SanDisk WD_Black SN8100: The Future of Storage is Here with PCIe Gen 5.0 Speed
SanDisk, in its performance-focused WD_Black brand, is going all in on the future of storage with its debut PCIe Gen 5.0 SSD: the WD_Black SN8100. Are you a hard-core gamer, a content creator struggling with massive files, or a pro who can't wait? This new drive is thinking of you.
What Kind of Speed Are We Talking About?
Grip your hats tightly, because the numbers are mind-blowing. SanDisk indicates that this M.2 2280 SSD delivers reads of up to 14,900 MB/s and writes of up to 14,000 MB/s. That is not merely fast; it is a major improvement, and it makes this one of the quickest drives available today. To place it into perspective, SanDisk reports that the read speed alone is over twice as much as their previous Gen 4.0 SSD could process.
It's not just sequential speeds, naturally. The SN8100 is a behemoth when random performance is the concern, clocking over 2,300,000 IOPS for the 2TB and 4TB capacities. That matters when it comes to those fast, responsive access times when dealing with large quantities of small files – something power users and gamers are guaranteed to appreciate.
What's Under the Hood?
SanDisk is using its own next-gen BiCS8 TLC 3D CBA NAND technology in this drive. In addition to flat-out speed, they're also claiming a huge power efficiency boost – reporting it's over 100% more efficient than the previous generation, with a less-than-7-watt average operating power. Faster and more efficient on power? Heck yes!
Built to Last
A speedy performance is great, but then there's longevity. SanDisk quotes a shelf life of up to 2,400 TBW for the 4TB variant. This is par for a high-end SSD and should translate to more than ample headroom to support heavy workload activities like ongoing gaming, high-level video editing, and even demanding AI processes.
Capacity Options and Availability
When it arrives, the WD_Black SN8100 will be available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB sizes. You can opt to have it shipped with or without a pre-installed heatsink – a thoughtful touch for diverse builds and cooling setups. For those with truly gargantuan storage needs, an 8TB version is coming sometime in 2025, also with heatsink options (estimate the heatsink version will run about $20 more).
To back all that up, SanDisk is also offering an excellent five-year warranty on the WD_Black SN8100.
So, if you're interested in taking your system to the leading edge of storage technology, the SanDisk WD_Black SN8100 is certainly one to watch.
