4 | NVMe 2.0 |
| Process Node | 28nm (TSMC) | 12nm (TSMC) | TBD | 12nm (TSMC) |
| Package | 529-ball TFBGA, 16×16mm | 529-ball FCCSP, 12×12mm | TBD | 576-ball FCCSP, 16×16mm |
| CPU cores | 2 × ARM Cortex R5 | 3 × ARM Cortex R5 | TBD | 2 × ARM Cortex R5 3 × Proprietary IP CoX Processor |
| NAND Channel (CE) | 8 (32) | 8 (32) | 8 (32) | 8 (32) |
| Max Capacity | 8TB | 8TB | TBD | 32TB |
| Transfer Channel | 800MT/s | 1,600MT/s | TBD | 2,400MT/s |
| ECC | 4th Gen LDPC | 4th Gen LDPC | 4th Gen LDPC | 5th Gen LDPC |
| Security Features | Pyrite AES 256 | Pyrite AES 256 SHA 512 RSA 4096 TCG Opal | TBD | AES 256 SHA 512 RSA 4096 TCG Opal 2.0 |
| Sequential Read | 5,000 MB/s | 7,400MB/s | TBD | 12,000MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 4,400 MB/s | 7,000MB/s | TBD | 11,000MB/s |
| 4K Random Read | 720,000 IOPS | 1,000,000 IOPS | TBD | 1,500,000 IOPS |
| 4K Random Write | 750,000 IOPS | 1,000,000 IOPS | TBD | 2,000,000 IOPS |
Crucial T700 Gen5 & T500 Gen4 NVMe SSDs – Unboxing and Closer Look
All three PRO Series SSDs from Crucial, the T700 & T500, come in a fairly standard and small package with a blue and white color scheme. The labels do a great job at telling what SSD you are getting since the capacities, speeds and warranty are clearly mentioned along with a picture of the device itself which makes sure you know if you are getting the heatsink and the non-heatsink SSD.
The Crucial PRO SSD series box includes a warranty booklet and the SSD itself. All drives are held within a plastic shell container.
Out of the package, all Crucial Pro series SSDs come in the standard M.2 2280 form factor and feature a black PCB which is great since some mainstream drives come with blue-colored PCBs.
The front of the heatsink drives comes with the Crucial and model label while the heatsink-les variant has the same labels mentioned over a sticker.
In terms of sizes, the drives measure:
- Crucial T700 with heatsink: 80x23x20.5mm
- Crucial T500 with heatsink: 80x23x9.7mm
- Crucial T500 no heatsink: 80x22x2.3mm
The Crucial T500 features the Phison E25 Gen4 SSD controller while the Crucial T700 SSDs feature the Phison E26 Gen5 SSD controller.
Test Setup
Our test platform for this review consisted of an Intel Core i9-13900K processor which ran at stock clocks on the MSI Z790 ACE motherboard. The platform was coupled with 32 GB of DDR5 memory from G.Skill (Trident Z5/ 16 GB x 2) and the MSI MEG Ai1300P PSU. For graphics, I used the MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X. This rounds up as a high-end platform for tests with modern-day SSDs. The MSI Z790 ACE specifically houses a single Gen 5.0 x4 NVMe slot that sources its lanes from the Raptor Lake CPU.
