Side-by-side: Crucial T500 2TB ($418) vs Crucial P310 2TB ($251). $/TB winner, specs, real-world picks for October 2026.
Gen 4 at 2 TB is one of the most contested SSD segments in 2026, and Crucial T500 2TB versus Crucial P310 2TB captures that competition well. The decision rarely comes down to peak speeds — both drives saturate typical workloads.
Hardware-wise, the Crucial T500 2TB runs on Phison's E25 silicon, found in many DRAM-equipped Gen 4 SSDs. The Crucial P310 2TB pairs an E27T controller built specifically for DRAM-less Gen 4 SSDs.
Money matters here — $125.50/TB on the Crucial P310 2TB versus $209.00/TB on the Crucial T500 2TB. 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 2TB.
The DRAM-vs-HMB question divides opinion: Crucial T500 2TB'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.
Crucial T500 2TB earns higher TBW ratings (1,200 vs 880 TBW) — relevant for sustained write workloads, irrelevant for everything else.
PS5 owners get no measurable benefit from either drive's peak speed because Sony's internal NVMe controller throttles to ~5,500 MB/s; treat Crucial T500 2TB and Crucial P310 2TB as interchangeable here and let price decide. For content creators routinely rendering 4K or 8K video, the Crucial T500 2TB's 7,000 MB/s sustained write is the deciding factor — multi-GB project files land noticeably faster than on the alternative. Note for handheld gamers: M.2 2280 is the desktop/laptop standard. Steam Deck and the ROG Ally line need 2230 drives — neither Crucial T500 2TB nor Crucial P310 2TB fits without modification.
Zoom out from this pair for a moment. Among the 11 Gen 4 2 TB drives we track, the Crucial T500 2TB ranks #10 by $/TB and the Crucial P310 2TB ranks #2. One of them is genuinely among the cheapest options in its class, so this matchup includes a real value pick.
As of October 26, 2026, these tracked drives undercut both the Crucial T500 2TB and Crucial P310 2TB on $/TB:
Go with the Crucial T500 2TB for a higher TBW endurance rating (1,200 TBW), and a dedicated DRAM cache chip. Crucial typically delivers the best $/TB among DRAM-equipped NVMes because Micron sells direct rather than going through brand licensing.
Go with the Crucial P310 2TB for the lower retail price ($251 vs $418), and better $/TB economics ($125.50/TB).