Micron Crucial T710 (vs. Sandisk WD Black SN8100): Top PCIe Gen 5 Performance Without the Excessive Heat

The Crucial T710, unveiled on May 19, 2025, along with the Crucial X10 portable SSD, is Micron’s third attempt at PCIe Gen 5 NVMe internal SSDs. And it’s the charm.

In testing, the non-heatsink version of the new SSD proved to be significantly less hot compared to the previous T700 and T705, while delivering top real-world performance, rivaling the Sandisk’s WD Black SN8100.

Here’s the bottom line: The new Crucial T710 is an excellent NVMe SSD by all accounts. Get one today! If you’re also looking at the WD Black SN8100 and wondering which to bring home between the two, pick the one that costs less!

Dong’s note: I first published this post on May 19, 2025, as a news piece, and updated it to an in-depth review on July 1, 2025, when the Crucial T710 became available for purchase following thorough hands-on testing.

Crucial T710: Micron’s first high-performance Gen 5 SSD without heat issues

As the name suggests, the Crucial T710 is the successor to the previous two models, the T700 and T705, in Micron’s Crucial T series, designed for demanding gamers and prosumers.

The first two drives have been among the fastest NVMe SSDs on the market, and they remain quite impressive today in terms of performance. However, they also had thermal issues so severe that they couldn’t be used inside a compact application, such as a laptop. Even their heatsink versions, which are bulky, run so hot that you won’t be able to rest your finger on them for more than a few seconds.

This latest Micron T710 changes that.

Among other things, Micron says it features a 24% reduction in average power usage, resulting in noticeably less heat, which was indeed the case in my experience.

Still, the new T710, like its predecessors, is also available in standard (naked) and heatsink versions, with the latter being much thinner, taking a similar shape to the T500. And like the case of the Sandisk WD Black SN8100, the T710’s heatsink version also comes with an integrated purple LED light to better match a fancy gaming rig with a see-through case.

The table below compares the T710’s evolution from pre-existing models in Micron’s T series to the specifications of the Sandisk WD Black SN8100.

Crucial T710 vs. Sandisk WD Black SN8100 vs. Crucial T705 vs. Crucial T700: Hardware specifications

	Sandisk WD Black SN8100	Micron Crucial T710	Micron Crucial T705	Micron Crucial T700
Capacities	1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB	1TB, 2TB, 4TB
Interface	PCIe 5.0 x4  NVMe 2.0 (compatible with PCIe 4.0/3.0)
Design	M.2 (2280)
Heatsink Version	Yes (compact with LED)		Yes (bulky)
Controller	undisclosed	Silicon Motion SM2508	Phison PS5026-E26
NAND Flash Memory	Sandisk TLC 3D CBA NAND	Micron’s G9 NAND	Micron B58R 232L 3D TLC NAND (2400 MT/s)	Micron 232-layer TLC NAND (2000 MT/s)
Security	None	AES-256 encryption, TCG Opal 2.01
Sequential Read (up to)	1TB: 14,900 MB/s 2TB, 4TB: 14,500 MB/s		1TB: 13,600 MB/s 2TB: 14,500 MB/s 4TB: 14,100 MB/s	1TB: 11,700MB/s 2TB: 12,400MB/s 4TB: 12,400MB/s
Sequential Write (up to)	14,000MB/s	1TB: 13,700 MB/s 2TB/4TB: 13,800 MB/s	1TB: 10,200 MB/s 2TB: 12,700 MB/s 4TB: 12,600 MB/s	1TB: 9500 MB/s 2TB: 11800MB/s 4TB: 11800MB/s
Random Read (up to in IOPS)	2.3 Million	1TB: 1.8 Million 2TB/4TB: 2.2 Million	1TB: 1.4 Million 2TB: 1.55 Million 4TB: 1.5 Million	1TB: 1.35 Million 2TB: 1.5 Million 4TB: 1.5 Million
Random Write (up to in IOPS)	2.3 Million	1TB: 2.2 Million 2TB/4TB: 2.3 Million	1TB: 1.75 Million 2TB: 1.8 Million 4TB: 1.8 Million	1TB: 1.4 Million 2TB: 1.5 Million 4TB: 1.5 Million
Endurance  (Terabyte Written)	600 TBW for each 1TB
Software	Sandisk Dashboard	Crucial Storage Executive
Release Date	May 13, 2025	July 1, 2025	March 12, 2024	May 30, 2023
U.S. Launch Price	1TB: $179.99, 2TB: $279.99 4TB: $549.99 (Buy now!)	1TB: $179.99 or $199.99 (heatsink) 2TB: $279.99 or $299.99 (heatsink) 4TB: $549.99 or $569.99 (heatsink) (Buy now!)	1TB: $240 or $260 (heatsink) 2TB: $400 or $440 (heatsink) or $484 (white heatsink) 4TB: $714 or $730 (heatsink) (Buy now)	$180 (1TB) $400 (2TB) $600 (4TB) (add $30 for the heatsink versions) (Buy now)
Warranty	5 years

A familiar Crucial SSD

Considering the hardware design and heat reduction, the T710 reminds me of Micron’s mainstream PCIe Gen 5 drive, the P510, which has respectable performance while remaining cool to the touch. In terms of performance, though, it’ll be a tier higher thanks to the use of Micron’s latest G9 NAND flash memory and more optimized controllers and firmware.

Still, in all, the T710 shares the same feature set as its predecessors, including the standard endurance rating of 600 terabytes written for each terabyte of storage space and built-in hardware encryption.

It also comes with the helpful Storage Executive dashboard software (available for Windows and Linux) that allows users to monitor its performance, heat, and manage other features such as overprovisioning and firmware updates.

Overall, the Crucial T710 provides a typical experience of a Micron NVMe SSD. What makes it stand out is the performance.

Micron Crucial T710: Excellent performance

I tested a 2TB standard (non-heatsink) version of the Crucial T710 for over a week and was thoroughly happy with it. The SSD was similar to the Sandisk WD Black SN8100 in both real-world performance and heat generation.

Neither of the two was “cool,” but they weren’t crazy hot like the case of older PCIe Gen 5 SSDs. Still, it’s recommended that you use PCIe Gen 5 SSDs with some type of thermal solution since they will be hotter than PCIe Gen 4 and older counterparts.

In terms of test scores, the two are very similar, if not identical. Their numbers generally varied within the margin of error or the known fluctuations of SSDs’ performance. That said, both are among the fastest NVMe SSDs on the market.

In daily usage and anecdotal tests, I installed both drives on the same computer for a few days, alternating them as the boot drive, and was unable to determine which one was which at any given time in boot time or app performance. That’s to say, the two delivered the same real-world experience, partially because at a particular speed grade, it becomes impossible for the end user to notice the difference.

Conclusion

Similar to the Sandisk WD Black SN8100, the Crucial T710 is among the fastest consumer-grade SSDs on the market. If you’re looking for a non-compromising internal storage device for your gaming rig or a top-tier computer, it’s an easy recommendation. Get one today!