Summarization
With the Black SN805X, WD has made a big splash in the competition. Thanks to modified components, including the controller, and a faster and faster nand, the 2TB version we tested suddenly became the fastest drive we’ve tested to date. In only a few synthetic and PCMark consistency tests, the drive isn’t the fastest, but the field performance more than makes up for that. WD has developed an Enhanced Game Mode that should make games load faster, but we don’t immediately see this tweak in the results. However, the SSD offers more consistent performance with Game Mode enabled if it is poorly cooled. The other side of the coin with the label “fastest Gen4 drive” is that this is an expensive SSD. Whether you want to invest in it while Gen5 engines are around the corner is a personal decision.
When WD released its WD Black SN850 at the end of 2020, it turned out to be a fast SSD, which, despite some issues starting with the firmware, still managed to win a performance crown. to conquer. We’ve had similar startup issues with the faster successor, which is WD Black SN850XBut now there are more pirates on the coast. Could WD win the title of “Fastest Gen4 Drive” at the last minute — just before the first PCIe Gen5 drives arrive?
To achieve this, WD didn’t just add an X to the name because it looks so pretty. WD has already used other components, but it also offers SSDs in larger capacities. The SN850X is available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities, while the SN850 is available in 1TB and 2TB variants. Just like the SN850, you can also buy a version with a heatsink, although the 4TB version is only available without a heatsink. The heatsink versions have RGB on board, which in combination with WD’s Game Mode 2.0 emphasizes the focus on gaming. This mode is an automatic function that should reduce game load times.
We compared the 2TB variant in this review to other 2TB drives we tested. Since different capacities generally also perform differently, we only release data about this capacity class. The question is whether WD has a winner with this late addition to the Gen4 division, or a case of it Too little, too late Put it on the market.
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