Western Digital doesn't give us detailed performance specifications the way Samsung does, but the basic specifications make it clear that this drive is aimed at the very top: sequential reads up to 7GB/s are pushing the limits of the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface that is still catching on in the consumer market, and random reads at 1M IOPS from a single M.2 drive were just a dream a year ago. Overall, these peak performance specs line up pretty well with the Samsung 980 PRO: Samsung quotes higher random write performance, and WD quotes slightly faster sequential writes. As used for transfer rate, 1 MB/s = 1 million bytes per second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending upon host device, usage conditions, drive capacity, and other factors. Number of games based on a 36GB average per game. The number of games will vary based on file size, formatting, other programs, and factors. Designed with an M.2 2280 slim, light, and compact form factor to easily slide into your gaming rig.

WD_BLACK SN850 500GB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 NVMe Gaming SSD up to WD_BLACK SN850 500GB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 NVMe Gaming SSD up to

The most important competitors for the SN850 are other PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs. We have results for both the Samsung 980 PRO and the Silicon Power US70 based on the older Phison E16 controller. Our 980 PRO results are using newer firmware than our initial review of that drive, and we've added results for the 2TB model alongside our 1TB results. Western Digital SN850 Mark is an expert on displays, reviewing monitors and TVs. He also covers storage including SSDs, NAS drives and portable hard drives. He started writing in 1986 and had contributed to MicroMart, PC Format, 3D World among others. The controller appears to be an updated version of the one found on the SN850. It’s still eight-channel but is paired with faster flash and improved firmware. WD tends to have excellent firmware, perhaps best exemplified in the SN770. The SN850 also did relatively well in our Phison I/O+ firmware preview, performing quite consistently. The Game Mode 2.0 optimizations should make the SN850X even better there, although it’s still too early to make judgments on game applicability. We’ve seen a general climb in TBW numbers in the last year, so these values aren’t exceptional, but they are huge numbers.An M.2 SSD designed for desktop and laptop systems, which ensures ultra-fast load times and consistent performance even under stress. These changes make perfect sense. The 500GB didn’t perform as well as the larger capacities, and the demand for larger sizes is one WD couldn’t continue to ignore. One is a new Game Mode 2.0 capability, a flexible software control that enables the drive to be specifically tailored for enhanced read speeds. More on this below. Performance & Benchmarks The exact colour of the flashing can be set by the WD Dashboard tool that you undoubtedly want to install if you own this drive, if only to keep its firmware concurrent.

WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe™ SSD for PS5™ Consoles - Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe™ SSD for PS5™ Consoles - Western Digital

The Western Digital Dashboard helps users maintain peak performance of the Western Digital SSD in Windows operating systems with a user-friendly graphical interface for the user. The Western Digital Dashboard includes tools for analysis of the disk (including the disk model, capacity, firmware version, and SMART attributes) and firmware updates. MB/s = 1 million bytes per second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending upon host device, usage conditions, drive capacity, and other factors.

The SN850's Gaming Mode worked by disabling lower power states, ensuring the drive would be more responsive. Game Mode 2.0 works differently with a three-pronged approach: predictive loading, adaptive thermal management, and overhead balancing. Predictive loading is an algorithm designed to detect upcoming low queue depth, sequential workloads - particularly the read workloads prevalent in many games. Adaptive thermal management works to improve average and sustained throughput via smoother throttling. Finally, overhead balancing seeks to improve read latency while gaming through I/O prioritization. Corsair Dominator Titanium First Edition DDR5-6600 C32 2x32GB Review: Abundant Capacity And Performance With up to 2TB 1 capacity, your PlayStation®5 console has the additional space to store up to 50 games 3 so you still have room for the next big title. The SN850X is competitive with other high-end PCIe 4.0 drives in sequential workloads, but it can’t quite match the SK hynix Platinum P41 in random IOPS. Pricing is a bit stiff, particularly at 4TB. The SN850X will have to impress to justify its MSRP. Game Mode 2.0, Software and Accessories

WD Black SN850 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD - Scan

Of particular note is the Game Mode 2.0 feature that's new with the SN850X. The original Gaming Mode could be turned on or off within the Dashboard, but Game Mode 2.0 has an additional Auto setting to detect game launches. You can also manually enter game folder locations so the software knows where to watch. DirectStorage sure sounds as that there will be some improvement, albeit assuming you aren't running GPU at full load already, as DirectStorage apparently works mainly at the premise of taking some workload from the CPU and giving it to the GPU, such as to decompress files that get loaded in when walking to a new area in an open-world game. And for current-gen gaming, even slower NVMe SSDs sure are plenty fast. SN850 with heatsink is intended for Desktop PCs and PlayStation™ 5 (PS5 system software version 21.02-04.00.00 or higher required). Its generally accepted that the default setting of CrystalDiskMark is overly optimistic, but using AS SSS instead revealed 6,110MB/s reads and 5,861MB/s versus 5,781MB/s reads and 4,865MB/s writes. Also of interest are two of the most premium SSDs from the PCIe 3.0 era: the 1.5TB Intel Optane SSD 905P and the Samsung 970 PRO. The 970 PRO was the last high-end consumer drive to use MLC NAND, which gave it a significant advantage on heavy, long-running storage workloads as compared with TLC SSDs that use SLC caching to provide improved peak performance. The 970 PRO is old enough that newer, faster TLC NAND is catching up even in tests where MLC used to be a major advantage—and of course the latest and greatest TLC drives with PCIe 4.0 have far higher peak performance. Intel Optane SSD 905PStore and play more titles on a drive that’s officially tested and certified for your PS5™ console 4, so you can keep gaming without worrying about compatibility issues. As used for storage capacity, 1GB = 1 billion bytes and 1TB = one trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment. All-in-one heatsink SSD design makes installation and setup worry-free through the PS5™ console’s 4 M.2 expansion slot. IOPS = input/output operations per second. Performance will vary depending on your hardware and software components and configurations. Unlike the Crucial P3, WD doesn’t include a spare screw for those unfortunate enough to misplace theirs during the installation process. Specs & Features