Wccftech SSD Test Setup For Gen5:
| Processor | Intel Core i9-13900K |
|---|---|
| Motherboard: | MSI MEG Z790 ACE |
| Power Supply: | MSI MEG Ai1300P (1300W) |
| Solid State Drive: | KLEVV Genuine G560 2 TB Gen5 ADATA Legend 970 Pro 2 TB Gen5 MSI Spatium M580 Frozr 4 TB Gen 5 PNY XLR8 CS3150 2 TB Gen 5 MSI Spatium M570 Pro 2 TB Gen 5 Team Group T-Force CARDEA Z540 2 TB Gen 5 Inland TD510 2 TB Gen 5 Crucial T700 Gen 5 2 TB AORUS Gen 5 10000 2 TB |
| Memory: | G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-7400 (2 x 16 GB) |
| Case: | Cooler Master C700M |
| Video Cards: | MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X |
| Cooling Solutions: | MSI MEG S360 AIO Liquid Cooler |
| OS: | Windows 11 64-bit (24H2) |
Crucial T700 Gen5 & T500 Gen4 SSD Performance Benchmarks
First up, we have the official performance stats for these drives as listed by their manufacturers. You can compare these stats with the rest of the drives I tested in the following chart:
Official SSD Stats (IOPS)
Official SSD Stats (MB/s)
AS SSD Benchmark
AS SSD Benchmark download is a Windows 10 utility software program that tests the performance of solid-state drives. With its help, you can find out the speed of all installed SSDs and take care of any issues that the tests may reveal. The free app performs three separate tests to provide you with conclusive evidence of your driver's general behavior while it copies, reads, and writes data. The app determines the access time of an SSD, along with its speed and performance capabilities
AS-SSD Benchmark
ATTO 3.05 Disk Benchmark
As the industry’s leading provider of high-performance storage & network connectivity products, ATTO has created a widely-accepted Disk Benchmark freeware software to help measure storage system performance. As one of the top tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, solid-state drives, RAID arrays as well as the host connection to attached storage. Top drive manufacturers, like Hitachi, build and test every drive using the ATTO Disk Benchmark.
The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturer's RAID controllers, storage controllers, host bus adapters (HBAs), hard drives, and SSD drives, and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage.
ATTO v3.05 128 KB Sequential QD4
Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64
CrystalDiskMark is a disk benchmark software. It measures sequential reads/writes speed, random 512KB, 4KB, 4KB (Queue Depth=32) reads/writes speed, selects test data (Random, 0Fill, 1Fill),
Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64 SEQ1M Q8T1
Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64 4KiB Q1T1
File Transfer Speeds (100 GB File Size)
To test the maximum average transfer speeds of the drives, I used a 100 GB file to test the limits.
File Transfer Rate (MB/s)
PCMark 10 Storage Benchmark
The PCMark 10 Storage benchmark is designed to test the performance of SSDs, HDDs, and hybrid drives with traces recorded from Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and a selection of popular games. You can test the system drive or any other recognized storage device, including local external drives. Unlike synthetic storage tests, the PCMark 10 Storage benchmark highlights real-world performance differences between storage devices.
PCMark 10 System Disk Storage Bench
PCMark 10 System Disk Access Times
Forspoken DirectStorage Benchmark
Forspoken DirectStorage Benchmark (Load Time In Seconds)
Conclusion - Crucial Sets The New Benchmark
Crucial's T700 & T500 are finally out and they are setting a new benchmark for NVMe SSDs. Both the T700 and T500 stood tall and strong within our benchmark suite and no matter what we threw at them, they just crunched it like nothing in each respective segment (Gen 5 and Gen 4).
Starting with the Crucial T700, it is currently the fastest line of Gen5 drives offering up to 12.4 GB/s speeds and even the 1 TB with its 11.7 GB/s offered outstanding performance. This kind of NVMe performance comes at a cost though and the 1 TB drive is listed for $167.99 US at the moment or almost twice as much as 1 TB Gen4 drives. The Gen5 SSDs also require a fast PC with the latest specs and support for Gen5 hardware so it makes perfect sense for those who are building their new PCs and going to use the T700 Gen5 for the primary OS.
Temperatures
Meanwhile, the T500 is the fastest Gen4 drive that I have tested and offers a blistering fast NVMe performance which you'd expect from it given its high-end pricing which is more expensive than Samsung's 990 Pro 2 TB which can be found for $134.99 & $149.99 US (Heatsink) right now. T500 retails for $169.99 US for the standard and $179.99 US for the heatsink model which is a very high price to be paying for a 2 TB drive this late. The good thing is that both drives come with software and encryption support and the heatsink provides very decent temperatures since the T500 uses a single-side PCB layout.
Crucial's PRO series with the T700 & T500 tackle the high-end Gen5 and Gen4 segments and win with strong and competitive performance versus the competition. The pricing may see adjustment as faster products are rolled out later down the road but if you are looking for a speedy drive, then Crucial has the products to power your PCs!
