Side-by-side: Crucial T500 2TB ($369) vs Lexar NM790 2TB ($310). $/TB winner, specs, real-world picks for July 2026.
Gen 4 at 2 TB is one of the most contested SSD segments in 2026, and Crucial T500 2TB versus Lexar NM790 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 an E25 controller that became the workhorse of late Gen 4 designs. The Lexar NM790 2TB pairs the MaxioTech MAP1602 — a DRAM-less Gen 4 controller dominating the value tier across TeamGroup, Lexar, and others.
Prices favor the Lexar NM790 2TB by $29.50/TB ($155.00/TB versus $184.50/TB). Not a huge gap, but enough to be the tiebreaker if performance is similar.
The DRAM-vs-HMB question divides opinion: Crucial T500 2TB's on-board DRAM theoretically helps under sustained workloads, while Lexar NM790 2TB's HMB approach has matured enough that most users won't see the difference. Pick on price if everything else is similar.
For PlayStation 5 builds, the console's internal M.2 slot tops out around 5,500 MB/s sustained, so both Crucial T500 2TB and Lexar NM790 2TB hit the same wall — pick whichever is cheaper at the moment you buy. Heads-up — these are full-length 2280 drives. Steam Deck and most current handhelds require shorter 2230 modules, so check capacity-specific 2230 variants if that's your target platform.
Market context: we track 11 Gen 4 2 TB drives, and by price per terabyte the Crucial T500 2TB currently sits #9 while the Lexar NM790 2TB sits #7. Neither cracks the top of the value table, so it's worth glancing at the alternatives below before picking either.
As of July 27, 2026, these tracked drives undercut both the Crucial T500 2TB and Lexar NM790 2TB on $/TB:
Go with the Crucial T500 2TB for a dedicated DRAM cache chip. Crucial's T-series tends to undercut Samsung and WD on price while using comparable Micron silicon — a value play hiding in a flagship form factor.
Go with the Lexar NM790 2TB for the lower retail price ($310 vs $369), and better $/TB economics ($155.00/TB). The Lexar NM790 2TB wins on $/TB because it pairs DRAM-less MAP1602 silicon with low-margin distribution. Performance is fine for OS and gaming, weaker only on sustained random writes.