Crucial T705 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

The Crucial T705 is the fastest consumer SSD we've ever tested, with 13,600 MB/s reads and top-tier random performance. It needs a Gen5 motherboard and a decent heatsink, but the included one does the job. If you want the best, this is it.

The numbers here are stupid fast. Sequential reads hit 13,600 MB/s and writes land at 10,200 MB/s, which is nearly double what the best Gen4 drives manage. Random performance is even more impressive at 1,400K read IOPS and 1,750K write IOPS, putting it in the top 2% of all drives we track. The 600 TBW endurance rating is solid, though not class-leading. The heatsink does real work too. Under sustained load, the drive holds its speed without throttling, which is where a lot of early Gen5 drives fell apart. The only real catch is that you need a Gen5 slot to see these speeds. Drop it in a Gen4 board and it'll work fine, but you're leaving a lot on the table.

Against the Samsung 990 PRO and WD Black SN850X, the T705 is in a completely different league. Those drives top out around 7,000 MB/s, and the T705 nearly doubles that. The Micron T710 is basically the same drive with a different label, so whichever is cheaper wins that matchup. The Kingston Fury Renegade and Lexar NM1090 PRO are both solid Gen4 options, but they're not even playing the same game. The trade-off is heat and power draw. The T705 needs that heatsink and a Gen5 slot, while the Gen4 drives are happy in just about anything.

Pricing is all over the place right now. In the US, we're seeing listings from USD 250 to USD 335, which is a USD 85 spread for the exact same drive. The best deal we found is at Best Buy, so check there before you buy anywhere else. In Europe, prices range from EUR 272 to EUR 315, with the lowest price showing up in Germany. It's not cheap, but for the absolute fastest consumer SSD on the market, the premium over a top Gen4 drive is smaller than you'd expect. If you're building a new high-end system, this is worth the splurge.

The Crucial T705 is the fastest consumer SSD we've ever tested. 13,600 MB/s sequential reads and 10,200 MB/s writes put it at the absolute top of our charts, and the random performance is just as ridiculous. This is a Gen5 drive that actually delivers on the hype.

It's built on Micron's 232-layer TLC NAND with a DRAM cache, and it comes with a serious aluminum and copper heatsink. No fans, no liquid cooling, just a chunky piece of metal that keeps it from thermal throttling under load. If you've got a Ryzen 7000 or Intel 13th/14th Gen board with a Gen5 M.2 slot, this is the drive you've been waiting for.

Skip this if you're on a Gen4 or Gen3 platform. You'll pay a premium for speed you can't actually use. Also skip it if you're building a budget system or just need a boot drive for everyday tasks. A solid Gen4 drive like the WD Black SN850X will feel nearly identical in real-world use and cost a lot less. And if you're putting this in a laptop, make sure it can handle the heat, because this thing runs hot.

If you've got a Gen5 motherboard and you want the fastest storage money can buy, the Crucial T705 is the obvious choice. It's the drive we'd put in a high-end gaming rig or a workstation that chews through massive files. The heatsink version is the one to get, and the included Adobe CC month is a nice bonus. Just make sure your board actually has a Gen5 M.2 slot before you pull the trigger.