TeamGroup T-Create Classic PCIe 2 TB Gen 3 M.2 SSD Review

Sep 5, 2021 at 12:09am EDT

TeamGroup is the creator of some of the most high-quality memory products for the PC industry. They have come a long way since their inception in 1997 and went on to become one of the fastest-growing product manufacturers and a leading brand around the globe.

Since the arrival of DDR4 memory in the mainstream market, TeamGroup started a separate line of DIMM kits under their new T-Force & T-Create brands. The T-Force brand is the more enthusiast and gamer aimed memory series with a sheer focus on quality and performance while the T-Create brand focuses on optimizing products for the content creation segment

Related Story Teamgroup NV5000 2 TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD – Value Oriented 2 TB With Graphene Thermal Pad

Today, I will be testing the T-Create Classic 2 TB SSDs from TeamGroup which comes at a cost of just $285.99 US.rspectively, which is on the high side when it comes to PCIe Gen 3 SSDs.

TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3 NVMe SSD

Teamgroup's T-Create Classic SSDs part of the latest T-Create family and hence, they come with a new design language and specifications that are particularly optimized for professionals & content creators.

The SSDs are based on the NVMe SSD form factor and features a 96-layer TLC-based 3D NAND flash which offers larger capacities, better performance, and slightly lower power input when compared to Teamgroup's previous offerings. TeamGroup is using the Realtek RTS5763DL SSD controller to power its T-Create Classis Gen 3 SSDs and was launched back in 2018.

FEATURES
  • Enjoy the lightning speed of the PCIe Gen4 x4
  • Featuring two patented heat sinks
  • Effective cooling—flexible installation
  • Supports the latest NVMe 1.4 standard
  • Taiwan Utility Patent (number: M541645)
  • Taiwan Invention Patent (number: I703921)
  • China Utility Patent (number: CN 211019739 U)

Furthermore, the SSD is priced slightly above the premium offerings with a cost of $285.99 US for the 2 TB variant. In terms of performance, the T-Create Classic 2 TB has sequential read speeds of 2100 MB/s and write speeds of 1700 MB/s. The Random read speeds of the drive are up to 220K IOPS and the write is 200K IOPS. The SSDs are powered through the NVMe slot with a 3.3V DC supply.

The endurance of the SSD is rated at 1,500,000 hours which should last a good amount of time. You are also looking at a 5-year limited warranty through the entire lineup.

T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3 NVMe SSD Specifications:

Model CLASSIC PCIe 3.0 SSD
Interface PCIe Gen3x4 with NVMe 1.3
Capacity 1TB / 2TB
Voltage DC +3.3V
Operation Temperature 0˚C ~ 70˚C
Storage Temperature -40˚C ~ 85˚C
Terabyte Written 1TB: 600TB
2TB: 1000TB
Performance Crystal Disk Mark:
1TB Read/Write: up to 2,100/1,700 MB/s
2TB Read/Write: up to 2,100/1,600 MB/s
IOPS:
1TB Read/Write: 220K/200K IOPS Max
2TB Read/Write: 220K/200K IOPS Max
Weight 11g
Dimensions 80.0(L) x 22.0(W) x 3.7(H) mm (with Aluminum heat sink)
Humidity RH 90% under 40°C (operational)
Vibration 80Hz~2,000Hz/20G
Shock 1500G/0.5ms
MTBF 1,500,000 hours
Warranty 5-year limited warranty

Test Setup

Our test platform for this review consisted of an Intel Core i9-11900K  processor which ran at stock clocks on the MSI Z590 ACE motherboard. The platform was coupled with 32 GB of DDR4 memory from G.Skill (Trident Z RGB / 8 GB x 4) and the ASUS ROG Thor 1200W PSU. For graphics, I used the MSI GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X. This rounds up as a high-end platform for tests with modern-day SSDs.

Wccftech SSD Test Setup (2025):

ProcessorIntel Core i9-13900K
Motherboard:MSI MEG Z790 ACE
Power Supply:MSI MEG Ai1300P (1300W)
Memory:G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-7400 (2 x 16 GB)
Case:Cooler Master C700M
Video Cards:MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X
Cooling Solutions:MSI MEG S360 AIO Liquid Cooler
OS:Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)

TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3 NVMe SSD Performance Benchmarks

First up, we have the official performance stats for these drives as listed by their manufacturers. You can compare these stats with the rest of the drives I tested in the following chart:

Official SSD Stats (IOPS)
Random Read 4 KB (IOPS)
Random Write 4KB (IOPS)
0
166667
333334
500001
666668
833335
1000002
0
166667
333334
500001
666668
833335
1000002
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
1m
1m
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4
750k
750k
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
700k
650k
TeamGroup CARDEA Creamic C440 1 TB Gen 4
650k
700k
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3
680k
670k
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
600k
600k
TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3
220k
200k
Official SSD Stats (MB/s)
Sequential Read (MB/s)
Sequential Write (MB/s)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
7k
6.8k
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
7k
5k
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4
7k
5.5k
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
5k
4.4k
TeamGroup CARDEA Creamic C440 1 TB Gen 4
5k
4.4k
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3
3.4k
3k
TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3
2.1k
1.7k

AS SSD Benchmark

AS SSD Benchmark download is a Windows 10 utility software program that tests the performance of solid-state drives. With its help, you can find out the speed of all installed SSDs and take care of any issues that the tests may reveal. The free app performs three separate tests to provide you with conclusive evidence on your driver's general behavior while it copies, reads, and writes data.  The app determines the access time of an SSD, along with its speed and performance capabilities

