Break through 14000MB/s, game performance is unmatched! Full-blooded PCIe 5.0 SS
2024-05-16 / tech
Although PCIe 5.0 SSDs were introduced to the market last March, their performance has not reached its peak over the past year. The sequential transfer speed of the initial products was around 10,000MB/s, and the upgraded versions that hit the market in August last year increased the sequential transfer speed to around 12,300MB/s. While there is a significant improvement in sequential transfer speed compared to PCIe 4.0 SSDs, the PCIe 5.0 SSDs utilize a PCIe 5.0 x4 transmission channel with a theoretical available bandwidth of up to 15.75GB/s, which translates to 16,128MB/s. This means that the data transfer rate of the previous PCIe 5.0 SSDs per second was still far from filling the PCIe 5.0 x4 transmission channel, leaving plenty of room for improvement.
Therefore, over the past year, storage manufacturers have been continuously pushing for technological upgrades to PCIe 5.0 SSDs. Finally, this year, a PCIe 5.0 SSD product that claims to be fully capable has emerged, which is the T705 PCIe 5.0 SSD from Crucial. Let's take a look at how it differs in performance from previous PCIe 5.0 SSDs and what kind of user experience it can offer.
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Product Specifications:
Interface: PCIe 5.0 x4
Controller: Phison PS5026-E26 Max14um 8-channel controller
Flash Memory: 2400MT/s B58R 232-layer stacked TLC NAND flash memory
Cache: LPDDR4
Available Capacities: 1TB, 2TB
Form Factor: M.2 2280
Endurance: 600TBW (for 1TB)1200TBW (2TB)
2400TBW (4TB)
Warranty Period: 5 years
2400MT/s flash memory chips + power-optimized controller
Full-blooded PCIe 5.0 SSD analysis
To achieve higher performance, an SSD primarily requires the cooperation of two types of components. One is the controller chip, and the other is the flash memory chip. The technical specifications of the controller determine the maximum theoretical transfer speed that the SSD can possess. On the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 SSD, although it still uses the Phison PS5026-E26 controller that has appeared on previous PCIe 5.0 SSDs, it is the latest Max14um version that has been optimized. The theoretical total power consumption of PCIe 5.0 SSDs using the Phison PS5026-E26 controller could reach up to 14.85W, while the Phison PS5026-E26 Max14um version reduces the power consumption to an average of 11.55W. This allows the SSD controller to operate at a lower temperature, relying solely on passive cooling to work stably. After all, on previous PCIe 5.0 SSDs, we have seen active cooling designs with built-in fans.
On the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 SSD, it is evident that the manufacturer is quite confident in its cooling capabilities, using only a large passive heatsink. This heatsink is custom-designed, carefully selecting aluminum and nickel-plated copper materials, and features multiple channels and inlets/outlets on the heatsink to allow air to flow unobstructed, resulting in better cooling performance. Crucial claims that no fan or water cooling is needed for the SSD to achieve its rated performance, and we will also test its heat generation later to see if it can effectively control the operating temperature of the PCIe 5.0 SSD.
In other aspects, the Phison PS5026-E26 Max14um is no different from the Phison PS5026-E26. It has two ARM Cortex-R5 architecture processors and three co-processors, ensuring sufficient computing power. It also supports up to eight NAND flash memory read/write channels, 32CE chip select signals, and is compliant with the NVMe 2.0 standard. The controller also supports technologies such as the fifth-generation LDPC error correction engine, RAID ECC, and end-to-end data path protection mechanisms to ensure data integrity and increase the lifespan of the SSD. Common encryption and security technologies like AES 256, SHA 512, RSA 4096, and TCG Opal are also supported by it.According to Phison's official specifications, the Phison PS5026-E26 Max14um can achieve a maximum sequential transfer speed of 14.2GB/s on motherboards with the Intel Z790 chipset. On motherboards with the AMD X670E chipset, it can reach up to 14.7GB/s in sequential transfer speed. However, to achieve such high transfer speeds, it also requires the pairing with high-performance flash memory chips. The vast majority of PCIe 5.0 SSDs currently on the market, regardless of when they were released, use the B58R 232-layer stacked TLC flash memory chips. These chips have seen improvements in density and performance, with a single Die capacity of 128GB, and four Dies forming a flash memory chip with a capacity of 512GB. Therefore, a 2TB SSD only needs to have four flash memory chips on board.
