SPECworkstation 3.0.2 Storage Benchmark
SPECworkstation benchmark is an excellent benchmark to test systems using workstation-type workloads. In this test, we only ran the Storage component, which is fifteen separate tests.
We sort SPECworkstation by the Product Development score, and the T500 overperforms here by a huge margin. The T500 also wins the Media category, and turns in strong but not chart-topping performance in the other three. In sum, the T500 is stellar in SPECworkstation.
Sustained Write Performance
This is not necessarily a benchmark so much as trying to catch the post-cache write speed of the drive. While I am filling the drive with data to the 85% mark with ten simultaneous write threads, I monitor the drive for the write performance to dip to the lowest steady point and grab a screenshot.
Well, every drive has to have a weakness. The sustained write performance of the T500 is obviously not its strong point. This is still nowhere near the worst performance I have seen, but given the kind of company the T500 keeps with the rest of its benchmark results the low result here is somewhat surprising.
Temperatures
We monitored the idle and maximum temperature during testing with HWMonitor to get some idea of the thermal performance and requirements of the drive.
Crucial T500 2TB Temps ChartThe T500 is a pretty cool-running drive, topping out at 61C. Considering this drive is operating without a heatsink, this is one of the coolest running Gen4 drives I have tested, and certainly one of the best results for a 7000 MB/s drive. For all but the most extreme environments and workloads, I cannot imagine you will need a heatsink.
Final Words
The Crucial T500 2TB is on discount right now for $108 online. The WD SN850X is $140, the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is $150, and the P44 Pro is even more than that. The T500 is even cheaper than the Fanxiang S770 which is $120. That is a whole lot of performance for $108.
The Crucial T500 is a great drive, and right now it is super inexpensive. If the pricing remains where it is, then this will be my go-to Gen4 drive for the foreseeable future. Performance is great in every metric I have to test, with the single exception of full-drive sustained write speed. Thermals are good, and once again, the price is great. This is one to watch.
Where to Buy
You can find the Crucial T500 and other models at popular retailers.
- Crucial T500 2TB (Amazon Affiliate)
- Crucial T500 2TB with Heatsink (Amazon Affiliate)
Note: STH participates in various affiliate programs where we may earn a small commission if you buy through our links.
For me the post-cache sustained write is one of the most meaningful metrics reported in these reviews. My impression is the low speed on the sustained write correlates with variable performance on the ATTO tests.
I wonder if good results for the simpler synthetic benchmarks have been optimised for by the manufacturer.
Can you elaborate on your post-cache write speed test?
Does this test mean that the drive is doing sustained writes of large files while the drive was already 85% full before the test began? Or does it mean the drive was almost empty before the test and then had 85% of it’s total capacity (around 1.53 – 1.7 TB) written in one go? Or does it mean a certain amount of data “sucked the drive’s cache dry” regardless of how much the drive itself was filled? Or does it mean that if the drive’s storage space is 85% or more filled up, it’s overall performance (sustained large files, random small files, gaming, day-to-day stuff, etc.) will terribly plummet?
What exactly is going on in that test in layman’s terms so that we, as users, know what conditions to avoid in order to avoid that performance-destroying situation?