Crucial T500 SSD PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVME M2.2280 – oh so fast (storage review)
The Crucial T500 SSD is its fastest PCIe NVME Gen 4 x4 and is perfect for high-performance gaming (PS5), photo and video editing and creators. It has an optional heatsink version.
Reviewing SSDs may seem mundane – the Crucial T500 SSD is anything but. It is a powerhouse, with sequential reads/writes reaching an impressive 7400/7000MBps. It maintains its speed even when handling larger file sizes with minimal cache degradation. We tested it with 32GB files and saw no significant speed drop-off. It is also appreciably faster at loading larger apps.
Our BlackMagic DaVinci tests showed a 30-40% speed increase in rendering a 4K@60Hz file. It supports Microsoft DirectStorage, which bypasses the Windows OS, letting the SSD communicate directly over the PCIe bus with the GPU. The benefits are lower latency, lower CPU/RAM loads, and faster data transfer.
CyberShack’s spoiler: It is easily the fastest PCIe Gen 4 x4 tested yet, and with the heatsink option, it is ideal for game consoles and small-form-factor PCs.
Australian Review: Crucial T500 SSD PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVME M2.2280
Website | Product Page |
Approx. Price (plus freight) | 500GB $100 or 20 cents per GB 1TB $140 or 14 cents per GB 2TB $260 or 13 cents per GB 4TB $TBA (coming later in 2024) |
From | Specialist computer retailers |
Warranty | 5 Years Limited Warranty or TBW (whichever comes first) |
Made in | Malaysia |
Owned by the memory maker Micron, Crucial is the finished RAM and SSD brand. Products include internal and external SATA and PCIe SSDs for laptops, PCs, and gaming-class memory. | |
More | CyberShack storage news and reviews |
We use Fail (below expectations), Passable (meets low expectations), Pass (meets expectations), Pass+ (near Exceed but not class-leading) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. You can click on most images for an enlargement.
Base Specs
- Phison E25 controller 2400 MT/s bus uses the full capability of the PCIe 4 x4 bus.
- Micron 232 Layer B58R 3D TLC NAND
- Standard (naked) and heatsink (low profile fits Sony PS5)
- 500GB, 1TB, 2TB (4TB model coming later in 2024)
- LPDDR4 cache (500GB for 500GB, 1GB for 1TB and 2GB for 2TB)
- Terabytes Written (TBW): 300/500GB, 600/1TB, and 1,200/2TB or a 5-year warranty (whichever is first). This is about the industry standard.
- TCG Opal security self-encrypted AES.
- Features: Static and Dynamic SLC caching, RAIN (redundant array of independent NAND), Multi-layer data integrity algorithms, Adaptive thermal protection, Data protection for power loss events, Active garbage collection, TRIM support, SMART, ECC, APST support.
- PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0 (compatible with PCIe 5.0/3.0)
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CT200-naked.jpg)
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CT200-heatsink-1.jpg)
First Impression – Pass+
It is hard to be excited by an SSD, so let’s say that it comes well-packaged with a key for Acronis True Image disk cloning software for upgraders.
The 2TB review model has its new low-profile heatsink (a $10 option at purchase) and fits well in a Sony PS5. It also fits 99% of standard desktop cases and was tested in a NUC small format PC.
The excitement came when we tested it. It is very fast – advertised sequential read/write of 7400/7000MBps. Apps loaded faster, and large renders were 30-40% quicker.
Crucial Storage Executive – Pass
Allows users to manage the SSD, including monitoring real-time statuses, firmware updates, overprovisioning, and more.
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-se1-scaled.jpg)
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-se-2-scaled.jpg)
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-se-43-scaled.jpg)
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-se-4-scaled.jpg)
Acronis True Image for drive cloning and data backups for upgraders (requires a device with two M.2 slots or an external USB M.2 dongle.
Test rig
Intel NUC 12 i7-2700H, 32GB DDR4-3200, 2x M.2 PCIe x4 Gen4 slots. This is a smallish format enclosure.
![Crucial T500 SSD](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Intel-NUC-12-enthusiast.jpg)
Speed – Exceed
It beats any other PCIe device tested to date. The closest are the WD Black SN850X and Samsung 990 Pro. Using a PCIe 5.0 bus actually increases speeds by about 10%.
Crystal Disk Mark is the peak data transfer rate. Note that it is perfect for large files.
![Crucial T500 SSD](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-cdi.jpg)
![Crucial T500 SSD](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-cdm-2.jpg)
CPDT shows the average sustained data transfer rate.
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-cpdt-2.jpg)
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-cpdt-3.jpg)
ATTO shows the effects of different file sizes (see cache below).
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-atto-2.jpg)
![](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-atto-3.jpg)
Cache – Pass+
Early reviews stated that the cache gave inconsistent sustained random (not sequential) write performance. Our tests with a 32GB Zip file show consistent performance, so we suspect any issues were resolved via a firmware update. However, the cache may be a bottleneck if you use larger files.
![Crucial T500 SSD](https://cybershack.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ct200-zip-1.jpg)
You can further increase cache performance if you have an uninterruptable power supply.
Temperature – Pass+
We had the 2TB heatsink model, which reached approximately 60° under 100% sustained load. It is designed to start throttling g at 80° or more, which is excellent. We understand that the non-heatsink model runs up to 80°. For most of the time, it sat around 45°.
CyberShack’s view – Crucial T500 SSD PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVME is the fastest tested to date.
It is not really the issue whether it is the fastest or all brands/models. It is the fastest we have tested and has an excellent price-per-GB ratio.
This is an excellent PCIe 4.0 x 4 SSD suitable for creators, gamers, image editors or anyone who wants to do disk-based work nearly twice as fast as PCIe 3.0 SSDs.
As it is backwards compatible with PCIe 3.0, consider buying this as it provides stunning 3500MBps read/write performance. It gets our buy recommendation.
Rating
- Features: 95 – I like the Phison family of controllers. This is the latest PCIe 4.0 x 4 supporting DRAM cache.
- Value: 95- Excellent value at comparable prices to older tech.
- Performance: 97.5 – best to date
- Ease of Use: 90 – Including Acronis True Image makes upgrades easy.
- Design: 90 – The low-profile heatsink model is only $10 more and would be my pick for any installation.