Verdict
The Crucial T500 has seriously impress . 2 TB at this price compass point – for any M.2 SSD – is an inviolable steal , but combine that with its noteworthy random 4 potassium performance , impressive payload fourth dimension , and solid veridical world conveyance test speeds , and it well picks apart some of the beneficial PCIe 5.0 drives too . If you ’re look for the perfect play SSD or even a primary group O drive , this could be the one for you .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
What happens when you put some of the latest and greatest SSD computer hardware uncommitted into a PCIe 4.0 drive that ’s limited to a top speed of 8GB / s ? Well , you terminate up with the Crucial T500 SSD .
The T500 is a drive specifically designed for enjoyment in thePS5 . For those that do n’t know , you may add a secondary drive to the PS5 , to blow up the interior storage , and give yourself a bit more breathing room when it comes to local gambling .
One of the upsides of that is the PS5 itself stick out the PCIe 4.0 standard , and interestingly , the stockSSDthe PS5 comes with is really rather dumb . pop music in an aftermarket PCIe 4.0 crusade such as the Crucial T500 , and you ’re instantly getting faster lading times and good performance as a resolution .
That ’s not to say it ’s PS5 only , as you could of course install it in a microcomputer . And if I ’m good , that ’s arguably a far better use of the technical school inside this SSD , because overall carrying into action is nothing curt of telling .
Specs
The Crucial T500 is n’t the brand ’s first foray into a decorous PS5 drive . In fact , the company had launched a late drive in the soma of the P5 Plus , however , the divergence between the two are substantial .
The P5 Plus features a proprietary control , and 176 - layer TLC three-D NAND from Micron , whereas the T500 apply 232 - layer TLC 3D NAND ( again from Micron ) , and the Phison E25 comptroller instead .
It ’s the former that ’s the real game changer , as it supply far high read and publish bandwidths ( up to 75 % and 100 % respectively ) , amount in a smaller package , and has far faster I / atomic number 8 latencies compared to its 176 - layer predecessor .
Full Specs
Both drive featureLPDDR4 DRAMcaches onboard , come with 1200 TBW endurance military rating , 5 - year warranties , and posture on the PCIe 4.0 standard as well . But it ’s when you get into the performance numbers that the T500 really does show off just why it ’s so much better than its precursor , although more on that later .
Comparisons aside , the T500 fare in three capacities 500 GB , 1 TB and 2 TB ( with the 2 TB the driving we ’re testing here ) , and is also uncommitted in heatsinked and non - heatsinked variants as well . It ’s worth noting that without some significant prying , it ’s quite the challenge to remove the heatsink from the T500 , so although the price difference between a heatsink and non - heatsink form is only $ 10 , if you are think about popping this matter in a PC , I extremely advocate you pick up the non - heatsink random variable rather .
Test Setup
Over the last week I ’ve been testing the important T500 against a issue of its contender in a large number of unlike examination scenarios , both celluloid and real - world , really pushing it to the terminus ad quem to see just how it performs under burden .
To make indisputable that all of our test results are consistent , I ’ve used an identical trial bed throughout , hired man - on examination with each drive in a top - tier motherboard , combined with a premium CPU , with some of the best benchmarks we can find . Throughout my testing , I use the top - most PCIe 5.0 slot wherever potential to ensure there ’s no chokepoint for each thrust and to well mime how your own SSDs are set up on your political machine at home too .
you’re able to detect the full test - bed specification list below :
For testing purposes I ’m taking vantage of PC Mark ’s QSD and Data Drive Benchmarks , along with a 120 GB literal - world data file transcript test ( utilising Red Dead Redemption II as our fair game written matter ) , along with Final Fantasy XIV load metre bench mark , and of course , CrystalDiskMark 8 too – the latter of which helps us to identify those synthetic load speeds . It ’s also deserving noting that I ’m running CrystalDiskMark in its stock configuration , so that means Sequentials are prove at a queue depth of 8 with 1 train of thought , and 4 K is essay at a queue profundity of 32 with 1 thread .
On top of all that , I ’m also calculating the price - to - execution ratios . Simply put , these are the prices of the parkway in USD , divided by performance and stats in certain areas , such as max sequential velocity , max random 4 K speed and the capacity as well ( to give us a number of GB per $ ) . This helps to provide insight on the value proposition each drive exemplify at the sentence of committal to writing .
