Despite Sandisk separating from Western Digital, the company is still making and selling SSDs under the WD brand. The company just revealed the WD_Black SN8100, a PCIe 5.0 SSD with lightning-fast read and write speeds.
This is a high-end NVMe SSD, offering impressive read and write speeds of up to 14,900 MB/s and 14,000 MB/s for the 2TB and 4TB models. Its random performance goes beyond 2,300,000 IOPS, showing a major upgrade compared to older versions. The drive comes in sizes ranging from 1TB to 4TB, with an 8TB model expected later this year.
The WD_Black SN8100 NVMe SSD is faster and uses much less power than Sandisk’s earlier PCIe Gen 4.0 SSDs, with over 100% better efficiency. This improved power efficiency and an average operating power of 7W or less help boost system performance and reduce the need for heavy cooling solutions. The drive’s durability is also impressive, with the 4TB model rated for up to 2,400 TBW, meaning it can handle demanding tasks like high-resolution video editing, gaming, and AI applications.
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Sandisk offers the WD_Black SN8100 in two versions: a standard model and one with a heatsink. The heatsink version uses a low-profile passive cooling system made of anodized aluminum, so it doesn’t need loud fans or extra power. A customizable RGB LED lets users match the drive’s look to their PC setup.
Sandisk’s continued use of the WD_Black brand after splitting from Western Digital is interesting. Even though Sandisk is now independent and building its own brand, it seems to be taking advantage of the strong reputation and customer trust linked to the WD_Black brand, especially in gaming and high-performance computing.
This could mean that this device was already in production, and the deal stated it could be finished. In other words, this could be the result of existing licensing deals or temporary agreements between the two companies. If this continues, then there may be an ongoing partnership, even after the split into its own publicly-traded company. So Sandisk definitely has the money to make a new line, but it’s a good idea to continue an established winner for as long as possible. Either way, we’ll have to wait and see if more SSDs will come in the WD_Black line.
You can buy all the models on the official Sandisk website. The standard WD_Black SN8100 SSD starts at $179.99 for the 1TB model, $279.99 for the 2TB model, and $549.99 for the 4TB model. The heatsink versions cost a little more, with the 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB models priced at $199.99, $299.99, and $569.99, respectively.
Source: Sandisk
