Crucial T700 2 TB: PCIe 5.0 capacity with full E26 IOPS (2026)
The Crucial T700 2 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, 1,500,000 IOPS, and 1,200 TBW with a 5-year warranty.
Controller & Memory
The T700 was Crucial's entry into PCIe 5.0 storage, launched in mid-2023 on Intel Z790 and AMD X670E platforms. It uses the Phison PS5026-E26 controller — an eight-channel design on TSMC's 12nm process — paired with Micron's 232-layer TLC NAND (the B58R die) and a 2 GB LPDDR4 DRAM cache. The DRAM holds the logical-to-physical address mapping table in on-board memory, avoiding the latency of Host Memory Buffer designs that borrow system RAM across the PCIe link. The drive connects via PCIe 5.0 x4 with NVMe 2.0 and sits in the M.2 2280 form factor. The 2 TB module uses a double-sided PCB; verify M.2 slot component clearance on compact or ITX motherboards before purchase.
The 2 TB model reaches the full IOPS ceiling of the Phison E26: 1,500,000 read IOPS and 1,500,000 write IOPS, compared to 1,350,000/1,400,000 on the 1 TB. The additional NAND dies in the 2 TB configuration give the controller more parallelism across its eight channels, producing both the higher IOPS and a larger dynamic SLC write cache. The SLC cache advantage is relevant for sustained write workloads: the 2 TB model absorbs larger bursts at full rated speed before transitioning to direct TLC write rates, making it more appropriate than the 1 TB for users regularly writing large files — video editing outputs, backup archives, virtual machine images.
In 2024, Crucial released the T705, which reaches 14,500 MB/s reads and 12,700 MB/s writes using the same Phison E26 controller and Micron B58R NAND — a firmware and binning improvement rather than a new hardware generation. The T700 2 TB remains in production and has settled to a lower price bracket. For workloads where 12,400 MB/s reads and 1,500,000 IOPS are sufficient — which covers gaming, creative work, and all conventional PC use — the T700 2 TB delivers the same core platform as the T705 at reduced cost.
Storage Comparisons:
T700 Performance & Benchmarks
The Crucial T700 2 TB is rated at 12,400 MB/s sequential reads and 11,800 MB/s sequential writes over PCIe 5.0 x4, verified in CrystalDiskMark tests across multiple published reviews. Random performance at the 2 TB capacity reaches the full Phison E26 ceiling: 1,500,000 read IOPS and 1,500,000 write IOPS, matching the 4 TB model and exceeding the 1 TB model's 1,350,000/1,400,000 rating.
Crucial T700 2 TB vs M.2 5.0 peers
Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other M.2 5.0 SSDs in our database. The highlighted bar is the drive on this page — click any other bar to open that drive.
- Corsair MP700 Pro XT 4 TB: 14,900 MB/s read, 14,400 MB/s write
- Crucial T710 1 TB: 14,900 MB/s read, 13,800 MB/s write
- PNY XLR8 CS3250 1 TB: 14,900 MB/s read, 13,500 MB/s write
- PNY XLR8 CS3250 2 TB: 14,900 MB/s read, 14,000 MB/s write
- Crucial T700 2 TB (this drive): 12,400 MB/s read, 11,800 MB/s write
The 2 TB model's larger NAND die count directly benefits sustained sequential write performance. The dynamic SLC write cache is proportionally larger than on the 1 TB model, meaning the drive sustains its full 11,800 MB/s write speed across longer sequential write runs before the cache is exhausted and throughput falls to direct TLC write rates. For everyday workloads — OS operations, gaming, application reads — the drive operates almost entirely within the SLC burst window and the rated speeds apply. For large sustained writes such as rendering outputs or full backup runs, the 2 TB's expanded cache window provides meaningful headroom over the 1 TB.
Sequential reads of 12,400 MB/s are well above the ceiling of any PCIe 4.0 drive and provide bandwidth for DirectStorage-enabled titles. Random 1,500,000 IOPS comfortably handles the small-block access patterns that dominate conventional game loading and OS responsiveness.
Crucial T700 vs Competitors
See how the T700 stacks up against other M.2 5.0 drives in our database:
Compare with rival drives:
Endurance, TBW & Warranty
Crucial covers the T700 with a 5-year warranty — not the 2-year figure appearing in some database entries. The 2 TB model carries 1,200 TBW (terabytes written), representing the cumulative write budget under the warranty. Coverage expires at whichever threshold is reached first: five years from purchase, or 1,200 TBW of cumulative writes.
At a typical consumer write rate of 30 GB per day, exhausting 1,200 TBW would take approximately 110 years. At a heavier rate of 100 GB per day the figure is around 33 years. Even at 300 GB per day — a sustained professional workload — reaching 1,200 TBW would take over 11 years, well beyond the 5-year warranty period. Only users sustaining 700 GB or more per day will encounter the TBW boundary before the 5-year clock expires; those use cases belong to the 4 TB model with 2,400 TBW. Warranty service is provided through Crucial's regional support channels.
Crucial T700 2 TB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 2 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 5.0 |
| Controller [?] | Phison PS5026-E26 8 Channel |
| Memory type [?] | Micron 232-L TLC |
| DRAM [?] | Yes |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 12400 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 11800 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 1500000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 1500000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 1200 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 2000000 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Verdict: Is the T700 Worth It in 2026?
The Crucial T700 2 TB delivers the full Phison E26 IOPS ceiling, a larger SLC write cache than the 1 TB, and 1,200 TBW endurance under a 5-year warranty — all at a price below the T705, which reaches 14,500 MB/s on the same hardware foundation.
Choose it if you want a PCIe 5.0 drive at 2 TB capacity, can work with 12,400 MB/s reads rather than the T705's 14,500 MB/s, and the price difference justifies the choice. The 1,200 TBW rating comfortably covers any realistic desktop workload within the warranty period.
Skip it in favour of the T705 if peak sequential throughput matters and the price gap has narrowed. Skip it entirely if your platform supports only PCIe 4.0 — a WD Black SN850X 2 TB or Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB delivers equivalent real-world performance at lower cost without the thermal demands of a Gen5 controller.
+ Pros
- 12,400 MB/s sequential reads on PCIe 5.0 x4
- Full Phison E26 IOPS rating: 1,500,000 read and write
- Larger SLC write cache than 1 TB — better sustained write headroom
- 1,200 TBW endurance comfortably within the 5-year warranty
- Micron 232-layer B58R TLC NAND with 2 GB LPDDR4 DRAM cache
- 5-year warranty from Crucial
- Available with or without factory heatsink
- Cons
- Superseded by T705 (14,500 MB/s reads) on the same Phison E26 platform
- Double-sided PCB — check M.2 slot component clearance on compact boards
- Requires good M.2 thermal management — E26 throttles without adequate cooling
- No meaningful performance benefit over PCIe 4.0 drives on non-Gen5 platforms
- SLC cache saturation still possible under very large continuous write operations
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Video Review
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