Crucial Unveils T500 SSD With Blistering Speeds And PS5 Gamers Can Come To Play
Back in the old days, solid state drive (SSD) storage was mostly relegated to the PC platform. That changed with the introduction of the PlayStation 5 (and new PS5 Slim) and Xbox Series X, both of which shed spinning platters in favor of NAND flash memory, and gamers are better off for it. So it's no surprise that Crucial is pitching its new T500 SSD as being fully compatible with the PS5.
The T500 can be had with or without a bundled heatsink. Given that cooling plays a critical role in how SSDs perform (they're quick to throttle performance when things get too toasty), opting for the heatsink is the wiser choice. It's also where the PS5 angle comes into play—Crucial says the T500's heatsink is "specifically designed for platforms like the PlayStation 5."
In other words, it stays in bounds of the PS5's size requirements. It also exceeds Sony's recommended speed specifications and is easy to install—see our guide on how to upgrade your PS5 with a fast SSD.
There are three capacities to choose from, including 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. Here's how the rated speeds break down by capacity...
- 2TB Crucial T500: 7,400MB/s sequential reads, 7,000MB/s sequential writes
- 1TB Crucial T500: 7,300MB/s sequential reads, 6,8000MB/s sequential writes
- 512GB Crucial T500: 7,200MB/s sequential reads, 5,800MB/s sequential writes
All three models feature advanced 232-layer triple-level cell (TLC) NAND flash memory developed by Micron, which is Crucial's parent company.
Crucial paired Micron's 232-layer memory chips with Phison's PS5025-E25 controller, which is commonly found on some of the fastest PCIe 4.0 SSDs on the market. Some may lament that Crucial's latest drive is not a PCIe 5.0 model, but that would have meant higher prices from top to bottom. Additionally, it wouldn't have benefited PS5 gamers.
Speaking of prices, here's what you're looking at on Amazon...
- 2TB Crucial T500 w/ Heatsink: $179.99
- 2TB Crucial T500: $169.99
- 1TB Crucial T500 w/ Heatsink: $169.99 ($129.99 at Crucial)
- 1TB Crucial T500: $159.99 ($119.99 at Crucial)
- 512GB Crucial T500: $139.99 ($89.99 at Crucial)
Pricing for some of the models (1TB and 512GB) is a little wonky on Amazon right now, though we suspect they'll be corrected to Crucial's MSRPs in short order. Also note that the 512GB model is only available as a bare drive (there's no bundled heatsink option). All of the drives carry a 5-year warranty.
