Crucial T700

The Crucial T700 is a PCIe Gen5-capable M.2 SSD launched in 2023. It is based on 232-layer TLC NAND Flash memory in combination with the Phison E26 (PS5026-E26) controller. It is however faster than the first generation of PCIe 5.0 drives based on the Phison E26.

Specifications

Crucial rates the 2TB and 4TB T700 at sequential read and write speeds up to 12.4 GB/s and 11.8 GB/s, respectively. This made the T700 one of the fastest SSDs on the market in 2023. It is not only significantly faster than high-end PCIe Gen4 SSDs such as the Samsung 990 PRO (up to 7,450 MB/s), but also compared to its E26-based competitors, which mostly max out at 10,000 MB/s sequential transfer rates.

Its random read-and-write performance (again, in the 2TB and 4TB capacities) is rated at 1.5 million IOPS, whereas the 1TB model is a bit slower in terms of both random and sequential performance.

The entire first batch of SSDs to take advantage of the new PCIe 5.0 interface are linked by a shared trait, namely the utilization of Phison's 8-channel PS5026-E26 controller, or E26 for short. While other Gen5 controllers from e.g. Silicon Motion (SM2508) and InnoGrit (IG5666) are available, all manufacturers have thus far opted for E26 in their first-gen products.

Crucial's T700 is no exception, but it still manages higher throughput compared to the rival Gigabyte Aorus Gen5 10000, Corsair MP700, and MSI Spatium M570 Pro. However, it will later have to compete with drives that are faster still, such as the ADATA Nighthawk, which uses the aforementioned Silicon Motion controller and offers sequential read/write rates of 14 GB/s and 12 GB/s, respectively.

What accounts for the performance differences between the various E26 SSDs is mainly the NAND flash memory chips themselves. The Crucial T700 SSD appears to use Micron 232-layer 3D TLC chips that run at 2,000 MT/s, while some competitors may use chips running at 1,600 MT/s. 2,400 MT/s chips will enable further performance gains.

The T700 comes in capacities of 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB, with the latter having the best endurance rating at 2,400 TBW (terabytes written). This drive is available with and without a heatsink, but it is generally recommended to use some form of cooling as the E26 devices run quite hot and may throttle when reaching high temperatures.