Overall and Final Verdict

The original launch of the Crucial T700 was exciting, we don’t get to see huge generational jumps in performance all that often but the move to PCIe 5.0 did just that but like with most new launches there were downsides as well. Crucial’s second PCIe 5.0 offering took what they started with the T700 and improved on it. The pure sequential performance we saw with the T700 is now even faster with the T705 and with performance in the 14k+ read speed range, it is more than twice as fast as the PCIe 4.0 drives. Where the T705 improved on things though were in the IOPS tests which really helped bring the T705 up in the compilation tests like PassMark. The RND4K Q32T1 IOPS test in CrystalDiskMark being the one exception. Real-world performance was once again really good, topping our charts and for most people, those tests best represent what you will see day to day. It does still have issues in the queue depth testing, similar to what we saw on the T700 previously.

Crucial didn’t change the cooler on the T705 from what we saw on the T700 but it once again helped keep things running cool over extended workloads. The T705 is available with a heatsink or without. This will depend on what your motherboard situation is. A lot of today’s mid-range and higher motherboards have built-in M.2 heatsinks already, for those you will need the heatsinkless model. But if you don’t have a heatsink, one is needed so it is nice that Crucial gives you the option. I did notice that there were some contact issues with the heatsink design that don’t have the top NAND touching the heatsink as well as the controller and DRAM, thankfully that doesn’t affect performance as the controller is the main heat source. I would also love to see the heatsink be easier to remove for those situations where someone buys the heatsink model but later moves to a motherboard with a built-in heatsink.

I didn’t touch on it much, but another big surprise with the T705 was the inclusion of a white heatsinked model as well. Given the popularity of white PC hardware, I’m surprised that they didn’t do this sooner but it’s a welcomed addition with having a heatsink being so important with the highest end drives. The limited edition white model is only available in the 2TB capacity right now though. The T705 is available with the black and white heatsink models as well as a basic non-heatsink model. Then on top of that they have 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities so there are a few different SKUs. I put together a small table below so we can see all of the pricing.

The above pricing is all lower than what the T705 was listed at for the launch, I’m not sure how long that pricing will last. At the original pricing, the model that we tested here was going to be $439.99 which was expensive but at $336.99 it is more in line with the other PCI 5.0 drives on the market, at least when it comes to drives with a heatsink included. The $316.99 price point for the non-heatsink model does still have the T705 at the highest end for PCIe 5.0. Overall though the T705 has a surprisingly well rounded performance and that shows in its impressive real-world performance and that is why it makes a great choice for anyone looking for a high-end build right now.

Live Pricing: HERE

Author Bio

Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org

Editor-in-chief

You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.