Crucial T705 vs Samsung 990 Pro: Which One should you Choose?

Both the Crucial T705 and the Samsung 990 Pro fall into the high-end NVMe category. But the T705 is a Gen 5.0 NVMe while the 990 Pro is a Gen 4.0 drive. Therefore, the T705 will inherently have some advantages over the 990 Pro. But how much difference is there, and is the extra money we spend on the T705 worth it? We will answer these questions today.

The Crucial T705 is equipped with Micron’s B58R FortisFlash TLC NAND with 232 layers. The 990 Pro has Samsung’s own V8 V-NAND with 236 layers. The controller in the T705 is the Phison E23, while the 990 Pro has the Samsung Pascal. So, in terms of both NAND and Controller, the Samsung 990 Pro has an edge. Both drives are equipped with their own LPDDR4 DRAMs.

In terms of performance, the T705 will always have an edge thanks to its larger PCIe interface and much higher bandwidth. So, there is hardly any competition there. But, the 990 Pro can offer you a balanced performance while saving a good money. In day-to-day usage, you will hardly notice any difference in the performance between the two. However, if you want to make the most out of your Gen 5.0 system, T705 is a good option.

All other essential features, such as TRIM, SMART, and Encryption, are present in both drives. Both also come with the heatsink variants. Both share the same drive capacities, i.e., 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB. In terms of pricing, the T705 is expensive than the 990 Pro. However, because it offers much better performance, this extra price should be worth it. Let’s explore all the other similarities and differences in this article and reach a final decision.

Samsung 990 Pro vs Crucial T705 Specifications

The Crucial T705 is an absolute performance monster compared to the Samsung 990 Pro. As a Gen 5 drive, it more than doubles sequential read and write speeds, with up to 14.5 GB/s reads and 12.7 GB/s writes versus the 990 Pro’s 7.25 GB/s and 6.3 GB/s. Random performance follows the same trend.

The T705 pushes around 15–25% more IOPS across most capacities. Both drives use DRAM and TLC NAND, but Crucial’s newer Phison E26 controller and Micron’s FortisFlash give it a generational edge in throughput and latency.

The 990 Pro, though, is still the better buy for most users. It’s cheaper, runs cooler, and offers more efficiency for everyday or gaming use, while the T705 is built for high-end workstations and PCIe 5-ready enthusiasts chasing raw speed.

Benchmark Scores Comparison

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

PCMark10 Benchmark Scores

PCMark 10 benchmarks the drives across various real-world scenarios, including running creative programs, web browsing, office apps, video conferencing, photo editing, and video editing. For storage specifically, the PCMark 10’s storage test measures how fast your SSD handles tasks such as Windows booting and launching games. Loading applications, copying files, and saving documents, etc. A higher PCMark10 score combined with higher bandwidth and lower latency means a better real-world performance in an SSD.

The Crucial T705 beats the Samsung 990 Pro in all PCMark 10 test scenarios. Its overall score is about 40% higher (6541 vs 4651), bandwidth rockets ahead by roughly 37% (1020 MB/s vs 743 MB/s), and latency is lower by a massive 38% (26 µs vs 42 µs).

Unless you’re hammering your drive with heavy workloads like 4K editing, massive file transfers, or database crunching, you won’t feel all of that power daily. But if you live in the performance lane, the T705’s lower latency and higher throughput make it the clear no-compromise choice.

3DMark Storage Test for Gamers

The 3DMark storage test is made to test your drive’s capabilities in gaming-related tasks. It includes installing, saving, loading, exiting, streaming games, and many more features. A higher 3DMark score, combined with higher bandwidth and lower latency, indicates better gaming performance in any SSD.

The Crucial T705 again pulls clearly ahead of the Samsung 990 Pro, scoring roughly 40% higher in the 3DMark Storage test (6,739 vs 4,816), pushing bandwidth up by about 38% (1,126 MB/s vs 818 MB/s), and slicing latency down by nearly 28% (26 µs vs 36 µs). That’s not a marginal lead. It’s a solid, measurable performance jump across the board.

In real-world use, game load times, large asset streaming, and heavy multitasking will all feel snappier on the T705. However, for casual users or typical productivity, this difference might not be that huge, and in that case, 990 Pro might also be enough.

CrystalDiskMark Sequential Read/Write Benchmark

The CDM sequential benchmark test measures how quickly a drive can read and write large, contiguous files, such as movies or ISO images. These tests are typically done in 1MB blocks and at the queue depths of 1 to 8. In other words, these tests are best to gauge your SSD’s maximum throughput, which is best to test how your SSD works with large datasets.

