O-Sense
INTRODUCTION
PCIe 5.0 Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSDs may have been around for roughly a year now but due to severe temperature issues they haven't really gained traction in the global market. This of course is not something unique with Gen5 SSDs, the same pretty much used to apply for early DDR5 RAM kits with speeds surpassing 7000MHz but just like that small obstacle was overcome soon after the same is now true for Gen 5 SSDs, at least to a large degree. You see it's proven quite difficult for NAND controller manufacturers to keep temperatures in check but Phison does seem to be on the right track and so in order to check that today with me i have the brand new T700 (Pro Series) 2TB PCIe 5.0 Gen 5 M.2 NVMe SSD by Crucial.
We are an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND and NOR memory and storage products through our Micron® and Crucial® brands. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence and 5G applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit micron.com. http://www.micron.com/
The T700 line of PCIe 5.0 Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSDs by Crucial is currently available in two versions (with and without a large aluminum and nickel plated copper heatsink) and 3 different capacities (1/2/4TB). Since i mentioned Phison earlier as expected the entire T700 line is based on their latest client-grade PS5026 (E26) PCIe 5.0 Gen5x4 NAND flash controller which supports data throughputs of up to 14GB/s. The NVMe 2.0 compliant PS5026 is an 8-channel (32 CEs) dual-CPU (ARM Cortex-R5) controller which features Phison's 5th generation LDPC ECC & RAID ECC together with SmartECC (RAID ECC), End-To-End Data Path Protection, TRIM and AES 256-bit encryption (with SHA 512 and RSA 4096) and is compliant with Toggle 5.0, ONFi 5.0 and TCG Opal 2.0. Needless to say, in order to achieve optimal results (up to 12400MB/s) Crucial (Micron) has paired the PS5026 NAND controller with their very own 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash together with 4GB of LPDDR4-4266 DRAM. Finally Crucial covers the entire T700 line of Gen5 SSDs with a 5-year limited warranty and reports a TBW (Terra Bytes Written) of 600 for the 1TB model, 1200 for the 2TB model and 2400 for the 4TB model. So, let's see just how fast these new T700 Pro drives really are.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
Crucial is using a new package which has a large product picture at the front along with their logo, product performance and warranty.
A few words about the product are printed at the rear in 8 languages.
Just the T700 M.2 NVMe Gen5 SSD and its user manual are placed inside the box.
THE T700 PRO 2TB
Thanks to its rather thick heatsink the T700 does stand out.
As expected, details for the drive are printed on a sticker located at the base of the enclosure.
The heatsink is held in place with 4 screws so removing them and then the top is quite easy.
At the top we find the Phison PS5026 (E26) NAND flash controller together with a 4GB LPDDR4-4266 DRAM module and two 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash modules.
Turning the drive over we find two more 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash modules and an empty DRAM space (for use with the 4TB model probably - review soon).
Here you can see the T700 installed on the ASRock X670E Taichi after all my tests were completed (the discoloration could be due to heat).
STORAGE EXECUTIVE
Just like with past SSDs by Crucial you can download their Storage Executive software for more control over the T700.
Typically, from the first tab you can check basic details of both your system memory and the SSD(s) installed.
Of course, the software also allows you to check the drives details including its SMART page.
The T700 doesn't support features like sanitize, PSID revert, flex capacity and namespace management but it does support momentum cache and over provisioning for people who want to push performance even more.
There's also a self-test function which can be useful if you are afraid something's wrong with your T700.
TEST BED
TESTING METHODOLOGY
I've been using pretty much the same testing methodology for PCIe 3.0 Gen3 and PCIe 4.0 Gen4 SSDs for far too many years now so i decided to "tweak" it for PCIe 5.0 Gen5 models. Needless to say, Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSDs will be tested using one of my latest test rigs (AMD Ryzen 9 7900X / ASRock X670E Taichi) and unlike with both Gen3 and Gen4 SSDs i will not be using the SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association) IOMeter benchmarks since they proved to be rather heavy for Gen5 SSDs, at least for current models (temperature issues). Instead i decided to use the latest versions of AIDA64, AS SSD, ATTO, Crystal Disk Mark, HD Tune Pro, HD Tach RW, Performance Test, IOMeter (4k Random Writes) and Sandra Titanium 2021 for performance measuring and Forspoken for all of you who might be wondering just how well Gen5 SSDs do in regards to Microsoft's DirectStorage API/Technology. Each test will be run a total of 5 times after which the average number will be recorded in each chart.
TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO
TEST RESULTS - HD TUNE PRO / HD TACH RW
TEST RESULTS - AS SSD / CRYSTAL DISK MARK
TEST RESULTS - SANDRA TITANIUM / IOMETER
TEST RESULTS - PERFORMANCE TEST / 3DMARK STORAGE TEST / FORSPOKEN
(I ran the same test on 3 more drives to showcase just what you can expect in loading times from them – in regards to a DirectStorage compatible game – FPS remained the same through all 4 drives so no change here for me to list anything).
CONCLUSION
3 things one needs to take from todays review, 1st that Gen5 drives can easily hit 12.000MB/s (at least high-end models like the T700), 2nd that DirectStorage at least right now doesn’t make a whole lot of difference between Gen3, Gen4 and Gen5 M.2 NVMe drives (that could change later on however, this is an API that gets updated quite often after all) and 3rd that temperatures are still a thing with Gen5 drives. Personally, I’ve been saying ever since the 1st Gen4 drives made their appearance many years back that Gen5 drives should be able to climb as high as 14.000MB/s if not more as long as there are no temperature issues. Since however high temperatures are still a thing (even a heatsink is not enough if you plan on placing heavy workloads onto an Gen5 SSD – regardless if you’re good with mods or you can find a bracket for that purpose, I do suggest placing a fan over it to optimize performance and durability) I guess surpassing 12.000MB/s will do. One last thing I need to mention since some of you may wonder, the reason I will not be performing SNIA tests is, well let’s just say that if the T700 (or any other Gen5 drive probably) suddenly vanishes from your system, it’s due to high temperatures (if that happens shut down your system and wait until the drive cools down).
At the time of this review the T700 2TB PCIe 5.0 Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSD with heatsink by Crucial retails for USD328.81 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 374.46Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is more or less what you’d expect from a Gen5 SSD with such performance numbers. At the end of the day yes, temperatures are still a problem for Gen5 drives when it comes to heavy workloads but since for regular consumer use (gaming included) they perform as advertised the Golden Award is in order.
PROS
- Quality
- Top Performance (Over 12000MB/s)
- Large Heatsink
- DirectStorage Improvements
- Storage Executive Software
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
CONS
- Price (For Some)
- High Temperatures (Heavy Workloads)
