WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD 1TB review

The WD_BLACK SN850X is a PCIe 4.0 x4 drive in the M.2 2280 format. Western Digital announced it in a May 2022 press release, with retail availability from July 2022. This review covers the 1TB model without a heatsink. A heatsink version, WDS100T2XHE, is sold alongside it.

WD rates the 1TB drive at 7,300 MB/s sequential read and 6,300 MB/s sequential write. Random performance is rated at 800K IOPS read and 1,100K IOPS write. The write IOPS figure is higher than the read figure, which is worth a look if your workload leans on small random writes, such as databases or build caches.

Owners rate the performance well. One recurring theme is good value and performance compared with rivals such as the Samsung 990 Pro. Owners also report easy installation and say it works well in a PS5. That makes it a reasonable pick for a console upgrade as well as a desktop.

The 1TB model is rated at 600 TBW. The 2TB model is rated at 1,200 TBW, so the rating scales at 600 TBW per terabyte across those two capacities. If you write heavily, for example large media scratch files or frequent VM image rebuilds, check your expected write volume against 600 TBW before you buy the 1TB size. The 2TB model has the higher total.

The drive carries a 5-year limited warranty, which sits alongside the 600 TBW endurance rating.

This is the main caveat. Owners report the drive runs hot, especially without a heatsink or good airflow. This is the no-heatsink version, so cooling is down to you. If your motherboard has an M.2 heatsink or your case moves air across the slot, the bare drive is a sensible choice. If it does not, the heatsink version is sold alongside it as an alternative.

Western Digital's specifications here don't include a power draw figure, so there is nothing to say about efficiency beyond the owner reports on heat. Laptop users and anyone building a small, poorly ventilated system should weigh that before choosing the bare drive.

The WD_BLACK Dashboard is downloadable, runs on Windows only, and enables Game Mode 2.0. On Windows that gives you a vendor tool for the drive. On Linux or macOS the Dashboard is not an option, and the research lists no other firmware update tooling. Sysadmins and homelabbers running non-Windows systems should check how they would handle firmware updates before buying.

Owners point to a price premium over cheaper drives. Separately, owners describe good value and performance compared with rivals such as the Samsung 990 Pro. Whether the premium is worth paying depends on whether you need the rated speeds and the 5-year warranty, or whether a cheaper drive covers your workload.

The SN850X 1TB without a heatsink suits Windows desktop and PS5 buyers who want PCIe 4.0 speeds and a long warranty, and who can keep the drive cool. The 600 TBW rating is the figure to check for write-heavy work. Heat without a heatsink, Windows-only tooling and the premium over cheaper drives are the points that could send you elsewhere.