Crucial T705 4TB Gen5 NVMe SSD with Heatsink (CT4000T705SSD5): specs

The Crucial T705 4TB with heatsink (model CT4000T705SSD5) is an internal PCIe Gen5 NVMe solid state drive in the M.2 format. It combines a large 4TB capacity with a pre-installed aluminium and copper heatsink, for builders whose motherboard doesn't provide a cooler for its Gen5 slot.

Speeds and what they mean

Crucial lists sequential reads of up to 14,100MB/s and writes of up to 12,600MB/s, with random reads of up to 1,500K IOPS and writes of up to 1,800K IOPS. Sequential speed shows up when moving large files, such as video footage or game libraries. Random IOPS matter when many small reads and writes happen together, as in application launches and database-style work.

Crucial describes the drive as nearly twice as fast as its Gen4 drives, and says figures are typical and vary by system. Ordinary tasks won't show the difference, since they rely on other parts of the PC.

The heatsink

PCIe Gen5 drives produce a lot of heat, and drives that overheat typically slow themselves down to protect the hardware, known as thermal throttling. This model ships with a heatsink that Crucial says dissipates heat without noisy fans or liquid cooling, and that lets the drive run at maximum workload without throttling under typical airflow and room temperature conditions. Crucial also says the drive needs adequate system airflow. A non-heatsink version of the drive exists for people who want to use their own cooler.

The heatsink adds height. The listing gives the dimensions as 3.1 x 0.9 x 0.8 inches, compared with about 0.2 inches for the bare drive, so clearance matters.

Memory, DirectStorage and compatibility

The drive uses Micron 232-layer TLC NAND. Crucial lists compatibility with Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen and AMD Ryzen 7000 processors and says the drive is backward compatible with Gen3 and Gen4 motherboards, at those slots' lower speeds.

Crucial says it makes use of Microsoft DirectStorage, which allows compatible games to load assets with less CPU work, and quotes AAA titles loading up to 15% faster than on Gen4 drives. That only applies with supported software and graphics hardware.

Warranty and capacity

Crucial's footnotes mention a five-year warranty, or until the published total bytes written (TBW) limit, whichever comes first. They also note that some capacity is used for formatting, so usable space is lower than 4TB.

Who it suits

It suits large game libraries, video editors and 3D artists with a Gen5-capable desktop. It is less useful in a system with only Gen3 or Gen4 slots, or in a case with limited clearance.

What to check before you buy

• Gen5 slot: check that your motherboard offers PCIe 5.0 for M.2 and which slot to use.
• Clearance: the heatsink makes the drive taller, so check the space under graphics cards and any motherboard cover.
• Airflow: Crucial says the heatsink needs adequate system airflow.
• Laptops and consoles: check your device supports a drive with a heatsink before buying.
• Offers: bundled software offers are time-limited, so check before relying on them.

The short version

• A 4TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD, model CT4000T705SSD5, with a pre-installed heatsink.
• Listed at up to 14,100MB/s reads and 12,600MB/s writes.
• Micron 232-layer TLC NAND and Microsoft DirectStorage support.
• Backward compatible with Gen3 and Gen4 slots, at lower speeds.
• Taller than a bare M.2 drive, so check clearance.

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