Another mainstream PCIe Gen4 SSD has reached our labs, this time from Crucial and carries the T500 model name. This model is available in two separate SKUs, one only with the drive and also one with an integrated heatsink, for optimal cooling in less than ideal environments. Our sample has arrived with the heatsink version, carrying the CT2000T500SSD5 code name and was shipped inside a compact cardboard enclosure, with the usual Crucial box art:

On the side of the box, we will note the product serial number and code name:

The opposite area does show again the complete name of the product:

The back area includes some of the main product highlights, in multiple languages, but also links to online resources:

After removing the top cardboard cover, we will note that the T500 drive is additionally protected inside a transparent plastic enclosure:

The integrated heatsink looks great and does not add a lot of weight to the drive construction. Underneath, Crucial has installed a Phison PS5025-E25 controller, with a 4-channel design, a dual-CPU architecture with built-in 32-bit microcontroller and built on TSMC’s 12nm process. The caching is assured by a D8CSD Micron DRAM chip, which is a DDR4-4266 component; the NAND is composed of two ICs, Micron 232-layer 3D TLC:

The back side of the PCB is also covered by a metallic frame, and two stickers offer some extra details on the drive, such as the operating voltage, internal code name, serial number, firmware version and more!

Some more documentation is offered in a leaflet format: