INTRODUCTION

   Regardless of whether or not you're a casual user, gamer, enthusiast or even a professional having a good PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD in your system is clearly a must, not just in regards to system performance but also stability/endurance. Compared to when i first started reviewing SSDs back in 2008 today there are many more NAND controller manufacturers around which in turn means a large number of choices for people to go with depending on their needs/requirements. So, whether you're looking for high performance, high durability, high capacity or just low cost the current market has you covered. The latest T500 line of Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSDs by Crucial is aimed towards demanding users and with me today i have the 2TB heatsink variant.

   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 brand new T500 series of Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSDs includes models with and without a large aluminum heatsink (PS5 compatible) in 500GB/1TB/2TB capacities. The T500 line uses the latest PS5025-E25 quad-channel (16 CE counts - announced late last year and is pretty much a cut down version of their E26 controller) NVMe v2.0 NAND flash controller which they've paired with 2GB of LPDDR4-2666 DRAM and 232-Layer 3D TLC NAND flash (B58R) by Micron. The brand new PS5025-E25 NAND flash controller by PHISON features their 5th Gen 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 2.02. Once again Crucial covers the entire T500 line with a 5-year limited warranty and as for endurance numbers it reports 300TBW for the 500GB model, 600TBW for the 1TB model and 1200TBW for the 2TB model (MTBF - mean time between failures - of 2 million hours applies to all models).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Crucial is once again 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 T500 2TB (HEATSINK)

The heatsink used with the T500 is not as large as the one used with the T700 so it’s also PS5 compatible.

Details about the drive are printed on a sticker located at the base of the heatsink.

Removing the heatsink is very easy but it will void your warranty.

At the top we find the Phison PS5025-E25 NAND flash controller together with a 2GB LPDDR4-2666 DRAM module and two 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash modules.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Not long after I first started testing SSDs back in 2008, I concluded that it's almost impossible for any single benchmark suite to accurately measure their performance and that's why in certain benchmark suites we see amazing read/write performance numbers with some drives while in others things are quite different. The reason behind this is that some benchmarking suites are configured to read and write random chunks of data while others read and write constant (sequential) ones. So that's why i always use a very wide selection of benchmarking suites including AIDA64, HD Tach RW, HD Tune Pro, Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoftware Sandra Pro, AS SSD, IOmeter and ATTO. To get the most accurate results each test gets repeated a total of 6 times with the average performance numbers recorded into the charts*/****. Also, as of February 25th 2015 our results will also include the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA) IOMeter tests. These tests include a 12 Hour write test used to “simulate” performance degradation over time and a mixed workload test which basically shows what you can expect when using an SSD continuously for roughly two hours. Unfortunately, due to the time required for these tests they get repeated a total of 3 times and not 6 as the above.

   Many people have made inquiries about our charts in the past so once again please do keep in mind that the Charts have the average performance numbers of each drive recorded and not the peak (highest) ones. Also, although every single one of these programs can help potential buyers choose the right drive for their needs you should also remember that from any kind of benchmark up to real world usage the gap is not small (and usually most differences will go unnoticed by most people). All tests were performed in a fresh Windows 10 Pro x64 installation complete with every update up to the date of this review.

* Since November 2018 the SSD comparison charts have been divided to 2.5” and M.2 models to reduce their growing size.
** Unless stated otherwise the Ryzen 9 3950x based Test Rig used for M.2 Gen 4 SSD reviews is not located in the lab.
*** As of January 2021 for Gen 3x4 models I’ll be using the Core i9-7980XE test rig (after numerous tests the up to 6% difference in read & write performance compared to the i7-6700 system simply wasn’t enough to justify having an extra test rig around).
**** Since February 2022 M.2 NVMe Gen3 and Gen4 SSD drives are placed in different charts.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

TEST RESULTS - AS SSD / IOMETER

TEST RESULTS - IOMETER SNIA

CONCLUSION

   Even though Crucial still all but leads the Gen5 M.2 NVMe market right now with their T700 drives they didn’t release a significantly fast Gen4 model and that’s what the T500 line aims to do. Of course, with all the recent Gen4 drives using MaXio and Innogrit NAND controller it does make sense that Crucial would use something better and well, the PS5025-E25 model by PHISON seems to be just that (and as expected since it’s a cut-down version of their Gen5 E26 controller). So, in terms of performance the T500 does very well across the board. Yes, it’s neither the fastest or the most durable Gen4 SSD currently in the market (although a TBW of 1200 for the 2TB variant is more than plenty for normal workloads) but it’s also DirectStorage compatible and overall, I had no complaints during testing. As expected, the large heatsink all but eliminates thermal issues (even during almost the entire duration of my SNIA tests) and let’s not forget that it’s also PS5 compatible. Unlike previous reviews due to a flash drive error (and no time to take screenshots again) this time over I didn’t cover Crucial’s storage executive software (you can check it in my T700 review) which is obviously one of the best SSD toolkits out there.

   With a current price tag set at USD159.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and at 177.13Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the T500 2TB Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD with heatsink from Crucial is priced just about right, especially on the other side of the Atlantic. Once again, I don’t have any complaints from the brand new T500 SSD by Crucial (at least aside the lack of capacities over 2TB, for now anyways). Yes, I do feel that it’s a drive they should had released like a year ago (alas with a different controller, again by PHISON) but it does deliver where it counts and for that it deserves the Golden Award.

PROS

- Quality
- Very Good Performance
- Large Heatsink (PS5 Compatible)
- DirectStorage Improvements
- Storage Executive Software
- Good Durability (1200 TBW / 2.000.000 MTBF)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Price (USA)

CONS

- Price (EU)
- Available Capacities