The Crucial T705 absolutely crushes the Samsung 990 Pro in sequential performance. At QD1, the T705 is approximately 98% faster in reads (9,211 MB/s vs. 4,637 MB/s) and roughly 72% faster in writes (10,139 MB/s vs. 5,898 MB/s). When the queue depth jumps to 8, it still dominates, with approximately 98% higher read speeds (14,163 MB/s vs. 7,153 MB/s) and 85% faster writes (12,653 MB/s vs. 6,820 MB/s). That’s a generational leap, not just an incremental upgrade.

For massive file transfers, video editing, and sustained workloads, the T705 will complete tasks nearly twice as fast. However, for everyday desktop use or gaming, those extreme sequential gains won’t significantly alter the feel.

CrystalDiskMark Random Read/Write Benchmark

The CDM random read/write benchmark is best to check your SSD’s performance with small and scattered data. This checks how quickly a drive can fetch small files from all over the disk. These tests are conducted using 4KB block sizes across various queue depths, ranging from QD1 to QD256.

In small random operations, the Crucial T705 and Samsung 990 Pro are much closer in performance. This is where PCIe 5.0’s brute force matters less. At QD1, the T705 actually trails slightly in reads (–1%, 24,878 vs. 25,133 IOPS) but pulls ahead in writes by approximately +32% (98,877 vs. 74,645 IOPS). Under heavy queue depths (QD256), the T705 widens the gap again, offering roughly +8% higher read IOPS (1.51 M vs 1.40 M) and +9% higher write IOPS (1.66 M vs 1.52 M).

Data Transfer Rate

The Crucial T705 continues to prove its worth in real-world transfer scenarios. It moves a 50 GB file folder about 54% faster overall (2,834 MB/s vs 1,842 MB/s), writes ~23% quicker (2,345 MB/s vs 1,905 MB/s), and reads a 6.5 GB zip file roughly 27% faster (5,112 MB/s vs 4,019 MB/s). That’s a clear, consistent win across all real-data workloads.

Copying or moving large folders, game installs, or project assets will feel noticeably snappier on the T705. It won’t just benchmark higher, it’ll actually save you time in heavy file operations, while everyday light use remains about the same.

Power Consumption and Efficiency

Here’s where the Crucial T705 shows its weak spot, i.e., power efficiency. It delivers ~13% less throughput per watt than the Samsung 990 Pro (397 vs 457 MB/s per watt), while also drawing 75% more average power during a 50 GB copy (7 W vs 4 W) and nearly double the peak power (11 W vs 6 W). Even at idle, it’s far less frugal, sipping over twice as much (2,706 mW vs 1,252 mW).

The T705 runs hotter and chews more energy, which means it’s better suited for desktops with decent cooling. In laptops or compact systems, the 990 Pro is clearly the more brilliant, cooler, and quieter choice, even if it’s a little slower.

Endurance, TBW, DWPD, and Warranty

Technical Specifications Comparison

The T705’s multi-core controller design delivers greater performance under heavy workloads. Regarding the Pseudo SLC Write cache, T705 relies purely on a dynamic SLC cache, while the 990 Pro uses a hybrid dynamic + small static cache. The static portion on the Samsung gives slightly more predictable small-burst performance, but the T705’s huge dynamic cache enables blistering sequential throughput.

The layer count is close, so the speed difference mainly comes from controller optimization rather than raw NAND. Both drives feature LPDDR4 DRAM, but Crucial relies on Micron’s B58R FortisFlash TLC with a 232-layer structure, while Samsung uses its 236-layer V8 V-NAND, giving the 990 Pro slightly faster raw read and program times (40 µs / 390 µs vs 61 µs / 600 µs).

Die-level performance tilts marginally toward Samsung, but the T705’s higher efficiency under Gen 5 workloads offsets that. In short, the T705 has a newer controller and flash tech tuned for extreme throughput, while the 990 Pro remains a highly refined Gen 4 drive with lower latency and mature firmware

Price

Which one should you choose: Samsung 990 Pro or Crucial T705?

If you are a performance enthusiast with a fully capable Gen 5.0 system and a budget to spare, the T705 will deliver great performance in any scenario. However, it runs hotter, and you will have to take care of it. The benchmark scores are surely better in the T705, and it will help you in content creation and gaming as well. But, if you are planning to put it under load, it is good for opt for the heatsink variant.

The Samsung 990 Pro is a good option if you want a perfect balance between price, performance, and efficiency. In fact, it ranks at the top among the Gen 4.0 drives. In most cases, you will see no difference in everyday use with the 990 Pro. So, it can be a good choice to save your money without significantly compromising performance.

I hope this helps.