At their digital What’s Next event, Western Digital showcased some new tech that is sure to turn some heads. Two new gaming drives joined some fantastic purpose-built spinning platters and SSDs that are really stretching the limits of what’s possible, both in terms of speed and storage capacity. Whether it’s their new consumer 22TB and 26 TB SMR drives (that’s shingled magnetic recording — high-density HDDs), their PCIe Gen 4 enterprise SN650 NVMe, or their two WD_Black gaming drives, there is a lot on the horizon for this year. Since it’s probably most relevant to your interest, let’s get into the two gaming drives — the WD_Black SN850X, and the WD_Black P40 Game Drive SSD.
The SN850X is their newest, and fastest, SSD on offer. PCIe Gen4, the drive sports a staggering 7,300 MB/s read speed. It does so with what the team is calling “predictive loading” and a new spin on thermal management with an RGB twist on their 1TB and 2TB models (a 4TB model is also coming, but looks like that’s built for capacity, not a color explosion). You won’t have to wait long for it either, the WD_Black SN850X is coming in July of this year, starting at $189 for the 1TB model.
The second gaming-focused drive is an update on the P-series portable drives. Dubbed the P40,this portable SSD is coming our way with a 2,000 MB/s read speed, customizable RGB, and is reasonably priced at $119.99 for the 500GB model, with a 1TB and 2TB capacity shipping as well. No word on a ship date for those yet beyond “Summer”, so that’s likely a shorter wait as well.
WD_Black has continued to excel in the gaming space, offering more than just speed and capacity, and this update on the 850 line should raise eyebrows for anyone building a new Gen4 system. The pricing looks like it hits a bullseye for price to performance ratio as well. We’ll be looking to get our hands on these drives in the near future, so stay tuned for all those tasty benchmarks.
Ron Burke is the Editor in Chief for Gaming Trend. Currently living in Fort Worth, Texas, Ron is an old-school gamer who enjoys CRPGs, action/adventure, platformers, music games, and has recently gotten into tabletop gaming.
Ron is also a fourth degree black belt, with a Master's rank in Matsumura Seito Shōrin-ryū, Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do, Universal Tang Soo Do Alliance, and International Tang Soo Do Federation. He also holds ranks in several other styles in his search to be a well-rounded fighter.
Ron has been married to Gaming Trend Editor, Laura Burke, for 28 years. They have three dogs - Pazuzu (Irish Terrier), Atë, and Calliope (both Australian Kelpie/Pit Bull mixes), and an Axolotl named Dagon!
See below for our list of partners and affiliates:
Buy Now
Buy Now
Buy Now
Buy Now
Buy Now
Buy Now
Buy Now
Buy Now
Buy Now
