New
Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850 500GB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
The PCIe 4.0 x4 interface delivers 7000 MB/s reads and 810K random read IOPS, with a heatsink to prevent thermal throttling during long gaming sessions. The WD_BLACK Dashboard adds RGB control and firmware updates, while the 500GB model offers 300 TBW endurance, though it is not intended for NAS or server use. This drive suits gamers upgrading a PS5 or a PCIe 4.0 desktop who want fast load times and a simple, reliable install.
Capacity 500GB
Form Factor M.2 2280
Interface PCIe 4.0 x4
Read Speed 7,000 MB/s
NAND TLC
DRAM Cache Yes
Endurance 300 TBW
65 Overall Score
No current retailer price
Snapshot
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Strong feature (94th percentile) 94th
- Strong random (90th percentile) 90th
- Strong speed (78th percentile) 78th
- Strong endurance (71st percentile) 71st
Cons
- Below average social proof (23rd percentile)
- Below average capacity (26th percentile)
- Below average affordability (27th percentile)
The proof
Performance
Specifications
Full Specifications
Drive
| Capacity | 500 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 4 |
| External | No |
Performance
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | 7000 |
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | 4100 |
| Random Read (IOPS) | 810000 |
| Random Write (IOPS) | 680000 |
Hardware
| NAND | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | Yes |
Reliability
| Endurance (TBW) | 300 |
| MTBF (hours) | 1750000 |
Features
| Heatsink | Yes |
vs Competition
| Spec | Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850 | Samsung 9100 PRO | Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SFYR2S/4T0 | Crucial T500 | SanDisk WD_BLACK SN8100 | Seagate FireCuda 530R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 500GB | 8TB | 4TB | 2TB | 8TB | 4TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Seq Read | 7,000 MB/s | 14,800 MB/s | 14,800 MB/s | 7,400 MB/s | 14,900 MB/s | 7,400 MB/s |
| Nand Type | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC |
| Dram Cache | true | true | true | true | true | false |
| Endurance | 300 TBW | 4800 TBW | 4000 TBW | 1200 TBW | 4800 TBW | 5050 TBW |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | Speed | Random | Feature | Capacity | Endurance | Social Proof | Affordability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850 | 77.8 | 90 | 93.5 | 26.4 | 71.1 | 22.9 | 27.2 |
| Samsung 9100 PRO Compare | 99.1 | 99.8 | 99.7 | 98.2 | 85.9 | 95.2 | 1.8 |
| Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SFYR2S/4T0 Compare | 99.4 | 98.7 | 90.5 | 92.6 | 93.4 | 86.8 | 6.5 |
| Crucial T500 Compare | 93.8 | 96.5 | 98.9 | 78.4 | 82.8 | 95.2 | 20.1 |
| SanDisk WD_BLACK SN8100 Compare | 98.9 | 99.1 | 97.3 | 98.2 | 80.7 | 45.2 | 3.4 |
| Seagate FireCuda 530R Compare | 92.5 | 96.4 | 53.6 | 92.6 | 95.6 | 77.4 | 7 |
Usage Scores
A full written review is coming soon. The specs, scores, prices and charts above are always up to date.
