Sandisk WD_Black SN8100 SSD review: speeds that live up to the hype
Table of Contents
Spinning off from Western Digital under a new name, Sandisk has come out with a brand new NVMe SSD that boasts some top speeds and low temps. The WD_Black SN8100 launched as one of the fastest drives on the market. As a PCIe Gen 5 SSD, it has the hardware to live up to its potential, so we put it to the test to see how well it performs.
As an offering for high-speed storage, the SN8100 does well to accommodate the temperature it generates, as I found in testing this drive, while still achieving high-end speeds. However, that random performance does, at times, suffer and vary quite a lot.
Discover how it performs and what this drive is capable of in our full review, as well as whether it is a worthwhile SSD for gaming.
- Capacity: 1/2/4 TB
- Interface: PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe
- Sequential Read Speed: 14,900MB/s
- Sequential Write Speed: 11,000/14,000/14,000 MB/s
- Random Read Speed: 1.6M/2.3M/2.3M IOPS
- Random Write Speed: 2.4M IOPS
- Endurance: 600/1,200/2,400 TBW
- Controller: Silicon Motion SM2508
- NAND: TLC 3D CBA
- MTBF: 1.75M hours
The SanDisk WD_Black SN8100 is another drive bringing the latest PCIe Gen 5 speeds to your system. Offering another choice in bringing out the best performance from your PC, you can get some top-level bandwidth from it. That seems to mostly be from the sequential scenarios, as when it comes to randoms, it starts to drop and wobble quite a bit. Even still, it has some great features and support from software and warranties you can take advantage of.
- Top sequential speeds
- Great operating temperatures
- Long-term warranty
- Top software support and features
- Shaky random performance
- Pricing can still be a bit high
Specs and design
| Form factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe Gen 5×4 NVMe |
| Capacities | 1/2/4 TB |
| Controller | Silicon Motion SM2508 |
| NAND | TLC 3D CBA |
| DRAM cache | Yes |
| DirectStorage supported | Yes |
| Sequential read/write | 1TB – up to 14,900/11,000 MB/s 2TB – up to 14,900/14,000 MB/s 4TB – up to 14,900/14,000 MB/s |
| Random 4K read/write | 1TB – up to 1,600,000/2,400,000 IOPS 2 & 4TB – up to 2,300,000/2,400,000 IOPS |
| Endurance (total bytes written) | 1TB – 600 TBW 2TB – 1,2000 TBW 4TB – 2,4000 TBW |
| Storage temperature | -40ºC to 85ºC (-40ºF to 185ºF) |
| Operating temperature | 0ºC to 85ºC (32ºF to 185ºF) |
| Dimensions | 80 x 22 x 2.38mm |
| Weight | 7.5g |
| MTBF | 1,750,000 hours |
| Warranty/Support | 5 years |
SanDisk’s WD_Black SN8100 comes in four capacities. Like most NVMe SSDs, it offers options for 1, 2, and 4 terabytes. Providing a range of capacities and price points, they vary slightly in promised performance, so you may want to consider this.
WD_Black SN8100 2TB NVMe SSD box, Image by PC Guide
WD_Black SN8100 2TB NVMe SSD rear, Image by PC Guide
WD_Black SN8100 2TB NVMe SSD close up, Image by PC Guide
WD_Black SN8100 2TB NVMe SSD on box, Image by PC Guide
For its controller, the SN8100 utilizes the Silicon Motion SM2508, which is branded under SanDisk’s name. The same is observed on the TLC NAND Flash it uses for storage, which consists of two chips that contribute to the 2TB of capacity. Additionally, the cache features a 2GB DDR4 memory chip on board.
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Combined, these provide the fast speeds the drive is rated for. The controller provides PCIe Gen 5 interface speeds, with the cache capable of preventing storage overload and organizing incoming data. With the TLC NAND flash, a rapid solution.
This design is all on just one side of the drive. Partially hidden under a sticker, the underside is left blank apart from all the electronics’ warnings and recycling information. That should make it easier to cool and maintain its performance, as its vital components will be kept under a heatsink, provided your motherboard comes with one and you don’t opt for the heatsink model instead.
The M.2 drive is a 2280 size option, measuring 80 x 22 x 2.38mm in dimensions. A standard offering for most computers, laptops, and some consoles, but not the best choice for handhelds like the Steam Deck, which run on a smaller 2230 drive. Instead, this one offers incredible speed for the ports that support it.
WD_Black SN8100 2TB NVMe SSD standing in front of box, Image by PC Guide
WD_Black SN8100 2TB NVMe SSD on motherboard, Image by PC Guide
WD_Black SN8100 2TB NVMe SSD installed, Image by PC Guide
WD_Black SN8100 2TB NVMe SSD installation, Image by PC Guide
For those that do, you can expect sequential read speeds of up to 14,900 MB/s and write speeds of up to 14,000 MB/s. When that becomes random, however, the performance drops to 2.3 million IOPS for reads and 2.4 million for writes. SanDisk claims these will last for 1,200 terabytes of writing data, with the mean time to failure taking 1,700,00 hours.
The drive’s power consumption is rated between 6.5 and 7W during this period, with a 5-year warranty. That means it should last you quite some time yet. During which it uses TCG Opal 2.02 security to keep its contents secure.
