trustedreviews.com

Crucial T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD 2TB

Verdict

Crucial’s T705 really does push the PCIe 5.0 SSD standard to its absolute limit. With unprecedented sequential performance, solid 4K performance, and an incredibly aggressive price point, it ticks all the boxes on its way to SSD dominance.

If you’re looking for one of the fastest SSDs around, or just want to future-proof your PC for the next few years until PCIe 6.0 drives land, this could very well be the drive to get.

Pros

Phenomenal sequential performance

Strong random 4K figures as well

Heatsink and naked variants available

Cons

Heatsink version is a challenge to remove

Random 4K performance still not far above T500

Key Features

PCIe 5.0 StandardCrucial’s T705, is an SSD built around the PCIe 5.0 connection standard. That gives it access to a maximum bandwidth of 15.75 GB/s.

232-Layer TLC NAND FlashSimilar to its T700 sibling, the T705 stil utilizes Micron’s 232-layer TLC NAND flash to store your data. It’s some of the densest and most efficient high-performance NAND out there.

With or Without HeatsinkYou can pick up a T705 with or without a heatsink, depending on your preference and motherboard. If you’ve got a solid PCIe 5.0 heatsink on your mobo already, then go without.

Introduction

It’s fair to say that Crucial’s T705 PCIe 5.0 SSD might be the fastest drive out there right now. It’s well on its way to becoming one of, if not the best SSDs money can buy today.

This is all down to the absolute brute force sequential performance that Crucial has managed to deliver on top of its now incredibly mature firmware.

At its heart the T705 isn’t that different to the T700, it still features the same Phison E26 controller, complete with DRAM cache and eight channels, and that is combined with Micron’s 232-layer TLC NAND flash as well.

However, Crucial has radically refined its firmware, and binning process, delivering one of the most stable, yet sequentially rapid SSDs out there.

If your workload demands the transfer of massive files, games, programs, raw footage and more, then something like the T705 is perfect for the job. It’s not flawless of course, and there’s certainly an argument to be had for genuine real-world performance being perhaps at this point not that noticeably different from its predecessor, but in those high intensity scenarios the T705 delivers in spades.

Specs

Phison E26 controller paired with 232-layer TLC NAND

Heatsink solution is decent but non removable

High-end PCs only, no console support

So then, let’s talk hardware shall we? I’ve already alluded to the fact that the T705 comes with the standard PCIe 5.0 drive hardware affair, including that now legendary Phison E26 controller, combined with Micron’s best TLC NAND flash, nothing new here.

On the surface, if you were to take this drive and place it side-by-side with the T700, there’s little difference between the two. The heatsinks are almost identical, the form-factor, the lot. The real magic is happening under the hood, with a refined firmware, and binning process that has led to those significantly improved performance metrics.

Crucial T705 spec data

Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)

The only major difference comes in the form of that aforementioned heatsink. Unlike the T700, the T705 has no removable screws, torx or otherwise. So if you do accidentally buy the heatsink variant, and want to remove it at a later date, you’re going to have a fight on your hands to remove the SSD from its enclosure.

It is possible (I’ve done it), but you do risk damaging the drive directly. Instead, given there’s a small price difference between the two, and you’ll likely be popping this in a top-tier motherboard, I highly recommend just buying the non-heatsinked variant instead.

‹

Storage Capacity

Release Date

Model Variants

Read Speed

Write Speed

Interface

Connector

USA RRP

Crucial T705

2TB

2024

1TB, 2TB, 4TB, W or W/O Heatsink

14500 MB/s

12700 MB/s

PCIe 5.0

M.2

$300

Crucial T700

2TB

2023

1TB, 2TB, 4TB

12400 MB/s

11800 MB/s

PCIe 5.0 x4

M.2-2280

$269.99

Seagate FireCuda 540 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD 2TB

2TB

2023

1TB, 2TB

10000 MB/s

PCIe 5.0 x4

M.2-2280

$269.99

Gigabyte Aorus Gen5 12000

2TB

2023

1TB, 2TB

12400 MB/s

11800 MB/s

PCIe 5.0 x4

M.2-2280

$239.99

Crucial T500 M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD 2TB

2TB

2023

500GB, 1TB, 2TB

7400 MB/s

7000 MB/s

PCIe 4.0 x4

M.2-2280

$149.99

›

Aside from that, Crucial’s also implemented some decent security in the form of TCG’s OPAL 2.01, and you do get a decent warranty on it too, with 5 years as standard, plus 1200 TBW endurance as well to back that all up.

