Western Digital Black SN850X 4TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Team Group T-Force Cardea Z540 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
What Buyers Say
Western Digital Black SN850X 4TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
The WD Black SN850X is highly praised for its blazing speed, reliability, and value, often compared favorably to pricier alternatives like Samsung and Solidigm. Users report excellent performance in gaming (especially PS5) and general use, with a few concerns about potential issues mitigated by firmware updates. Overall, it's seen as a top-tier NVMe drive, especially when on sale.
Pros
- Blazing fast speeds
- Excellent value for money
- Reliable high-capacity storage
- Great for PS5
- Easy installation
Cons
- Potential firmware issues
- No heatsink included
- Pricey when not on sale
Team Group T-Force Cardea Z540 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
The Team Group T-Force CARDEA Z540 SSD is praised for its exceptional speed, with users noting file transfers complete in seconds and Gen5 performance being 'insane.' However, thermal management is a concern: the included graphene heatsink causes thermal throttling out of the box, and users recommend using a motherboard heatsink or a combination to avoid throttling. Overall, the drive is highly recommended for its speed and quality, but potential buyers should plan for adequate cooling.
Pros
- Exceptional Gen5 speed
- Fast file transfers
- High-quality build
- Reliable brand
- Works as expected
Cons
- Thermal throttling with included heatsink
- Runs hot even with proper cooling
- Requires additional cooling solution
Scores
Specifications
| Western Digital Black SN850X | Team Group T-Force Cardea Z540 | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | ||
| Capacity | ||
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 4 | 5★ |
| External | ✗ | ✗ |
| Performance | ||
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | ||
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | ||
| Random Read (IOPS) | No data | |
| Random Write (IOPS) | No data | |
| Hardware | ||
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | ✓ | ✓ |
| Controller | WD 20-82-20035-B1 | Phison E26 |
| Reliability | ||
| Endurance (TBW) | ||
| MTBF (hours) | ||
| Warranty (years) | 5 | 5 |
| Features | ||
| Heatsink | ✗ | ✓★ |
| Hardware Encryption | ✗ | — |
Pros & Cons
Western Digital Black SN850X 4TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong random (95th percentile)95th %ile
- Strong social proof (95th percentile)95th %ile
- Strong user sentiment (94th percentile)94th %ile
- Strong capacity (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
- Below average affordability (11th percentile)11th %ile
Team Group T-Force Cardea Z540 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong feature (97th percentile)97th %ile
- Strong speed (96th percentile)96th %ile
- Strong endurance (88th percentile)88th %ile
- Strong random (81st percentile)81st %ile
Pricing
Team Group T-Force Cardea Z540 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280 offers 2.3x better value for money
Western Digital Black SN850X 4TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Team Group T-Force Cardea Z540 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Verdict
Scores 100 overall, wins 6 of 6 usage categories and 5 of 18 specs.
