Question WD SN850

[phillyman36]

Any one using the WD Sn850 nvme drive? Trying to decide on a os drive for Alder Lake when it comes out. I'm trying to decide on either the WD SN850 or if I should just go with a Samsung 980 Pro. Either the 2Tb or 1Tb size.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I am using an SN750 drive. I like the drive management software that came with it.

The Samsung vs WD drive debate is just that. They perform nearly identically.

 

[Shmee]

If you can, get the 2TB version of either drive, as the 2TB versions are a bit faster than the 1TB versions. If I was in the market for another NVMe drive right now, I would get either a 2TB E18 based drive such as the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, or a 2TB 980 Pro or SN 850. I would likely make my choice based on prices/deals at the time.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would get either a 2TB E18 based drive

I believe that MSI makes some E16 and E18-based NVMe SSDs now too, they are new to the market.

 

[CP5670]

They are pretty similar and a bit cheaper than the Samsung ones. I use two SN750s.

 

[Hulk]

I too am building an Alder Lake rig. First I ordered 1TB Samsung EVO 870 Plus because it was so much cheaper than the Pro and performance seemed pretty close. A day later I realized I could buy the 1TB SN850 for $165 on sale and bought that. I'll just return the EVO 870 Plus. The SN850 really seems like a standout performer based on the Anandtech review. These things have gotten so cheap I figured I'd just buy the latest and greatest.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

If you can, get the 2TB version of either drive, as the 2TB versions are a bit faster than the 1TB versions. If I was in the market for another NVMe drive right now, I would get either a 2TB E18 based drive such as the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, or a 2TB 980 Pro or SN 850. I would likely make my choice based on prices/deals at the time.

Generally the SN850 2TB has dipped into the low $300's while the rocket 4 plus has stayed around the $400 mark, so likely the best deal will be an SN850 under $350. At one point it could have been had as low as $315.

The 980 Pro has also been discounted aggressively to compete with the SN 850, but I cannot condone supporting Samsung with quietly switching the Pro series to TLC.

 

[STERKOFF]

Side question: Does anyone know if the SN850 500gb version has the same overall performance as the 1TB? I understand that I won't really see any differences in daily use, but was curious just the same...

 

[UsandThem]

Side question: Does anyone know if the SN850 500gb version has the same overall performance as the 1TB? I understand that I won't really see any differences in daily use, but was curious just the same...

Most of the time, drives under 1TB have slightly lower specs compared to the bigger drives.

Western Digital's spec sheet breaks down the maximum performance based on the drive's size. Their data sheet is here: https://documents.westerndigital.co...ck-ssd/data-sheet-wd-black-sn850-nvme-ssd.pdf

 

[yacoub]

Performance is generally commensurate between Samsung and WD, the primary factor I would consider is write endurance. They seem similar in that regard as well, from what I recall when I researched them. So then I would look to quality. Are 980 Pros or SN850s having more quality issues than the other.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Performance is generally commensurate between Samsung and WD, the primary factor I would consider is write endurance. They seem similar in that regard as well, from what I recall when I researched them. So then I would look to quality. Are 980 Pros or SN850s having more quality issues than the other.

Only quality issue I have seen for either drive is the 980 Pro's firmware write caching issue, which they rolled out a firmware to fix. At this point either should be top tier reliability.

 

[STERKOFF]

As a system drive, would there really be much difference using the SN850 on an X470 PCIE3 vs X570/B550 PCIE4 motherboard? Would it just be the sequential read/write speeds that are knee-capped around 3k+ on PCIE 3? Would random / IOPS still remain the same? Curious for those like me in a position of having an X470, wanting to get a new system drive, and thinking about moving it over to a PCIE 4 motherboard when I upgrade to next motherboard. Does some of the random performance come through on PCIE 3.0 lanes so that I get some benefits now? Keep in mind I understand that were getting into the nitty gritty here since all NVME drives are fast so not expecting much one way or the other, but most reviews do not cover this scenario.