Test Setup

When it comes to benchmarking SSDs, it’s important to ensure that your test system mitigates as many bottlenecks as possible.

I’ve been testing the T705 now for a few weeks to really get to grips with just how well this drive performs, in a fairly top-tier PC, once again to eliminate any potential components affecting the drive in any particular way. I test every drive we get in, in its heatsinkless configuration, in the top PCIe 5.0 slot on the Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero motherboard, you can find the full spec list below.

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700K

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Aero OC

RAM: 32GB (2x16GB) Corsair Dominator Titanium DDR5 @ 7200

Cooler: Phanteks Glacier One D30 360mm AIO

PSU: 1200W Corsair RMx Shift 80+ Gold PSU

Case: Hyte Y70 Touch

As for the tests, I’m using a mixture of synthetic and real-world performance, combined with some price indexing to really give us a good understanding of just how this drive looks in comparison to the competition.

Crucial T705 stripped of its heatsink and in a test machine.

Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)

For synthetic tests, Crystal Disk Mark and PC Mark provide the bulk of our analytical data. I also perform a real world file copy test, transferring a 120GB game (Red Dead Redemption 2) directly to the drive. Then making a copy of that copy, on the drive itself, to see how fast it can write that file to disk. I then time that as such. Additionally for gaming, I’m utilizing the Final Fantasy XIV benchmark, as it provides SSD load time results as well.

Our index metrics are solely based on price-to-performance, with current updated pricing, telling us exactly how much MB/s sequentials you’ll get per $, along with random 4K performance and of course that tried and true Gigabyte per $ metric as well.

Performance

Dominant in sequential tests

No huge improvements elsewhere

So, how did it perform? Sequentially this thing is an absolute monster. In Crystal Disk Mark it ripped through the sequential tests, scoring 13,835 in sequential read, and 11,795 in sequential write.

That’s higher than any other PCIe 5.0 drive I’ve tested to date, and about 1500 MB/s higher than the T700 and the Aorus Gen5 12000 in read speeds alone.

Moving on to the Random 4K performance, and it holds up well, falling in line with the original T700, the FireCuda 540 and the Gen5 12000. This is clearly more of a sequential speed drive update, rather than a flat improvement across the board.

With that in mind, our real-world tests did show similar results, with Final Fantasy XIV loading in just 7.51 seconds total, versus the T700’s 7.46, and even the FireCuda 540 landing a 7.04. Similarly the 120GB file copy test finished in 34.38 seconds, putting it on par with the Gigabyte Aorus Gen5 12000.

So what can we draw from this then? The simple fact is, if you need an SSD that’s rapid, and ideal for sequential data-loads then the T705 is it. Its top-tier performance in this category, makes it an absolute monster. The question is however, where do we go from here? At this point PCIe 5.0’s max bandwidth is on the cusp of being reached. The T705 might just be the drive that hit it.

Latest deals

Should you buy it?

If you want the fastest sequential SSD out there

Without a doubt, Crucial’s T705 sweeps the field when it comes to pure sequential performance. It’s metrics are unparalleled compared to every other drive we’ve tested to date, and it produces some seriously impressive results across the board.

If you’re looking for the best value SSD out there

Although sequential performance is punchy, this doesn’t necessarily transfer well into the real-world, and competing drives often provide similar real-world results for significantly less cash.

Final Thoughts

The Crucial T705 is, without a doubt, quick, seriously quick. It’s the fastest sequential drive I’ve tested, and produces some exceptional results because of it.

If you work with large datasets and files and need a drive that can easily handle copying and transferring on a day-to-day basis, while still producing stellar results across the board in almost every other benchmark then the T705 is a solid pick.

The only downside is that, as evolutionary updates go, it really does only improve on sequential performance. Random 4K and similar real-world results are almost not discernable from its competitors, and predecessors as well.

Given it comes with a premium as well for that sequential performance, if you’re not working with larger file transfers, then something like the T700, or even Crucial’s T500 would likely give you close to near identical performance, without breaking the bank.

Trusted Score

How we test

Each SSD we test utilizes a mix of both synthetic and real-world benchmark tests. On top of that, we also use several price-to-performance metrics and monitor temperature and power draw to determine the long-term stability and cost-effectiveness of the drive.

Each SSD is tested in its very own test PC

Power draw and temperatures are monitored throughout testing