# Crucial T700 1 TB: the original PCIe 5.0 NVMe from Crucial (2026)

The Crucial T700 1 TB is a PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe SSD built on the Phison PS5026-E26 controller and Micron 232-layer TLC NAND, rated 12,400 MB/s reads with 600 TBW endurance and a 5-year warranty.

Quick answer: The Crucial T700 1 TB is the older-generation PCIe 5.0 entry in Crucial's lineup, launched in 2023 and now positioned below the faster T705. It delivers confirmed 12,400 MB/s reads, 11,800 MB/s writes, 600 TBW, and a 5-year warranty on a Phison E26 and Micron 232-layer NAND platform — the same hardware foundation as the T705, at a lower price point.

## Specifications

| Specification | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Capacity | 1 TB |
| Interface | M.2 5.0 |
| Controller | Phison PS5026-E26 8 Channel |
| Memory type | Micron 232-L TLC |
| DRAM cache | Yes |
| Sequential read | 12400 MB/s |
| Sequential write | 11800 MB/s |
| Random read IOPS | 1350000 |
| Random write IOPS | 1400000 |
| Endurance | 600 TBW |
| MTBF | 2000000 |
| Warranty | 5 years |

## Performance

The Crucial T700 1 TB is rated at 12,400 MB/s sequential reads and 11,800 MB/s sequential writes over PCIe 5.0 x4 — figures independently verified in CrystalDiskMark testing across multiple published reviews. Random performance on the 1 TB model is rated at 1,350,000 read IOPS and 1,400,000 write IOPS. These figures are lower than the 2 TB and 4 TB T700 models, which reach 1,500,000 IOPS in both directions, because the 1 TB configuration has fewer NAND dies to parallelise across the eight controller channels.

In sequential write workloads the drive operates in two phases. Writes within the dynamic SLC cache — which covers the majority of everyday PC use — sustain the full rated 11,800 MB/s. Once the SLC buffer is saturated by a large continuous write, throughput transitions to direct TLC write rates, which remain competitive with mid-range PCIe 4.0 drives but are substantially below the burst figure. This behaviour is common across all E26-based drives at 1 TB; the smaller NAND die count limits SLC cache size compared to the 2 TB and 4 TB models.

For gaming and OS workloads the 1 TB T700 performs at the same level as other E26 drives in its tier. Sequential reads of 12,400 MB/s provide bandwidth for DirectStorage-capable titles, and the 1,350,000 read IOPS rating handles the random small-block access patterns that dominate conventional game loading.

## Endurance, TBW & Warranty

Crucial covers the T700 with a 5-year warranty — a correction from the erroneous 2-year figure in some database entries. The 1 TB model carries a rated endurance of 600 TBW (terabytes written), representing the cumulative write budget across the warranty term. The warranty expires at whichever threshold is reached first: five years from purchase, or 600 TBW of cumulative writes.

At a typical consumer write rate of 30 GB per day, exhausting 600 TBW would take approximately 55 years, so the 5-year period will expire first for virtually all buyers. At a heavier 100 GB per day rate the drive reaches 600 TBW in around 16 years — still well beyond any practical warranty claim. Only users sustaining 400 GB or more per day will encounter the endurance boundary within the warranty period; those use cases belong to the 2 TB model (1,200 TBW) or the 4 TB model (2,400 TBW). Warranty service is handled through Crucial's regional support channels.

## Pros and Cons

**Pros:**

- 12,400 MB/s sequential reads on PCIe 5.0 x4
- 11,800 MB/s sequential writes verified across published reviews
- Phison PS5026-E26 with LPDDR4 DRAM cache
- Micron 232-layer B58R TLC NAND — same generation as T705
- 600 TBW covers virtually all mainstream workloads within the 5-year warranty
- 5-year warranty from Crucial
- Available with or without factory heatsink
**Cons:**

- Superseded by T705 (14,500 MB/s reads) released in 2024
- 1 TB IOPS lower than 2 TB and 4 TB models: 1,350,000/1,400,000 vs 1,500,000/1,500,000
- SLC cache saturation causes write speed drop on large sequential workloads
- Requires good M.2 thermal management — E26 throttles without adequate cooling
- No meaningful performance benefit on PCIe 4.0 platforms


## Verdict

The Crucial T700 1 TB is the older-generation PCIe 5.0 entry in Crucial's lineup, launched in 2023 and now positioned below the faster T705. It delivers confirmed 12,400 MB/s reads, 11,800 MB/s writes, 600 TBW, and a 5-year warranty on a Phison E26 and Micron 232-layer NAND platform — the same hardware foundation as the T705, at a lower price point.

Choose the T700 1 TB if you want a PCIe 5.0 Phison E26 drive and the T705's speed premium is not worth the price difference for your workloads. The 600 TBW endurance comfortably covers mainstream desktop use.

