The WD Black SN850X 2TB SSD Is One of the Fastest PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, and Now Also One of the Cheapest

The SN850X is WD's fastest PCIe Gen 4 coagulated authorities drive. There are faster PCIe Gen 5 drives retired determination present (like WD's ain SN8100) but they are a batch much costly and implicit overkill for gamers. In presumption of performance, the SN850X is considered a top-tier SSD with sustained work speeds of up to 7,300MBps, constitute speeds of 6,600MBps, random work speeds of up to 1,200K IOPS, and constitute speeds of 1,100IOPS. The SN850X besides has 2GB of DRAM cache. Most SSDs astatine this terms don't person immoderate DRAM cache and alternatively trust connected strategy representation arsenic a buffer. A DRAM cache offers amended constitute performance. Gamers shouldn't announcement immoderate show quality either way, but having a DRAM cache is preferred if you program to usage this arsenic your superior footwear thrust successful a PC build.

For PC gamers, WD includes Game Mode 2.0 inferior bundle that's designed to tune the SSD for amended show during gaming sessions. Unless you person an unlimited budget, 2TB is the size I would urge for a footwear coagulated authorities drive; for astir people, this is plentifulness of abstraction for your OS and apps, and the terms is inactive reasonable.

The SN850X besides makes for an fantabulous SSD for your PS5. It's identical to Sony's officially licensed WD Black SN850P SSD but that this peculiar SN850X exemplary is not equipped with a heatsink. It fulfills each of Sony's PS5 recommendations, including a M.2 2280 signifier factor, minimum 5,500MB/s speed, and PCI-E Gen4x4 interface. You tin get the mentation with the pre-installed heatsink for $30 more, but you'd beryllium amended disconnected redeeming your wealth and getting a cheaper aftermarket heatsink (it's precise casual to install). The SSD comes with a five-year warranty.

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Originally posted:

Aug 19, 2025 5:50 pm