More importantly, this flash memory uses a 6 Planes design, which offers higher read and write throughput compared to the common 4 Planes design flash memory. The official IO interface speed is stated to be between 2000MT/s and 2400MT/s, effectively enhancing the performance of the SSD. However, the first batch of PCIe 5.0 SSDs, despite also using 232-layer stacked TLC flash memory chips, may have had a conservatively set flash IO interface speed of 1600MT/s due to the technology being immature at the time. As a result, the maximum sequential transfer speed of the first batch of PCIe 5.0 SSDs could only reach around 10000MB/s.
Subsequently, the upgraded PCIe 5.0 SSDs that hit the market in August of last year adopted B58R 232-layer stacked TLC flash memory chips with an increased IO interface speed of 2000MT/s. This was the key reason why the upgraded PCIe 5.0 SSDs could boost their sequential transfer speeds to around 12500MB/s. The Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 SSD, on the other hand, uses the final form of B58R, which is the B58R flash memory with an IO interface speed of 2400MT/s. This allows the Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 SSD to have an advertised sequential read speed of 14500MB/s and a sequential write speed of 12700MB/s. Of course, these are data measured using the AMD Zen4 processor and X670E platform; on Intel processor platforms, the sequential read and write speeds will be slightly lower, but the random 4K performance will see a significant improvement. The advertised random 4K read and write performance of this SSD can reach 1550K IOPS and 1800K IOPS, respectively.
To enhance the performance of the SSD, the Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD also employs an independent cache design. The 2TB product tested in this instance is equipped with up to 4GB of independent cache, used to store the FTL mapping table that records the location of data. Current SSD read and write operations require consultation of this mapping table; to achieve fast read and write speeds, this mapping table needs to be stored in high-performance DRAM memory chips, thereby effectively enhancing the SSD's read and write performance.
The Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD is currently available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities for user selection. In terms of warranty, this product offers a 5-year warranty plus a TBW (Terabytes Written) warranty policy (whichever comes first), with the TBW warranty write capacity for the 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB products being 600TB, 1200TB, and 2400TB, respectively, which is comparable to other SSDs using high-quality TLC flash memory. So, can the Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD with 2400MT/s flash memory achieve better results in actual testing and applications? Next, we will use the SSD's built-in heatsink to build a platform based on the Core i9-14900KS processor and 32GB DDR5 7200 dual-channel memory to test it.
How We Tested
Although slightly higher sequential read and write speeds can be achieved on the AMD platform, according to our past tests and other publicly available data, the performance on the AMD platform will be somewhat reduced in random 4K Q1T1 performance, which is closely related to gaming and consumer-level application consumption. For example, the random 4K Q1T1 read score of the Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB on the AMD platform is only around 76MB/s, showing a noticeable "bias," as this score does not have an advantage compared to other PCIe 4.0 SSDs. Therefore, we still use the Intel flagship platform based on the Core i9-14900KS processor and a top-tier Z790 motherboard for testing to fully and comprehensively unleash the performance of this SSD.
Test PlatformMainboard: ROG MAXIMUS Z790 APEX ENCORE
Processor: Core i9-14900KS
Memory: DDR5 7200 16GB x 2
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB
Graphics Card: GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER
Power Supply: AORUS AP1200PM Platinum
Operating System: Windows 11
Breaking 14000MB/s
Unmatched Random Performance
Note: The translation assumes that "Crucial英睿达T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB" is a product name and has been translated to "Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB" for consistency with the brand name "Crucial" and a typical product naming convention. If "T705" is a specific model number, it should be kept as is.Test Review: Firstly, looking at the benchmark tests, the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB, equipped with the Phison PS5026-E26 Max14um PCIe 5.0 controller and B58R 232-layer stacked flash memory chips with an IO interface speed of 2400MT/s, indeed shows a very impressive performance. In the CrystalDiskMark test, its sequential read speed exceeded 14000MB/s, reaching 14174.64MB/s, which is a significant improvement compared to the early PCIe 5.0 SSDs with sequential read speeds ranging from 10000MB/s to 12500MB/s. In terms of sequential write speed, this SSD also shows a noticeable increase, reaching 12452.63MB/s, whereas last year's PCIe 5.0 SSDs using 2000MT/s B58R flash memory could not achieve a sequential write speed of 12000MB/s. Therefore, the most significant progress achieved by PCIe 5.0 SSDs with 2400MT/s flash memory is the effective enhancement of the SSD's sequential read and write speeds.
