Compare Crucial T500 2TB and Lexar NM790 2TB: prices, speeds, $/TB. Which to buy in May 2026? Full spec breakdown.
Both the Crucial T500 2TB and Lexar NM790 2TB sit in the Gen 4 category at 2 TB, so the matchup turns on controller efficiency, cache topology, and current pricing rather than raw class differences.
Hardware-wise, the Crucial T500 2TB runs on the Phison E25 — a refined Gen 4 controller widely used in mid-range NVMe drives. The Lexar NM790 2TB pairs MaxioTech's MAP1602 silicon, the default choice for budget Gen 4 drives in 2024-2026.
There's a modest pricing advantage for the Lexar NM790 2TB: $74.50/TB compared with $94.50/TB. For typical gaming and productivity, this becomes the deciding factor when specs are close.
The Crucial T500 2TB carries a dedicated DRAM chip for FTL (Flash Translation Layer) mapping; the Lexar NM790 2TB relies on HMB (Host Memory Buffer), borrowing 64 MB from system RAM. The practical gap shows up only under sustained random write loads.
Heading to a PlayStation 5? Both drives drop into the console's M.2 bay and report identical real-world benchmarks since the PS5 caps storage at PCIe 4.0 speeds. The Lexar NM790 2TB wins this matchup on $/TB. 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.
Pick the Crucial T500 2TB if you value 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.
Pick the Lexar NM790 2TB if you value the lower retail price ($149 vs $189), and better $/TB economics ($74.50/TB). Budget-tier drives like the Lexar NM790 2TB have closed the gap with premium NVMes — the MAP1602 controller is genuinely competitive for everyday workloads at half the price.