Western Digital Black SN850X 4TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB PCIe 3.0 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
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Users are overwhelmingly positive about this Samsung 970 EVO M.2 SSD, praising its speed, reliability, and ease of installation. Many note it's a significant upgrade from SATA SSDs or HDDs, with fast boot and load times. Some mention the price premium but consider it worth it for the performance. A few users note that benchmarks may not always match advertised speeds unless using Samsung Magician, and that heat is generally not an issue for typical use.
Pros
- Fast boot and load times
- Reliable performance
- Easy installation
- Significant upgrade from HDD/SATA SSD
- Worth the price for performance
Cons
- Price premium
- Benchmarks may not match advertised speeds
- Heat concerns for heavy I/O tasks
- Compatibility issues with some laptops
Scores
Specifications
| Western Digital Black SN850X | Samsung 970 EVO Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | ||
| Capacity | ||
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 4★ | 3 |
| External | ✗ | ✗ |
| Performance | ||
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | ||
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | ||
| Random Read (IOPS) | ||
| Random Write (IOPS) | ||
| Hardware | ||
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | ✓ | ✓ |
| Controller | WD 20-82-20035-B1 | Samsung Phoenix |
| 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
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong social proof (95th percentile)95th %ile
- Strong user sentiment (94th percentile)94th %ile
- Strong feature (94th percentile)94th %ile
- Strong random (87th percentile)87th %ile
- Below average capacity (26th percentile)
Pricing
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280 offers 2.2x better value for money
Verdict
Scores 100 overall, wins 6 of 6 usage categories and 8 of 18 specs.
