The new Western Digital SN770 NVMe SSD (WD_Black SN770) is to replace the previous mid-range SN750 model and finally brings PCI Express 4.0 connectivity to the storage mid-range. The WD_Black series refers to the manufacturer’s fastest storage solutions, which are primarily aimed at gamers.
Western Digital SN770: WD_BLACK SN770 for gamers
With the new WD_Black SN770, manufacturer Western Digital finally presents a successor to the SN750 SSD, which is popular among gamers. The most exciting innovation is the faster PCI Express 4.0 connection, which achieves higher speeds than the SN750 with PCIe 3.0.
The manufacturer does not provide concrete details about the controller or the memory used, but the technical data makes us want to know more. Thus, the Western Digital SN770 reaches speeds of up to 5.15 GB/s in sequential read and around 5 GB/s in sequential write in the 1 TB and 2 TB storage capacity variants.
Up to 614,000 IOPS
These are strong values, although top models from other manufacturers with PCIe 4.0 sometimes reach over 7 GB per second. The rates of 512,000 IOPS and 614,000 IOPS are also on a good level, even though the (much more expensive) competition sometimes offers twice as much.
Western Digital records a mean time to failure (MTTF) of 1.75 million hours. A write load of 600 terabytes is allowed within the warranty period – both rates are on the usual market level of current SSDs that rely on a TLC memory with triple-level cells, i.e. three bits per cell. Typically, the manufacturer gives a 5-year warranty on the WD_Black SN770.
The NVMe SSD in the M.2280 form factor is offered in capacities of 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB, with the two largest models boasting faster speeds and longer lifespans.
Interesting: The magazine Heise already had the variant with 1 TB memory available for a test. In the PCmark 10 benchmark test, the Western Digital SN770 scored 3345 points and thus outperformed the previous front-runners in the form of the Crucial P5 Plus and Samsung SSD 980 Pro.
Gaming Mode
Manufacturer Western Digital also advertises the WD_BLACK SN770 with a special Gaming Mode that can be enabled within the SSD’s management software. By disabling the low power state, this is supposed to reduce the latency of the storage. Albeit at the cost of a minimally higher energy requirement.
Prices and availability
The Western Digital SN770 NVMe SSDs in the four storage sizes are available in stores now. Pricing starts at an MSRP of 66.99 euros for the 250 GB variant. The 500 GB model is priced at 99.99 euros, and 168.99 euros are called for 1 TB of storage. The top model with 2 TB capacity is 402.99 Euros. The prices in real-life stores will probably be more or less below the RRP as soon as they are available.