AS-SSD Benchmark
AS-SSD Score
0
4000
8000
12000
16000
20000
24000
0
4000
8000
12000
16000
20000
24000
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
11.9k
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4
11.7k
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
8.6k
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
7.2k
TeamGroup CARDEA Creamic C440 1 TB Gen 4
7k
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3
4.8k
TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3
2.9k

ATTO 3.05 Disk Benchmark

As the industry’s leading provider of high-performance storage & network connectivity products, ATTO has created a widely accepted Disk Benchmark freeware software to help measure storage system performance. As one of the top tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, solid-state drives, RAID arrays as well as the host connection to attached storage. Top drive manufacturers, like Hitachi, build and test every drive using the ATTO Disk Benchmark.

The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturer's RAID controllers, storage controllers, host bus adapters (HBAs), hard drives, and SSD drives and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage.

ATTO v3.05 128 KB Sequential QD4
Sequential Read (MB/s)
Sequential Write (MB/s)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
7.1k
7.2k
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
5.1k
4.4k
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4
6.8k
7.1k
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
5.1k
5.3k
TeamGroup CARDEA Creamic C440 1 TB Gen 4
5k
5.2k
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3
3.6k
3.5k
TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3
1.8k
1.6k

Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64

CrystalDiskMark is a disk benchmark software.It measure sequential reads/writes speed,measure random 512KB, 4KB, 4KB (Queue Depth=32) reads/writes speed,select test data (Random, 0Fill, 1Fill),

Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64 SEQ1M Q8T1
Sequential Read (MB/s)
Sequential Write (MB/s)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
7k
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
7.1k
6.7k
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4
7.1k
5.1k
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
6.7k
5.6k
TeamGroup CARDEA Creamic C440 1 TB Gen 4
7.1k
4.5k
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3
5.3k
4.4k
TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3
5.2k
3.1k
Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64 4KiB Q1T1
Random Read (MB/s)
Random Write (MB/s)
0
90
180
270
360
450
540
0
90
180
270
360
450
540
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
109
485
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
100
450
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4
79
424
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
76
412
TeamGroup CARDEA Creamic C440 1 TB Gen 4
75
410
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3
73
405
TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3
45
255

File Transfer Speeds (100 GB File Size)

To test the maximum average transfer speeds of the drives, I used a 100 GB file to test the limits.

File Transfer Rate (MB/s)
Transfer Speed (MB/s)
0
400
800
1200
1600
2000
2400
0
400
800
1200
1600
2000
2400
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
1.6k
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
1.5k
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4
1.5k
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
1.3k
TeamGroup CARDEA Creamic C440 1 TB Gen 4
1.2k
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3
855
TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3
502

PCMark 10 Storage Benchmark

The PCMark 10 Storage benchmark is designed to test the performance of SSDs, HDDs, and hybrid drives with traces recorded from Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and a selection of popular games. You can test the system drive or any other recognized storage device, including local external drives. Unlike synthetic storage tests, the PCMark 10 Storage benchmark highlights real-world performance differences between storage devices.

PCMark 10 System Disk Storage Bench
Disk Score (Higher is Better)
0
700
1400
2100
2800
3500
4200
0
700
1400
2100
2800
3500
4200
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
3.3k
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
3.3k
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4
2.8k
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
2.7k
TeamGroup CARDEA Creamic C440 1 TB Gen 4
2.7k
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3
2k
TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3
1.5k
PCMark 10 System Disk Access Times
Access Times (Lower is Better)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
45
TeamGroup CARDEA Creamic C440 1 TB Gen 4
46
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
46
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4
48
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
52
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3
62

Conclusion - Too Pricey & Too Slow To Recommend To Creators

Update (07/09/21): After checking Amazon once again, it looks like TeamGroup has dropped the pricing down to 189.99 US which makes it a far more sensible product. Standard 2.5" SATA SSDs with 2 TB space cost around this range while NVMe drives start at $200 US for such capacities. For its performance, I could definitely recommend the TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB at 189.99 US but anything more is definitely a no-go.

Original Conclusion (05/09/21): I have tested a few T-Create series products from TeamGroup before and saw that their pricing was really good compared to other competitor solutions. In fact, the T-Create DDR4 has the cheapest 64 GB memory kit of all brands at the moment at its given speeds.

Temperatures
Disk Score (Lower is Better)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4
76
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4
71
MSI SPATIUM M470 1 TB Gen 4
69
TeamGroup T-Create Classic 2 TB Gen 3
64
TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4 (With heatsink)
56
TeamGroup CARDEA Ceramic C440 1 TB Gen 4 (With heatsink)
55
TeamGroup CARDEA IOPS 1 TB Gen 3 (With heatsink)
52
MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4 (With heatsink)
45

The performance of the drive is nothing to be excited about but it's rather the price and capacity that should be the main attraction. The drive is backed by a 5-year warranty and has a 1000TBW endurance rate which will run it through the paces of all content creator tasks for a long duration of time.

As mentioned in the update above, TeamGroup's T-Create Classic series SSD pricing has been revised, & based on the new ones, we can definitely see them as a really attractive option and should've been there from the start. At $189.99 US, the 2 TB capacity is a great deal for content creators who are looking to increase the storage capacity of their systems without moving to a slower SATA-based SSD or HDD drive.

About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.

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