Samsung 990 Pro vs Crucial T700: Which One to Choose?

It is not fair to compare a Gen 4.0 SSD with a Gen 5.0 SSD. I don’t know why people are interested in comparing the Samsung 990 Pro vs the Crucial T700. But I believe there is a reason for the same. These two SSDs are from different leagues.

Aside from PCIe generation, the Samsung 990 Pro and Crucial T700 share many similarities, including TBW. The prices are also not very far apart. You can easily get a 1TB Crucial T700 for about 15 bucks more. I think the confusion is coming from the price point of view. The Crucial T700 has beaten the Samsung 990 Pro in almost all benchmarks. This should be enough to help you decide whether you are a performance seeker.

The Samsung 990 Pro has its advantages, and the biggest one is its larger, more efficient pseudo-SLC write cache. Samsung 990 Pro also runs pretty cool compared to the T700, even during heavy workloads.

You can also consider the V8 V-NAND of the 990 Pro with 236 layers, which is a little superior to the T700’s B58R FortisFlash. However, it all comes down to the controller and how the NAND flash is optimized for its PCIe generation. The E26 controller used in the T700 is the classic for the Gen 5.0 drives. Samsung’s Pascal is their best when we talk about the Gen 4.0 Samsung drives.

I hope I haven’t added to your confusion. But let’s get started with our comparison and see which SSD is the perfect match for your specific requirements.

Theoretical Specifications

With a much denser 3D TLC NAND (232 layers), the Crucial T700 surely offers more parallelism through NVMe 2.0. I believe this is the key reason behind those huge sequential numbers alongside the higher Gen 5.0 bandwidth. Even after exhausting the pseudo-SLC cache, the steady-state write performance (1 MiB, QD32) is around 3,600 MB/s.

The Samsung 990 Pro, on the other hand, shows better power efficiency and strong performance on the PCIe 4.0 interface. It uses Samsung’s TLC V-NAND with 176 layers. Again, because the T700 is a Gen 5.0 SSD, it will be allowed more bandwidth and with some optimizations, the SSD can achieve way better performance compared to the Gen 4.0 drive with similar specifications.

Benchmark Scores and Comparison

All the benchmark scores are for the 2TB variants of both drives.

PCMark 10 Benchmark Scores

The PCMark 10 Overall Storage Test replicates real-world SSD/HDD usage by simulating tasks like app launches, document editing, file copying, and even gaming-related loads. A good PCMark 10 score means faster app launches, faster file transfers, and better application responsiveness.

In the PCMark 10 Benchmark, the Crucial T700 leads the pack in raw bandwidth, with a solid 17% edge over the Samsung 990 Pro. The bandwidth is also higher with the T700, i.e., 859 MB/s versus the 990 Pro’s 743 MB/s. The T700’s lower latency score (30 µs vs. 36 µs) in another metric complicates things, suggesting better controller tuning under specific loads. Overall, the Crucial T700 dominates in pure throughput and workstation use. So, for productivity and creativity-related tasks, the T700 will have some clear advantages.

3DMark Storage Test for Gamers

The 3DMark Storage Test is a synthetic benchmark that evaluates an SSD’s gaming performance. This includes the game load times, level loading, streaming, and saving/loading the games. So, a better 3DMark score means a better gaming performance.

the Crucial T700 is clearly faster overall. Its 3DMark score (5618 vs. 4816) and bandwidth (960 MB/s vs. 818 MB/s) show that it moves data more quickly and handles heavy work better. The Samsung 990 Pro still holds its own, with slightly higher latency (36µs vs. 32µs), but that small gap won’t be noticeable in normal use.

The Crucial T700 is better for people who want top speed for gaming or video work, while the Samsung 990 Pro is a solid and efficient choice for everyday use.

Crystal Disk Mark Benchmark Scores

Let’s compare the CrystalDiskMark benchmark scores of both SSDs. This is a simple yet pretty explanatory benchmark for determining an SSD’s performance in both sequential and random read/write operations. Although, these are sequential numbers and don’t represent any real-world task but still, they are good to check your drive’s maximum throughput under different workloads.

Sequential Performance

The sequential read/write test is done in two parameters. The first one with 1MB size at a queue depth of 8. Then, the file size is kept same but the queue depth is decreased to 1. These are the results.

