Everything that decides whether the WD Black SN850X is the right drive: controller, DRAM, NAND, rated endurance, PS5 and laptop fit, and how it compares with the obvious alternatives. Hardware facts are taken from the reviews and datasheets listed at the bottom; capacities and speeds come from our comparison of 60 drives.
Who it’s for: A main drive for gaming PCs and the PS5 (heatsink versions at 1–4TB): TLC with DRAM, top-tier Gen 4 speed, five-year warranty, and one of the few Gen 4 drives offered at 8TB. Skip it for: PCIe 5.0 systems that can use more bandwidth, and laptops that need a single-sided drive at 4TB.
| Controller | WD in-house (reviewers identify it as an updated WD G2) |
| DRAM cache | Yes |
| NAND | BiCS5 112-layer TLC |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe, M.2 2280 |
| Heatsink version | Sold bare or with a heatsink: heatsink versions launched at 1TB and 2TB, and a 4TB heatsink model (WDS400T2XHE) followed. |
| Capacity | Seq. read | Seq. write | Endurance | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 TB | 7,300 MB/s | 6,300 MB/s | 600 TBW | 5 yr |
| 2 TB | 7,300 MB/s | 6,600 MB/s | 1,200 TBW | 5 yr |
| 4 TB | 7,300 MB/s | 6,600 MB/s | 2,400 TBW | 5 yr |
Rated endurance is 600 TBW at 1TB, 1,200 TBW at 2TB, 2,400 TBW at 4TB. We could not confirm the rating for the 8TB model from a primary source, so it is left blank. Speeds are the manufacturer’s sequential ratings.
Every WD Black SN850X capacity in our comparison, smallest first.
| $/TB | $/GB | Price | Capacity | Interface | Gen | Read | Write | NAND | Warranty | Cond. | Product |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $246.99BEST | $0.247 | $246.99 | 1 TB | M.2 NVMe | Gen 4 | 7,300 MB/s | 6,300 MB/s | TLC | 5 yr | New | WD Black SN850X 1TB· 3rd-partyAmazon ↗ |
| $209.95 | $0.210 | $419.90 | 2 TB | M.2 NVMe | Gen 4 | 7,300 MB/s | 6,600 MB/s | TLC | 5 yr | New | WD Black SN850X 2TB· 3rd-partyAmazon ↗ |
| $196.80 | $0.197 | $787.21 | 4 TB | M.2 NVMe | Gen 4 | 7,300 MB/s | 6,600 MB/s | TLC | 5 yr | New | WD Black SN850X 4TB· 3rd-partyAmazon ↗ |
Full list of qualifying drives: PS5-compatible SSDs.
Samsung 990 Pro: its closest rival: Gen 4, TLC, DRAM and the same endurance.
| WD Black SN850X | Samsung 990 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe Gen 4 | PCIe Gen 4 |
| Seq. read | 7,300 MB/s | 7,450 MB/s |
| Seq. write | 6,600 MB/s | 6,900 MB/s |
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM cache | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | 5 yr | 5 yr |
WD Black SN8100: WD's Gen 5 successor for PCIe 5.0 slots.
| WD Black SN850X | WD Black SN8100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe Gen 4 | PCIe Gen 5 |
| Seq. read | 7,300 MB/s | 14,900 MB/s |
| Seq. write | 6,600 MB/s | 14,000 MB/s |
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM cache | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | 5 yr | 5 yr |
We show retail prices only while we can refresh them at least every 24 hours. For market context: TrendForce’s 16 Oct 2026 retail sample runs $133–$250 per TB for mainstream 1–2TB drives, and NAND contract prices are forecast +15 to +20% for 4Q26. Check any listing against that range with the price per TB calculator, and see the SSD price chart for the trend.
Hardware facts on this page come from:
Where reviews disagreed (for example on NAND layer counts or a capacity’s endurance rating) we state only what the sources agree on.