Crucial T700 4 TB: the high-capacity PCIe 5.0 entry with 2,400 TBW (2026)
The Crucial T700 4 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 2,400 TBW with a 5-year warranty.
Controller & Memory
The T700 was Crucial's first PCIe 5.0 NVMe drive, launched in mid-2023 alongside Intel Z790 and AMD X670E platforms. The 4 TB is the top-capacity variant in the lineup, using the Phison PS5026-E26 controller — an eight-channel design on TSMC's 12nm process — with Micron's 232-layer B58R TLC NAND and an LPDDR4 DRAM cache. The DRAM holds the logical-to-physical address table in on-board memory, avoiding the latency of DRAM-less designs that borrow system RAM across the PCIe bus. The drive sits in the M.2 2280 form factor with a double-sided PCB; verify M.2 slot component clearance on compact or ITX motherboards before purchase.
At 4 TB the T700 carries its largest SLC write cache and highest TBW rating of the three capacities: 2,400 TBW, compared to 1,200 TBW on the 2 TB and 600 TBW on the 1 TB. The expanded SLC buffer means the drive sustains its rated 11,800 MB/s write speed across longer sequential write bursts before transitioning to direct TLC write rates. This matters for users regularly writing very large files: continuous video encoding, large database backups, or bulk transfers. For most desktop workloads — gaming, OS operations, application data — the drive operates within the SLC cache and sustained write behaviour is not a concern.
In 2024, Crucial released the T705 4 TB, which reaches 14,500 MB/s reads on the same Phison E26 controller and Micron B58R NAND — roughly a 17% sequential read uplift via firmware and binning improvements. The T700 4 TB remains in production at a lower price, providing the same hardware platform and higher capacity tier for buyers who need 4 TB of Gen5 storage without the T705 price premium.
Storage Comparisons:
T700 Performance & Benchmarks
The Crucial T700 4 TB is rated at 12,400 MB/s sequential reads and 11,800 MB/s sequential writes over PCIe 5.0 x4, confirmed by Tom's Hardware's dedicated 4 TB review. Random performance matches the 2 TB model at the full Phison E26 ceiling: 1,500,000 read IOPS and 1,500,000 write IOPS.
Crucial T700 4 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 4 TB (this drive): 12,400 MB/s read, 11,800 MB/s write
The 4 TB benefits from the largest SLC write cache of the T700 range. In sequential write workloads the drive sustains full rated 11,800 MB/s throughput for longer before the SLC buffer saturates and throughput transitions to direct TLC write rates. This distinction is most relevant for users performing continuous large-file writes — renders, multi-stream video captures, or full backup runs. For gaming and everyday use the SLC cache is more than adequate and the rated speeds are representative.
Sequential reads of 12,400 MB/s are approximately double the throughput of the fastest PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives, providing bandwidth for DirectStorage game asset streaming. The 1,500,000 IOPS rating handles the random small-block access patterns that dominate conventional game loading and OS operations.
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 4 TB model carries 2,400 TBW (terabytes written), the highest endurance rating in the T700 lineup. Coverage expires at whichever threshold is reached first: five years from purchase, or 2,400 TBW of cumulative writes.
At 30 GB per day, exhausting 2,400 TBW would take over 200 years. At 100 GB per day the figure is around 66 years. Even at 1,000 GB per day sustained — a continuous professional workload very few desktop systems generate — the drive would reach 2,400 TBW in approximately 6.6 years, approaching but still within the 5-year warranty period. The 4 TB model is therefore suitable for heavy professional write workloads that would exhaust the lower-capacity models within warranty. Warranty service is provided through Crucial's regional support channels.
Crucial T700 4 TB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 4 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) [?] | 2400 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 2000000 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Verdict: Is the T700 Worth It in 2026?
The Crucial T700 4 TB is the highest-capacity, highest-endurance variant in Crucial's Gen5 lineup, carrying 2,400 TBW and the largest SLC write cache of the three T700 models — both useful for sustained professional workloads. It delivers 12,400 MB/s reads, 1,500,000 IOPS, and a 5-year warranty on the same Phison E26 and Micron B58R NAND platform as the T705, at a lower price point.
Choose it if you need 4 TB of PCIe 5.0 storage and prefer the T700's lower price over the T705's higher sequential throughput. The 2,400 TBW covers even demanding professional write schedules within the warranty term.
Skip it in favour of the T705 4 TB if sequential peak speeds matter and pricing is close. Skip it entirely if your platform only supports PCIe 4.0 — at that generation the full 12,400 MB/s read bandwidth is unavailable regardless of which drive is installed.
+ Pros
- 12,400 MB/s sequential reads on PCIe 5.0 x4
- 1,500,000 read and write IOPS — full Phison E26 ceiling
- 2,400 TBW — highest endurance rating in the T700 lineup
- Largest SLC write cache of all three T700 capacities
- Micron 232-layer B58R TLC NAND with LPDDR4 DRAM cache
- 5-year warranty from Crucial
- Available with or without factory heatsink
- Cons
- Superseded by T705 4TB (14,500 MB/s reads) on the same hardware platform
- Double-sided PCB — check M.2 component clearance on compact boards
- Requires good M.2 thermal management — E26 throttles without adequate cooling
- Premium price for 4 TB capacity tier
- No meaningful performance benefit over PCIe 4.0 drives on non-Gen5 platforms
Buy this or similar SSD Storage:
Video Review
Is this the fastest Gen5 NVME SSD? Crucial T700 with Heatsink
