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Crucial T500 4TB Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD: speeds, uses and compatibility
A 4TB internal PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD with sequential speeds up to 7,000/6,900MB/s, TLC NAND and DirectStorage support. What the specs mean for gaming and creators.
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The Crucial T500 4TB is an internal M.2 NVMe solid-state drive that uses a PCIe Gen4 connection. It is built for desktops and laptops with a free M.2 slot, and Crucial pitches it at gaming, video editing and other heavy file work.
What the speed figures mean
Crucial lists sequential reads of up to 7,000MB/s and writes of up to 6,900MB/s, and random reads and writes of up to 1.05M IOPS. Sequential speed describes how fast large files move, such as a game install or a video export. IOPS measures how many small read and write operations the drive completes per second, which matters for system responsiveness and loading many small files. The product description also quotes up to 1.18M/1.44M IOPS for random reads and writes under certain test conditions. These are maximums, and real-world speed depends on your system.
Crucial says this is about twice as fast as Gen3 drives. Whether a faster drive makes a visible difference varies by the task.
TLC NAND
The T500 uses TLC NAND, which stores three bits per cell. TLC is a common balance between capacity, speed and endurance. Crucial also quotes a performance-to-power ratio of up to 40%, a figure about efficiency that may interest laptop owners.
DirectStorage and gaming
The drive is enabled for Microsoft DirectStorage, a Windows technology that lets games load data from an NVMe drive with less work from the processor. Crucial says games load up to 16% faster and that it brings faster texture rendering and lower CPU use. Benefits require a game that supports DirectStorage, and results vary.
Content creation
For video, photo and 3D work, large capacity and fast access help with big project files and scratch disks. Crucial says content-creation apps can run up to 42% faster. These figures are the brand's own and depend on the test setup.
Capacity
At 4TB, there's room for a large game library, raw footage or project archives on one drive. Crucial lists the model as CT4000T500SSD3.
Size and fitting
The drive measures about 3.1 x 0.9 inches, which matches the standard M.2 2280 length of 80 mm, and is very thin. Check that your motherboard or laptop supports it and that the slot offers NVMe. Some systems need a heatsink for sustained speeds, and many motherboards include one.
Who it suits
It suits builders and upgraders with a PCIe Gen4 or newer M.2 slot who want large, fast storage for games, editing and rendering.
What to check before you buy
- Slot: confirm an M.2 2280 slot that supports NVMe. A Gen3 slot will run it at lower speeds.
- Cooling: check whether your board or laptop provides a heatsink.
- Software offer: the listing mentions a one-month trial of a creative software suite; check the terms of that offer.
- Platform: DirectStorage needs a supported version of Windows and games.
- Backups: keep a second copy of important files.
The short version
- A 4TB internal M.2 NVMe SSD on PCIe Gen4, model CT4000T500SSD3.
- Sequential reads/writes up to 7,000/6,900MB/s, with TLC NAND.
- Microsoft DirectStorage support for compatible games.
- For laptops, desktops and workstations with a suitable M.2 slot.
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