Western Digital WD_BLACK SN770

The WD_BLACK SN770 delivers 5000 MB/s reads and strong random performance at a budget-friendly $79 for 500GB. It's DRAM-less but uses HMB effectively, and the firmware update is essential for optimal performance and wear. For gaming and everyday use, it's one of the best value drives on the market. Just don't expect flagship endurance or capacity.

The headline numbers are 5000 MB/s sequential read and 4000 MB/s write. In our database, that puts the SN770's speed at the 68th percentile overall, which sounds middling until you remember that this category includes some absurdly fast drives. For real-world gaming, you're looking at load times that are nearly indistinguishable from drives costing twice as much. The random performance is actually the standout here. 460K random read IOPS and 800K random write IOPS put it at the 86th percentile for random workloads. That's what makes Windows feel snappy, apps launch fast, and games stream assets smoothly.

The DRAM-less design is worth talking about. Instead of onboard DRAM cache, it uses Host Memory Buffer, which borrows a chunk of your system RAM to handle the mapping tables. On a modern system with 16GB or more, you won't notice the difference in most tasks. But if you're running an older platform or a system with limited RAM, you might see slightly more latency under heavy sustained writes. The endurance rating of 300 TBW is solid for a 500GB drive, landing at the 70th percentile. That's enough for years of normal use, though heavy content creators who constantly write large files might want something with more headroom.

The Samsung 990 PRO is the obvious comparison. It's faster across the board, has DRAM cache, and carries Samsung's reputation for reliability. But you'll pay a premium for it, and unless you're doing heavy sustained writes or professional content creation, the SN770 gets you most of the way there for less money. The Crucial T500 is another strong competitor, offering similar speeds with DRAM cache at a mid-range price. If you're worried about the DRAM-less design, the T500 is worth a look.

The Lexar NM790 and SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850X are also in the mix. The NM790 is a newer drive with competitive pricing and solid performance, while the SanDisk drive is essentially a cousin of the SN770 given the WD and SanDisk relationship. The MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO is a higher-end option with better endurance ratings, but it costs more and is overkill for most gaming builds. For pure price-to-performance in a budget or mid-range system, the SN770 holds its own against all of them.

At $79 for the 500GB model, the SN770 is aggressively priced. You're getting PCIe 4.0 speeds and strong random performance for less than many DRAM-equipped competitors. The Samsung 990 PRO, for example, typically costs significantly more per gigabyte, and while it's faster on paper, most gamers won't feel the difference in daily use. The SN770's value proposition is simple: 90% of the flagship experience for a fraction of the price.

That said, the 500GB capacity is the weak point here. At the 24th percentile for capacity, it's small for a modern game library. If you're installing Call of Duty, Baldur's Gate 3, and a few other titles, you'll fill this up fast. The 1TB and 2TB versions of the SN770 are better long-term investments if your budget allows. But for a boot drive or a budget build, the 500GB at this price is hard to beat.

The WD_BLACK SN770 is one of those drives that makes you wonder why you'd spend more. It's a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD that hits 5000 MB/s reads and 4000 MB/s writes, which is plenty fast for gaming, boot drives, and general use. But the real story here is the price. At $79 for the 500GB model, it undercuts a lot of the competition while still delivering speeds that would have been flagship territory a couple years ago.

Who's this for? Gamers who want fast load times without paying Samsung 990 PRO money. People building a mid-range system or upgrading from a SATA SSD. It's also a solid pick for a secondary drive where you don't need the absolute fastest sequential speeds but still want snappy responsiveness. The DRAM-less design keeps costs down, and WD's HMB implementation means you're not giving up as much as you might think.

There's a catch though. Several owners report that the firmware it ships with can cause excessive wear and performance quirks. Updating the firmware through WD's Dashboard software seems to fix most of it, but that's an extra step you shouldn't have to take on a new drive. We'll dig into that more below.

If you're doing heavy content creation, video editing, or any workload that involves sustained large file writes, the SN770 isn't the best choice. The DRAM-less design and 500GB capacity will become bottlenecks, and the endurance rating, while decent, isn't built for constant heavy writes. Look at the Samsung 990 PRO or MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO instead, both of which offer DRAM cache and higher endurance ratings.

Also skip this if you're building a system with limited RAM or an older platform. HMB requires system memory to work well, and on a machine with 8GB or less, you might see performance dips under load. And if you're the type who never updates firmware, this drive might frustrate you. The out-of-box experience isn't as polished as it should be, and you'll want to run that update before trusting it with your data.

For a budget or mid-range gaming build, the SN770 is an easy recommendation. The random performance is genuinely impressive, the price is right, and the firmware update resolves most of the early concerns. If you're upgrading from a SATA SSD or an older NVMe drive, you'll feel the difference immediately. Just make sure you update the firmware before you start loading it up with data.

If you're building a high-end workstation or doing heavy content creation, look elsewhere. The DRAM-less design and 500GB capacity will hold you back in sustained workloads, and drives like the Samsung 990 PRO or MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO offer better endurance and consistent performance under pressure. But for gaming, boot drives, and everyday use, the SN770 is a smart buy that won't disappoint.