Our Take
The SN850X is WD_BLACK's flagship PCIe Gen4 NVMe drive, aimed at PC gamers and creators wanting fast load times and snappy file transfers without paying for a bundled heatsink. This 2TB, bare-board version suits desktops with their own M.2 heatsink or slot cooling, or laptops where a tall heatsink won't fit. It sits at the premium end of consumer Gen4 storage.
Key Features
PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe interface in M.2 2280 form factor
Rated sequential read/write speeds up to 7300MB/s and 6600MB/s
WD's own in-house SSD controller paired with 112-layer TLC NAND
600TB total bytes written (TBW) endurance rating on the 2TB capacity
5-year limited warranty
WD_BLACK Dashboard software for drive health monitoring, firmware updates and a game-mode toggle
Our Verdict
Buy this if you already have motherboard cooling or want the SN850X's performance in a laptop or console with no room for a heatsink. Desktop builders without existing M.2 cooling should get the heatsinked version instead, and budget-conscious buyers who don't need top-tier speed can find cheaper Gen4 drives that do the job.