It is slightly regrettable that, due to processor platform limitations, the sequential read and write speeds of the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB on the Intel platform are slightly below its advertised speeds of 14500MB/s and 12700MB/s, but the price paid for this is also worth it. Its random 4K Q1T1 read and write speeds are as high as 102.81MB/s and 385.82MB/s, respectively, which translates to random 4K Q1T1 read and write IOPS of 25101.32 IOPS and 94195.07 IOPS. Currently, even high-performance, high-end PCIe 4.0 SSDs can only achieve around 20000 IOPS in random 4K Q1T1 read tests. The random 4K Q1T1 performance is closely related to the SSD's performance in gaming and general applications, which also likely means that the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB can start games faster and read and write various types of data more quickly in applications, which we will verify later.
In high queue depth, multi-threaded random read and write performance tests, the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB performs similarly to PCIe 5.0 SSDs using 2000MT/s B58R flash memory. For example, in the CrystalDiskMark random 4K Q32T16 test, its read and write performance can reach 6391.27MB/s and 6892.72MB/s, respectively, with almost identical results.
At the same time, in the AS SSD Benchmark and Anvil's Storage Utilities tests, the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB also achieved excellent scores of 13469 and 37031.3, respectively, with certain advantages due to its better sequential read and write and low queue depth, single-threaded random read and write performance. After all, PCIe 5.0 SSDs based on 2000MT/s B58R flash memory scored around 13250 and 34400 in these two tests; PCIe 5.0 SSDs using 1600MT/s B58R flash memory scored around 12980 and 32800 in these two tests.
Score not only does not decrease but also increases
Benchmark performance maximum capacity test
Test Review: Next, we also tested the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB at the maximum capacity settings available in the benchmark software, with a test capacity of 10GB in AS SSD Benchmark, 32GB in Anvil's Storage Utilities, and 64GB in CrystalDiskMark.The results show that when reading and writing large-capacity files, this product does not experience significant speed loss. Its sequential read and write speeds in CrystalDiskMark are still above 14100MB/s and 12400MB/s, respectively. In the AS SSD Benchmark test, its score increased by more than 1000 points, reaching an impressive 14944 points. In the Anvil's Storage Utilities test, this SSD's score also slightly increased by about 200 points. This indicates that the Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB should have a substantial SLC Cache, which we will verify in later tests.
Setting new records in PCMark 10 and 3DMark
Application and Game Testing
In this part of the testing, we first used the system disk performance test in PCMark 10 storage performance, which also includes a variety of complex storage performance tests. These include Windows 10 boot tests, start-up and read-write usage tests for professional software such as Premiere Pro, Lightroom, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, and read-write usage tests for office software like EXCEL, PowerPoint, InDesign, as well as copying ISO files and JPEG images. It can be said that PCMark 10 covers most of the software and application behaviors involved in current office application scenarios, including various sequential read-write and random read-write applications. The score is calculated by summarizing the transfer speed and access time of each test, and then calculating the geometric mean.
The Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB achieved an astonishing score of 6572 in PCMark 10 storage performance, with an average transfer bandwidth of 1030MB/s. What does this mean? In our previous tests, most of the high-performing PCIe 4.0 SSDs could only achieve scores of around 3500 in this test, with a transfer bandwidth of less than 600MB/s. The early version of PCIe 5.0 SSDs with 1600MT/s flash memory achieved the highest score of 5741, with an average transfer bandwidth of 911.8MB/s; the PCIe 5.0 SSDs with 2000MT/s flash memory could only score close to 6000, with a score of 5937 and a transfer bandwidth of 941.51MB/s. Therefore, its PCMark 10 score of 6527 and 1030MB/s transfer bandwidth indicate that the full-blooded PCIe 5.0 SSD indeed has the strength to surpass other PCIe 5.0 SSDs and PCIe 4.0 SSDs, and is more suitable for daily office and content creation work due to its faster read-write data in productivity software applications.
In terms of game performance, we used the 3DMark storage performance test, which examines the speed from startup to menu in three games: Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. It also assesses the performance of the SSD while playing games and recording videos simultaneously, as well as its performance in installing and copying game files. The Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB also set a record, with a total score of 6577 and an average transfer bandwidth of 1113.96MB/s. In contrast, PCIe 5.0 SSDs based on 2000MT/s flash memory scored around 5750 in this test, while those with 1600MT/s flash memory could only achieve a maximum score of around 5596 in the 3DMark storage test, and flagship PCIe 4.0 SSDs struggle to exceed 5000 points in the 3DMark storage performance test.
The reason is simple: the full-blooded PCIe 5.0 SSD is faster in all types of game-related applications. For example, in the Battlefield V load test of the 3DMark storage performance test, its game load speed reached 2104.96MB/s, while the PCIe 5.0 SSD with 2000MT/s flash memory had a load speed of 1740.16MB/s, and those with 1600MT/s flash memory only managed 1612.69MB/s. In the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 game load test of the 3DMark storage performance test, the Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB achieved a load speed of 1529.73MB/s, while the PCIe 5.0 SSD with 2000MT/s flash memory had a load speed of 1303.13MB/s, and those with 1600MT/s flash memory only reached 1232.06MB/s.
