Western Digital Black 1TB NVMe Review

Conclusion

It is amazing how quickly we have got used to the speeds able to be delivered to us by the NVMe technology and its M.2 drives. It barely seems five minutes ago we were having to pick our jaws up off the floor at the latest SSD which brought bandwidth saturating 550MB/s speeds to the table, and here we are with a model which gets 3 GB/s under the right circumstances.

Western Digital are most famous for their huge capacity mechanical drives. Every technology has a brand which defines the era and in the world of spinning platters it is the San Jose company that is uppermost. Whether for their affordable reliable offerings or the famous 10000 RPM Raptor range which was as fast as it was possible to get, when you think mechanicals you probably think Western Digital.

In the world of SSD or even NVMe drives one name usually stands out and and it’s Samsung. Other companies produce fast models, but no matter how quick certain attempts have been, generally if you’re seeking the obvious choice then you’ll have gone with Samsung. With the WD Black they have entered the fray and banged straight out of the gate with a model which trades blows with the fastest drives in our graphs.

Often a new product launch, even by a well experienced company, is accompanied by a little bit of refinement whilst they work out the weak points and smooth them over. Even with their decades of experience in the mechanical world and acquisition of SanDisk one could be forgiven for expecting the Western Digital Black to be very good but not quite hitting it out of the park. Apparently the transition from the mechanical world to the solid state world is one that WD can handle with aplomb, and thus the WD Black pumps out scores in nearly every test and scenario that are at least a match for the fire breathing Samsung options that dominate the marketplace.

The WD Black is available in three capacities, 250GB, 500GB and the model we have for review here, the 1TB. With 5 year warranties and extremely attractive speeds coupled to affordable pricing, the Western Digital Black 1TB NVMe wins our OC3D Performance Award.

  

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