INTRODUCTION:
If you've been spending your quarantine time upgrading your PC at home and currently looking for a top-notch SSD to future-proof your PC build, you've come across the right article as we'll be taking a quick look at one of the high-end, competitive SSD choices in the market today, the WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD.
The WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD is part of the new WD_Black series Western Digital launched in select markets just weeks ago, alongside the WD_BLACK™ AN1500 NVMe™ Add-in-card. Western Digital claims that this is for next-generation gamers who are in need of a sturdy and trusty storage solution.
Western Digital released the WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD saying that playing next-gen game titles would entail not just a heavy-duty processor or graphics card but also efficient storage. It's also the firm's first entry into the PCIe Gen 4 market segment, so gamers and enthusiasts are very much looking forward and curious as to what the WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD can offer.
Get yours now at WD official store on Lazada.
TECHNICALS AND PERFORMANCE:
The packaging of this SSD comes in a neat box with the 7,000 MB/s sequential read numbers paraded upfront -- WD making it obvious that the SN850 is a top-notch storage device.
Let's tackle the technical first. The WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD comes in a 2280 form factor (22mm wide, 80mm long), making it easy to slide into your rig, and has storage options of 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. It uses a PCIe Gen 4 x 4 interface.
In terms of sequential read performance, the three storage choices of the WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD can achieve up to 7,000 MBps, while sequential write quotes up to 5,300 MBps (based on 1TB, 4,100 MBps for 500GB). Random read tallies from 800,000 to 1,000,000 IOPS, while write performance lands from 570,000 IOPS to 720,000 IOPS. The WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD also comes with a five-year limited warranty period.
WD is one of those who are on the better end. Its overall layout which shows software features is intuitive, although we would appreciate it more if WD would lessen the appearance of product ads within the dashboard.
The WD_BLACK™ Dashboard (Window® only) is where analysis tools, firmware updater, and the RGB lighting control for the heatsink model can be accessed. For customization and more control over your gaming experience, this powerful device has the WD_Black™ Dashboard software.
Using the Crystal Disk, the WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD towered over the Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 and the Corsair Force MP600 in terms of sequential read, producing numbers of 7,072. It also fared well on sequential write, inching above Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 and TeamGroup Cardea Zero with a result of 5,387.
On 4K read rankings, the WD Black SN850 delivered 1411.17 MB/s, producing better points than the Kingston KC2500 and Corsair MP400. For 4K write, WD's latest Black SSD recorded 1517.34 MB/s, proving itself as the better option compared to Corsair MP400 and Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0.
For the ATTO Disk Benchmark, a performance tool compatible with Microsoft Windows which tests the performance of storage systems through reads and writes in random sizes and test lengths, the WD Black SN850 also gave impressive numbers of 6,680 MB/s reads and 4,970 MB/s writes. This can be considered as one of the fastest -- if not the fastest results among PCIe Gen 4 drive in the market today.
Under the PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark which measures real-world performance, the WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD also did well in the test traces with notable results on the creative individual traces. On bandwidth tests, the said benchmark tool ranked the SN850 above the Samsung SSD980 Pro with numbers of 511.07 and 433.87 respectively. Access time is also a strength of the WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD (51), again, as compared to the Samsung SSD980 Pro (60).
FINAL WORDS:
With the above results, it's undeniable how the WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD can deliver great numbers. We won't exactly call it as value friendly since it's quite costly, but with a performative monster like this one, you can be confident that you're putting your money in the right place.
The WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD is priced at Php7,900 for the 500GB variant and Php12,900 for the 1TB version. You can order it via the WD official store on Lazada.
WD_BLACK™ SN850 NVMe™ SSD Quick Review: For future-proofing
January 25, 2021
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