Skip it in favour of the T705 if sequential peak throughput matters and pricing is close. Skip it entirely if your platform only supports PCIe 4.0 — a WD Black SN850X or Samsung 990 Pro delivers equivalent real-world performance at a lower cost and without the thermal demands of a Gen5 controller.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How does the Crucial T700 1 TB differ from the T705?

The T705, released in 2024, replaced the T700 as Crucial's flagship PCIe 5.0 drive. The T705 reaches 14,500 MB/s sequential reads versus 12,400 MB/s on the T700 — a roughly 17% increase. Both drives use the same Phison PS5026-E26 controller and Micron 232-layer B58R TLC NAND; the T705's speed gains come from firmware and binning improvements, not a new NAND generation. The T700 remains in production and typically sells at a lower price, making it the budget-friendly PCIe 5.0 option when the T705 premium is not justified by workload requirements.

### What is the TBW endurance of the Crucial T700 1 TB?

The Crucial T700 1 TB carries a rated endurance of 600 TBW (terabytes written). This represents the total cumulative write budget before the warranty coverage ends. At a typical consumer write rate of 30 GB per day, reaching 600 TBW would take approximately 55 years — the 5-year warranty clock will expire long before endurance becomes relevant. Even at 100 GB per day, the drive would need about 16 years to reach the TBW limit. Users writing 400 GB or more per day on a sustained basis should consider the 2 TB model, which carries 1,200 TBW.

### Does the Crucial T700 have a DRAM cache?

Yes. The T700 pairs the Phison PS5026-E26 controller with an LPDDR4 DRAM chip, which stores the logical-to-physical block address mapping table in dedicated on-board memory. This differentiates it from DRAM-less drives that rely on the Host Memory Buffer (HMB) mechanism, borrowing system RAM via the PCIe link for the same purpose. A dedicated LPDDR4 cache provides more consistent random access latency and benefits sustained random workloads.

### What warranty does the Crucial T700 1 TB carry?

The Crucial T700 carries a 5-year warranty — not the 2-year figure that appears in some third-party database entries. Coverage ends at whichever threshold is reached first: five years from the date of purchase, or 600 TBW of cumulative writes on the 1 TB model. Warranty service is provided through Crucial's regional support channels. The 5-year term is consistent with Crucial's warranty policy across its consumer NVMe lineup.

### Does the Crucial T700 come with a heatsink?

The T700 is available in two variants: a bare M.2 module without a heatsink, and a version with a factory-fitted heatsink using aluminium and nickel-plated copper. The heatsink variant is recommended for systems that lack active M.2 slot cooling. The Phison E26 controller runs warmer than PCIe 4.0 predecessors due to the higher PCIe 5.0 signalling frequency, and without adequate thermal management it will throttle under sustained sequential writes, reducing throughput until temperatures stabilise.

### Is the Crucial T700 1 TB compatible with PCIe 4.0 motherboards?

The T700 is a PCIe 5.0 x4 drive and is backward-compatible with PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 3.0 M.2 slots — the drive will install and operate normally. However, the link speed will be capped at PCIe 4.0 x4 (approximately 7,000 MB/s peak sequential) or PCIe 3.0 x4 (approximately 3,500 MB/s). The full 12,400 MB/s read performance is only available on a PCIe 5.0-capable platform. Buyers with a PCIe 4.0 motherboard will see no advantage over a good Gen4 NVMe drive and would be better served by a WD Black SN850X or Samsung 990 Pro at lower cost.

### Why are the IOPS lower on the 1 TB T700 than on the 2 TB and 4 TB models?

The IOPS rating on any NVMe SSD scales with the number of NAND dies available for parallel operation. At 1 TB the T700 uses fewer physical NAND dies than the 2 TB and 4 TB models, which limits the degree of parallelism across the eight Phison E26 controller channels. The 1 TB model is rated at 1,350,000 read IOPS and 1,400,000 write IOPS; the 2 TB and 4 TB models both reach 1,500,000 IOPS in each direction. In everyday use — OS, gaming, application data — this IOPS difference is not perceptible. It becomes relevant only under highly concurrent random workloads at queue depths above 16.

### How does the Crucial T700 perform against PCIe 4.0 drives?

The T700's 12,400 MB/s sequential read speed is approximately 2x the peak sequential throughput of the fastest PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives (which cap near 7,000 MB/s). In sequential file transfer and DirectStorage game asset streaming the advantage is measurable. In conventional random workloads — which dominate OS responsiveness and game loading — the practical gap narrows considerably, as PCIe 4.0 drives like the WD Black SN850X and Samsung 990 Pro already saturate the random read bandwidth available to a single application. For most users upgrading from a PCIe 4.0 drive, the real-world day-to-day experience difference is modest outside of large sequential transfers.

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Last updated: 2026-06-13. Source: https://ssdrive.net/crucial-t700-1-tb