In the CDM Sequential Benchmarks, the Crucial T700 takes a big lead across the board. Its large-file read and write speeds (12,393 MB/s and 11,872 MB/s) easily beat the Samsung 990 Pro’s 7,153 MB/s and 6,820 MB/s. The same pattern holds for single-queue operations, where the T700 nearly doubles the 990 Pro’s results. That means faster file transfers, better load times, and smoother handling of massive projects. The Crucial T700 is the stronger choice for demanding tasks like 4K video editing, big game installs, and heavy file transfers, while the Samsung 990 Pro still offers solid performance for everyday computing and light creative work.

Random Performance

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The Samsung 990 Pro shows slightly faster small-file read performance at low queue depth (25,133 vs. 23,933) and a strong lead in high-queue write speeds (1,519,858 vs. 1,421,974). The Crucial T700, however, pulls ahead in 4KB QD1 write and high-queue read speeds.

The reason why Samsung is leading in the QD1 read performance is surely because of its better DRAM and controller optimizations. The T700 is lagging in the QD256 write possibly because because of controller parallelism, channel utilization, and cache behaviors. Crucial’s design gives it an edge for heavy parallel reads, while Samsung’s firmware and write path handle sustained/high-Q writes slightly better.

All in all, the Crucial T700 is faster overall for mixed workloads and large multitasking scenarios, but the Samsung 990 Pro gives a tough competition in the random operations which makes it a good competitor.

Data Transfer Benchmark

In these real-world transfer tests, the Crucial T700 leaves the Samsung 990 Pro behind by a good margin. Its copy speed (2,601 MB/s vs. 1,842 MB/s) and write rate (2,858 MB/s vs. 1,905 MB/s) are clearly stronger, meaning it handles large file moves much faster. Even in the read test with a 6.5GB zip file, the T700 keeps its lead (4,868 vs. 4,019 MB/s). This shows its PCIe 5.0 controller and faster NAND are paying off in sustained, large-data tasks.

The Crucial T700 is better for anyone who regularly moves or edits big files. The target audience is video editors, game installers, or data-heavy users, while the Samsung 990 Pro is still a solid performer for everyday use where massive file transfers aren’t the main focus.

Power Consumption and Efficiency

Here, the Samsung 990 Pro shows its efficiency advantage clearly. It delivers more speed for every watt used (457 MB/s per watt vs. 352), while also drawing noticeably less power—both on average (4W vs. 7W) and at peak (5W vs. 11W). Even at idle, it sips less energy, sitting at about 1.25W compared to the T700’s 2.7W. That’s a meaningful gap, especially for laptops or systems sensitive to heat and noise.

TBW, DWPD, MTBF, and Warranty

There is no difference in the TBW of both SSDs across all variants. Both have the same 5-year warranty period. The MTBF and DWPD are also the same. Therefore, there is no difference in terms of reliability, endurance, and warranty for these drives.

Technical Specifications Comparison

As usual, Samsung sticks with its own in-house Pascal controller, paired with refined V8 V-NAND and tight firmware integration. That combo gives it excellent consistency and power efficiency. The Crucial T700, running Phison’s beefier E26 controller with both ARM Cortex-R5 and RISC-V cores, is built for raw throughput and PCIe 5.0 workloads. The T700’s much larger dynamic SLC cache (about 320 GB for the 2 TB model) helps sustain huge writes, while Samsung’s smaller but hybrid cache design balances speed and stability.

Despite the T700’s newer 232-layer NAND, Samsung’s flash still has quicker read and program times (40 µs / 390 µs vs. 61 µs / 600 µs), showing why the 990 Pro feels so responsive in light tasks.

Price

Which SSD should you buy: Samsung 990 Pro or Crucial T700?

If you need the absolute fastest Gen 5.0 sequential read/write performance, which can go beyond 10GB/s, you should definitely choose the Crucial T700. The only requirement is that you have a slightly bigger budget and a Gen 5.0-compatible system. However, high sequential performance isn’t important for most users. But, Crucial T700 is still beneficial for users with extremely high-performance needs. This may include content creators, video editors, 3D Artists, Gaming enthusiasts, overclockers, IT professionals running virtualization environments, etc.

Samsung 990 Pro is more than enough for most of the users whether they are gamers or productivity-seekers. The random read/write performance is what matters the most when it comes to running the software. Samsung 990 Pro offers good random performance. And this is why it is definitely a good option for those who don’t have to do anything with the big sequential read/write numbers.

But, still, if you want best of the best for your computer, Crucial T700 is the best. Samsung 990 Pro is still great for most of us.

I hope this helps!