Performance
On first coup d’oeil , the Crucial T500 looks like any other PCIe 4.0 parkway . plunk into CrystalDiskMark 8 ’s sequential performance and you ’ll happily see it puttering along with 7.1 gigabyte / atomic number 16 read and 6.2 GB / s write , not exactly far off the 7400 and 7000 M / s that Crucial advertises . Compare that to the P5 Plus at 6.5 GB / s and 5.1 GB / s respectively , and it does n’t seem like a massive rising slope .
liken that to Crucial ’s own T700 drive , which clocks in 12.3 gilbert / s and 11.5 GB / s respectively , and again there ’s nothing particularly to write menage about . But here ’s the thing , sequentials only say half the narrative . biz data is rarely ever dilute or lay in sequentially .
If you ’re transferring exposure or television footage , then sure , sequent computer storage is mogul , but if you ’re force assets from all sorts of dissimilar data file locations , then the true king of comparability here is actually Random 4 K at a queue depth of 1 . Sequentials may bet keen for selling , but it ’s those Random 4 K numbers that ’s really where it ’s at , and here the T500 absolutely shines .
Let ’s verbalise stats then . CrystalDiskMark 4 K Q1 T1 translate stop number arrive in at 94 mebibyte / s , and save speed at 326 megabyte / s. Compare that to the P5 Plus ? 62 and 188 megabyte / s. That ’s a 51.6 % improvement on read , and 73.4 % on write speed .
But the real company trick comes when you compare it against thing like theGigabyte Aorus Gen5 12000(our fast PCIe 5.0 driving force tested so far ) , where it clock in a respectable 93 and 343 mebibyte / s. The T500 beats it by 1MB / s on read , amazingly , and only loses to it by 17 MB / s on write speed . That ’s a crazy effort . Combine that with the fact that the cost difference between those two drives is $ 90 at retail and it ’s even more impressive .
That 4 one thousand focal ratio transport over into the real world test as well . In Final Fantasy XIV the T500 is again faster than the Aorus Gen5 12000 , whip it to the station by 7.23 seconds to 7.26 second . And in the real human race file transcript test , it manages the transcript in just 44.13 moment , versus the Arous Gen 5 ’s 37.40 seconds . That ’s 18 % slower on that last one for a drive that ’s 37.5 % tinny .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
Without a doubt , that E25 controller , 2 atomic number 65 capacity and 232 - Layer TLC NAND combined has made the important T500 one of the fast PCIe 4.0 SSDs out there today . It ’s versatile and will work both in microcomputer and your PS5 with simpleness .
The T500 still lacks in the successive domain . So if you ’re working on big sequential file - sets , like photos or videos , you ’re rifle to be much unspoiled off with something like the Crucial T700 or theGigabyte Aorus Gen5 12000 .
Final Thoughts
The Crucial T500 might just be one of thebest SSDsout there right now . Although it ’s project for utilisation in a Playstation 5 predominantly ( you wo n’t be disappointed if you do pick it up for that ) , it ’s equally as skilled in the PC land . The T500 ’s random 4 K and real - earth execution is spectacular , and makes it an easy choice for those depend for top - tier performance without breaking the bank building , or if you do n’t own a PCIe 5.0 motherboard just yet .
There are PCIe 4.0 option out there , but there are few that I ’ve test that keep up with the T500 . If you do need a bit more sequential grunt however , something like theGigabyte Aorus Gen5 12000 , the T700 or theSeagate FireCuda 540might be a better pick .
Trusted Score
How we test
Each SSD we test utilise a commixture of both synthetic and real - world bench mark tests . On top of that , we also apply a issue of price - to - performance metrics , and monitor temperature and power - draw to determine the farseeing - term stableness and cost - effectiveness of the drive .
FAQs
Yes , thanks to its scurvy visibility heatsink , and individual - sided design ( check heat only live into the heatsink ) , it ’s perfect for expanding your PS5 ’s warehousing .
Yes , as long as you ’ve let an M.2 slot it will knead in any personal computer .
No , unlike some other heatsink drives , the T500 requires you to pry off and bend the heatsink to release the SSD at heart . There ’s no screws to transfer deplorably .