In the game copy test, with the help of the Phison PS5026-E26 Max14um PCIe 5.0 controller and 2400MT/s flash memory, the Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB transferred the CS:GO game files at a speed of 6341.17MB/s, while the PCIe 5.0 SSDs with 2000MT/s and 1600MT/s flash memory only achieved transfer speeds of 6259.61MB/s and 6127.83MB/s, respectively, in this test. The progress of the full-blooded PCIe 5.0 SSD is quite evident.Additionally, we have utilized the latest benchmark tool from Square Enix, "Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker," as well as the earlier "Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers" and "Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood" for our testing. These three games not only allow us to assess the average frame rate of the system but also measure the time it takes for the SSD to load game scenes. From the tests, the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB achieved impressive results, with the total loading time for five scenes in each game all kept under 6 seconds. Its scene loading times for "Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker," "Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood," and "Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers" were 5.384 seconds, 5.555 seconds, and 5.636 seconds, respectively. This is also the first SSD in the "Micro Computer" review lab that can control the loading times for these three games all under 6 seconds. In the past, even high-performance SSDs could only achieve loading times under 6 seconds in one or two of these games, with one game, such as "Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers" or "Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood," always taking more than 6 seconds. This once again demonstrates that, with its robust random 4K Q1T1 read performance, the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB indeed has very fast game loading speeds.
Equipped with a large-capacity SLC Cache
High heat generation
Finally, we examined the write performance consistency of the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB through the full-disk write test with TXBENCH. We also discovered why this SSD did not show a significant drop in speed during the benchmark maximum capacity test; it turns out it has an SLC Cache with a capacity of 208GB. Within this capacity range, when writing sequential data, the SSD can maintain a high speed of over 12000MB/s. Clearly, this capacity is more than sufficient for most ordinary users whose one-time data writing capacity is less than 200GB.
When the SLC Cache is depleted, the SSD's write speed will drop significantly, maintaining a write speed of 3900MB/s to 4150MB/s for most of the time. When the written capacity reaches about 1593GB, the SSD's write performance will further decline, with sequential write speeds ranging from 1055MB/s to 1880MB/s. Thanks to the higher sequential write speeds in the early stages and still achieving over 1000MB/s in the later stages, its full-disk average sequential write speed can still reach 3264.174MB/s. The full-disk average sequential write speeds for PCIe 5.0 SSDs based on 2000MT/s flash memory and those using 1600MT/s flash memory in this test are 3100MB/s and 2948MB/s, respectively, with the full-blooded PCIe 5.0 SSD still having a slight advantage in this test.
Of course, due to the increase in write speed, the heat generation of this SSD has also increased. Especially when the write speed has not dropped significantly, software detection shows that in an environment with an ambient temperature of about 20°C, its highest write temperature can reach 80°C, and touching the SSD heatsink feels extremely hot to the touch.
Top-tier performanceSuitable for Users with a Generous Budget
Undoubtedly, the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB is currently the top-performing SSD available on the market. With the help of the Phison PS5026-E26 Max14um PCIe 5.0 controller and the 2400MT/s B58R 232-layer TLC NAND flash memory chips, it not only boasts higher sequential read and write speeds, but also sets new records in PCMark 10 storage performance and 3DMark storage performance. In actual games such as "Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn," "Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker," and "Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers," it also has shorter load times, fully proving its status as a flagship storage product.
Of course, you get what you pay for. As a high-end new product, the price of this SSD is not low. The current price of the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB with a heatsink tested in this review is as high as 3699 yuan, which is significantly higher than that of a PCIe 4.0 SSD of the same capacity. It is also about 900 yuan more expensive than a PCIe 5.0 SSD with 2000MT/s flash memory and a heatsink. Therefore, it is only suitable for users with a very generous budget.
If users already have an SSD cooler, to improve cost-effectiveness, they can opt for the version without a heatsink, as the Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD without a heatsink is a few hundred yuan cheaper. However, regardless of whether a heatsink is installed, users must monitor its operating temperature using detection software. The downside of a full-speed PCIe 5.0 SSD is that it can get very hot, especially during long periods of writing. Therefore, under permissible conditions, adding a cooling fan or using a larger heatsink for a full-speed PCIe 5.0 SSD remains a good way to ensure continuous performance output.
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