Side-by-side: Crucial T500 1TB ($275) vs Crucial P310 2TB ($292). $/TB winner, specs, real-world picks for July 2026.
Both run on Gen 4 hardware but at different capacities: 1 TB for the Crucial T500 1TB versus 2 TB for the Crucial P310 2TB. Whether the larger drive's $/TB advantage justifies the higher upfront cost depends on how much you actually need.
Hardware-wise, the Crucial T500 1TB runs on the Phison E25 — a refined Gen 4 controller widely used in mid-range NVMe drives. The Crucial P310 2TB pairs Phison's E27T — a four-channel Gen 4 controller for HMB designs.
Money matters here — $146.00/TB on the Crucial P310 2TB versus $275.00/TB on the Crucial T500 1TB. That's enough of a spread that for budget-conscious builders, the Crucial P310 2TB becomes the default unless reviews of your specific workload prefer the Crucial T500 1TB.
The DRAM-vs-HMB question divides opinion: Crucial T500 1TB's on-board DRAM theoretically helps under sustained workloads, while Crucial P310 2TB's HMB approach has matured enough that most users won't see the difference. Pick on price if everything else is similar.
On warranty endurance the Crucial P310 2TB carries 880 TBW against Crucial T500 1TB's 600 TBW. Both will outlast typical use, but the gap matters if you're doing professional content work.
For PlayStation 5 builds, the console's internal M.2 slot tops out around 5,500 MB/s sustained, so both Crucial T500 1TB and Crucial P310 2TB hit the same wall — pick whichever is cheaper at the moment you buy. Heavy write workloads — video editing, RAW photo libraries, backup operations — favor the Crucial T500 1TB's 6,800 MB/s sustained write speed. Both drives use the 2280 form factor, which is too long for Steam Deck or ROG Ally — you'd need a 2230 variant if either manufacturer offers one, or a dedicated handheld-format drive instead.
Market context: the Crucial T500 1TB ranks #4 of 4 Gen 4 1 TB drives we track by $/TB, while the Crucial P310 2TB ranks #4 of 11 Gen 4 2 TB drives. Neither cracks the top of the value table, so it's worth glancing at the alternatives below before picking either.
Go with the Crucial T500 1TB for the lower retail price ($275 vs $292), and a dedicated DRAM cache chip. Crucial drives benefit from being a direct Micron product — the same NAND that powers competitors' drives, but at lower margins.
Go with the Crucial P310 2TB for better $/TB economics ($146.00/TB), and a higher TBW endurance rating (880 TBW).