Our favorite gaming SSD just hit 8TB, and it’s cheaper than most

WD has simply introduced a brand new model of its fashionable PCIe 4 SSD, making it one of many least expensive but quickest 8TB M.2 SSDs round. The brand new 8TB WD Black SN850X continues to be a dear possibility, however might prevent as a lot as $220 in comparison with another 8TB drives.

The 2TB model of this WD drive has the highest spot on our greatest gaming SSD information, due to its nice stability of efficiency and worth. Nevertheless, for many avid gamers, we wouldn’t suggest paying a lot cash for the 8TB model, particularly when most motherboards lately can accommodate two and even three M.2 SSDs.

Nonetheless, when you’re out there for one single large SSD, the 8TB WD Black SN850X seems to be like a stable candidate as its PCIe 4 interface and TLC NAND mix to offer a nippy 7,200MB/s sequential learn pace, together with 6,600MB/s sequential write pace. The drive additionally delivers a succesful 1,200K IOPs random learn and write pace. These aren’t chart-topping numbers, however they characterize a stable step up over older PCIe 3 drives.

This large capability understandably comes with a really excessive write endurance of 4,800 terabytes written (TBW), which implies you may utterly fill and wipe the drive 600 occasions earlier than the NAND storage will degrade. It solely comes with a five-year guarantee, which is typical for SSDs, however at this worth and excessive capability, some further guarantee protection would sweeten the deal.

The drive is offered in variations with and and not using a heatsink, with the heatsink including a surprisingly excessive value of £55 to its UK MSRP. We don’t have precise numbers for the additional value in USD, however the non-heatsink model is priced at $849. Clearly that’s some huge cash, however most different greater model choices are noticeably costlier. The Sabrent Rocket 8TB prices $1,069, for instance, whereas the 8TB Corsair MP600 Professional is $941. Solely the likes of Teamgroup and XPG provide similarly-priced drives.

In the meantime, for a way more sensibly-priced possibility, any of the opposite SN850X choices make for wonderful decisions, with the 2TB possibility featured in our SN850X assessment being a really perfect drive for anybody searching for an reasonably priced boot/gaming drive.