WD_BLACK SN770 1TB M.2 2280 Game Drive PCIe Gen4 NVMe up to 5150 MB/s

Product Information

Not having a DRAM cache reduces cost but impacts on performance, though the extent of this speed reduction is dependent on the amount of drive space left to be dynamically used as an SLC cache and power of the host systems memory subsystem. In all test runs, we rebooted the system, ensured all temp and prefetch data was purged, and waited several minutes for drive activity to settle and for the system to reach an idle state before invoking a test. All of the drives here have also been updated to their latest firmware as of press time. Where applicable, we would also typically use any proprietary NVMe drivers available from a given manufacturer, but all of the drives featured here used the Microsoft driver included with Windows 11. In comparison, the SN770 is a dramatically better proposition, even for those still using Gen 3 slots than the SN750. It offers much better power efficiency, making it useful for laptop users. While many people are still using SATA SSDs, and a few even conventional hard drives, most desktop PCs and laptops are now using PCIe NVMe technology.

Get up to 20% more power efficiency at maximum speed over the previous generation1 (1TB model) for an even better overall gaming experience on your portable rig. Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority are available from us on request. The SN770 isn’t the first NVMe drive I’ve seen with this configuration from Western Digital. It previously used this approach on the

With DirectStorage promising big improvements for our games, the more gamers that have fast drives in their machine, the more tempting it is for developers to actually use it. It's going to be a long journey for sure, and it'll probably be years before developers are really pushing SSDs, but still, it's good to plan ahead. Credit is provided by Novuna Personal Finance, a trading style of Mitsubishi HC Capital (UK) PLC, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Services Register no. 704348. The register can be accessed through http://www.fca.org.uk Get up to 20% more power efficiency at maximum speed over the previous generation 3 (1TB model) for an even better overall gaming experience on your portable rig. The NVMe fashion these days is to not use DRAM to smooth transfers but instead use either SLC caching and, in the case of the SN770, RAM in the host PC as a buffer. Based on read speed. 1 MB/s = 1 million bytes per second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending upon host device, usage conditions, drive capacity, and other factors.

It's worth noting that this drive can get hot when pushed, just like the SN850 in fact. It hit 76°C after a long day of testing, although that was without any direct cooling on it at all, not even a heatsink. It should be fine in most systems, especially if your motherboard does come with some cooling solution. Since 2004, I have worked on PCMag’s hardware team, covering at various times printers, scanners, projectors, storage, and monitors. I currently focus my testing efforts on 3D printers, pro and productivity displays, and drives and SSDs of all sorts. billion bytes and 1TB = 1 trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment.

Overall, the SN770 represent good value and is undoubtedly a better option than purchasing an end-of-line Gen3 design. But not everyone wants to pay for these ultimate performers, and by turning down the flame a little, some makers are offering serviceable solutions that more can afford.

Equipped with advanced thermal management technology that helps maintain consistent performance, this reliable drive comes in an M.2 SSD form factor for compatibility with modern motherboards and laptops. If the SN770 has a weakness, it is that once the local RAM buffer and SLC cache are saturated, performance tends to fall off a cliff when the true speed of the NAND is exposed.IOMeter is a well-respected industry standard benchmark. However, despite our results with IOMeter scaling as expected, it is debatable as to whether or not certain access patterns actually provide a valid example of real-world performance. The access patterns we tested may not reflect your particular workloads, for example. That said, we do think IOMeter is a reliable gauge for relative throughput, latency, and bandwidth with a given storage solution. In addition, there are certain highly-strenuous workloads you can place on a drive with IOMeter, that you can't with most other storage benchmark tools.