INTRODUCTION

   Under normal circumstances the recent unveiling of the very first enterprise and consumer PCIe 5.0 (Gen5) M.2 NVMe SSD models should in a way "threaten" the performance dominance of PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) SSDs but seeing that we don't even have motherboards that support that standard yet (at least not in the consumer market) this is obviously not the case. However even if that was the case the dominant standard in the market currently is still as expected PCIe 3.0 (Gen3) with PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) actually being used by a rather small percentage of the consumer base (PS5 owners included). So even though we can expect more PCIe 5.0 (Gen5) models to make their appearance in 2022 it's clear that both PCIe 3.0 (Gen3) and PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) models aren't going anywhere. Crucial last year released their very first (and only to date) PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) M.3 NVMe SSD, the P5 Plus the 2TB variant of which landed on my desk a while back.

   Crucial is a global brand of Micron Technology, Inc. Crucial solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory (DRAM) upgrades are compatible with over 100,000 new and old desktops, laptops, workstations and servers. Crucial Ballistix memory delivers a performance edge to gamers, enthusiasts and power users. Available worldwide at leading retail and e-tail stores, commercial resellers and system integrators, Crucial products enhance system performance and user productivity. Learn more at crucial.com.

   The P5 Plus M.2 NVMe SSD by Crucial is currently available in 500GB/1TB/2TB capacities and just like with their P5 model (review here) it features their very own 8-channel NAND flash controller which they've paired with Micron’s new and improved B47R 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash and 2GB of LPDDR4 DRAM (1GB for the 500GB/1TB models). The in-house 8-channel NAND flash controller used with the P5 Plus sports numerous technologies for optimal performance and durability including Dynamic Write Acceleration (SLC cache), low-density parity check (LDPC - ECC), active garbage collection, TRIM, SMART, device sleep, power loss immunity, NVMe autonomous power state transition (APST) and adaptive thermal protection (throttles performance when NAND temperatures exceed 70 degrees) and comes ready with full support for TCG Opal 2.0. As for durability/endurance Crucial reports MTTF of 2 million hours together with 300TBW for the 500GB model, 600TBW for the 1TB model and 1200TBW for the 2TB model. So, time to find out exactly how well the P5 Plus 2TB does.