Software
On the software side, SanDisk offers a dashboard that allows you to control the device. Whether it’s checking the firmware is up to date, ensuring drivers are installed for it, or monitoring performance and lifespan, the app is a simple and easy-to-use tool. With the health, performance, and temps right there, you can ensure it’s performing as well as it can be.
SanDisk WD_Black dashboard overview, Image by PC Guide
SanDisk WD_Black dashboard tools, Image by PC Guide
In the tools section, there are also optimizations you can utilize, including TRIM capability and enabling write cache, both of which aim to improve performance and free up storage space.
SanDisk also offers Acronis True Image as a storage management solution for this NVMe. You can use it to back up the operating systems, files, settings, recover files, or even clone your drives. It’s a handy management software you can get alongside the drive.
Price
At the time of this review, the SanDisk WD_BLACK SN8100 is available at various retailers and in multiple countries, with prices varying depending on the storage capacity. For the 2TB model I’ve been reviewing, it’s the middle-of-the-pack choice and can be found for $279.99/£229.99.
While the 1TB model is available for $179.99/£149.99, the 4TB capacity costs $499.99/£419.99. That is slightly cheaper than the previous PCIe Gen 5 driver I reviewed, the Kingston Fury Renegade Gen 5. As that is priced at $50/£70 more than the SN8100, making the PCIe Gen 5 NVMe drive slightly more affordable. While that is still above the usual pricing of PCIe Gen 4 drives, it is making the faster drives a bit more affordable.
Tests
I then put the NVMe to the test in the PC Guide testing lab. Loading it up on a motherboard with a PCIe Gen 5 NVMe slot and a heatsink that screws onto the storage, moving the heat away. With fans pointed at it as well, it should replicate the kind of environment it would see in a gaming PC. I also compared the results with those of other drives.
The test bench consists of the following components:
- Motherboard: ASUS Prime X870-P WiFi
- CPU: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
- RAM: Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB (64GB, 6600MT/s, CL32)
- CPU Cooler: ROG RYUJIN III 360
- PSU: 1000W Phanteks
CrystalDiskMark
The first test I put it through was CrystalDiskMark. Using the NVMe mode and checking both the default profile and real-world performance with one-gigabyte loads, it provides a look at both the pure and more realistic performance capabilities of the drive.
Sandisk WD_Black SN8100 CrystalDiskMark Real World Performance, Image by PC Guide
Sandisk WD_Black SN8100 CrystalDiskMark default, Image by PC Guide
In these benchmarks, the default performance delivers as you might expect. Actually, it even jumps ahead of the Renegade G5, the other PCIe Gen 5 drive in our graphs. Not by a lot, but by a small margin, as they both load up the extent of the port. With most results within tens to hundreds of Megabytes per Second.
As for the real-world performance profile, all the drives fall short in speed. The Kingston and WD_Black models stay neck and neck, and even the MP600 Pro XT, that’s Gen 4, has a chance to catch up and fight for the lead. Yet for the most part, the SN8100 does still lead ever so slightly.
3DMark storage
For a more standard benchmark, I turned to 3DMark, which uses a range of games to test the speed of a drive. Putting it to real-world performance, it checks the bandwidth speeds and access times to give it a score and a comparative look at what the NVMe can do.
Sandisk WD_Black SN8100 3DMark storage benchmark total score, Image by PC Guide
Sandisk WD_Black SN8100 3DMark storage access time, Image by PC Guide
Sandisk WD_Black SN8100 3DMark storage average bandwidth, Image by PC Guide
Looking at the total score, the SN8100 outperforms the Fury Renegade by approximately 250 points, or about 5%. Whereas the MP600 Pro XT on PCIe Gen 4 gets a score of 2,949, 38% lower than the WD_Black drive.
As for the bandwidth, the SN8100 achieves an average of 804.32MB/s in seven games, with the G5 averaging 761.10MB/s and the Pro XT getting 506.16MB/s. The average access time in the same seven games was 37, 39, and 61 microseconds for each of the NVMes, respectively.
Thermals
I next put the drive through a stress test, using IOMeter to run a 15-minute load split across 66% read and 33% write, which simulates a similar scenario to a workload it might experience.
Measuring the driver temperature and activity using HWInfo gives us a breakdown of the temperature over this time period. Graphed out, we see the temperature slowly rise under the load, reaching a peak of 60°C and jumping between that and 59°C. That seems to happen after around seven minutes, when the loads fluctuate as the read and write activity alternates and temperatures fluctuate.
This does make the drive rather hot, but doesn’t require substantial cooling. In my test bench, all it takes is the motherboard provided heatsink and one fan blowing over it. That might change with a setup contained in an enclosed case, but it shouldn’t be a problem, as it does have an operating temperature up to 85°C.
- Capacity: 1/2/4 TB
- Interface: PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe
- Sequential Read Speed: 14,900MB/s
- Sequential Write Speed: 11,000/14,000/14,000 MB/s
- Random Read Speed: 1.6M/2.3M/2.3M IOPS
- Random Write Speed: 2.4M IOPS
- Endurance: 600/1,200/2,400 TBW
- Controller: Silicon Motion SM2508
- NAND: TLC 3D CBA
- MTBF: 1.75M hours
Conclusion
Overall, the WD_Black SN8100 is an excellent and fast NVMe SSD. Combining superfast speeds at a relatively decent price, the drive is a great competitor in the market. Beating out some of the other Gen 5 drives and, as you might expect, Gen 4 offerings, it is a great option to go for.
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