Western Digital WD Black SN750 is a High-end NVMe SSD with a Chunky Heatsink

[btarunr]

Western Digital over the weekend refreshed its high-end client-segment SSD lineup with the WD Black SN750. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface and support for the NVMe 1.3 protocol, the drive combines a refreshed in-house developed controller with SanDisk-made 64-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory, cushioned by up to 2 GB of DRAM cache. The biggest change this drive offers over last Summer's WD Black 3D series, however, is the optional aluminium heatsink originally made by EK Waterblocks, which improves the drive's thermals and possibly sustained performance. You can opt to buy the drive without this heatsink.

Available in capacities of 250 GB for $80, 500 GB for $130, 1 TB for $250, and 2 TB for $500, the WD Black SN750 offers sequential transfer rates of up to 3470 MB/s reads on the 500 GB and 1 TB models. The 250 GB model reads at up to 3100 MB/s, and the 2 TB model up to 3400 MB/s. Sequential write speeds, too, are improved across the board, with up to 3000 MB/s for the 1 TB model, up to 2900 MB/s for the 2 TB model, up to 2600 MB/s for the 500 GB model, and up to 1600 MB/s for the 250 GB model. 4K random-access numbers can be as high as 515,000 IOPS reads. All models are backed by 5-year product warranties.



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[TheLostSwede]

Only real improvement is in the MSRP and the capacity. I guess we've hit a new plateau for SSDs in terms of performance until we either get faster NAND or PCIe 4.0.
The retail price of the previous gen Black is lower though.

 

[TesterAnon]

First time i see a SSD that comes with a real heatsink and not a plate for gimmicks.

 

[kastriot]

Excellent specs, and like always skyhigh prices.

 

[cucker tarlson]

looks fancy

 

[ratirt]

Does it really need a heat sink? Didn't know that SSD heat up so much and would require a heat sink. Maybe this one does.

 

[dj-electric]

Only real improvement is in the MSRP and the capacity. I guess we've hit a new plateau for SSDs in terms of performance until we either get faster NAND or PCIe 4.0.
The retail price of the previous gen Black is lower though.

Yeah, only problem is that bottleneck for users is not even there. Time to start chasing real, organic access time and 4K speeds instead of trying to beat each other with who can copy a blu ray movie the fastest. Currently the Optane 905 stands as the reigning king in a kingdom of its own.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Yeah, only problem is that bottleneck for users is not even there. Time to start chasing real, organic access time and 4K speeds instead of trying to beat each other with who can copy a blu ray movie the fastest. Currently the Optane 905 stands as the reigning king in a kingdom of its own.

By faster NAND I meant improved 4K speeds, but maybe that wasn't clear.
Sadly the Optane drives are unobtanium for most normal people...
But yes, this is where we need to see improvements now, as the sequential performance is at a point where any more gains are mostly pointless.
It does look like the new PCIe 4.0 controllers, based on the single point of reference from CES, have improved 4K performance as well, if only slightly and mostly on the write side.
https://www.phison.com/en/company/n...general/971-consumer-electronics-show-2019_en
Admittedly that's for a 250GB drive, so we might see slightly better numbers with more NAND. They're not using the default test settings though, so the numbers are a bit skewed.

Does it really need a heat sink? Didn't know that SSD heat up so much and would require a heat sink. Maybe this one does.

It helps reduce throttling over time, so for long writes, it should do something, assuming there's enough air circulation around the SSD and it's not underneath your graphics card. It also looks cool, no?

Excellent specs, and like always skyhigh prices.

$250 MSPR is sky high for a 1TB NVMe drive? I guess we have different opinions about sky high pricing then.

 

[cucker tarlson]

760p can already deliver that random 4k r/w

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8490/intel-760p-512gb-2-nvme-pcie-ssd-review/index5.html

 

[Assimilator]

760p can already deliver that random 4k r/w

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8490/intel-760p-512gb-2-nvme-pcie-ssd-review/index5.html

Are you talking about the WD Black or the new Phison controller?

 

[kastriot]

By faster NAND I meant improved 4K speeds, but maybe that wasn't clear.
Sadly the Optane drives are unobtanium for most normal people...
But yes, this is where we need to see improvements now, as the sequential performance is at a point where any more gains are mostly pointless.
It does look like the new PCIe 4.0 controllers, based on the single point of reference from CES, have improved 4K performance as well, if only slightly and mostly on the write side.
https://www.phison.com/en/company/n...general/971-consumer-electronics-show-2019_en
Admittedly that's for a 250GB drive, so we might see slightly better numbers with more NAND. They're not using the default test settings though, so the numbers are a bit skewed.


It helps reduce throttling over time, so for long writes, it should do something, assuming there's enough air circulation around the SSD and it's not underneath your graphics card. It also looks cool, no?


$250 MSPR is sky high for a 1TB NVMe drive? I guess we have different opinions about sky high pricing then.

In comparision with 2TB HDD yes it's super expensive but relatively cheap if your monthly wage is 5000-10000 euros.

 

[cucker tarlson]

Are you talking about the WD Black or the new Phison controller?

the controller

 

[TheLostSwede]

In comparision with 2TB HDD yes it's super expensive but relatively cheap if your monthly wage is 5000-10000 euros.

Yeah, I don't make that kind of money, but I still think it's very reasonable pricing for what you get.
Each to their own I guess.

the controller

You can't compare CrystalDiskMark 3.x and 6.x numbers, they're not apples to apples comparable.

 

[Keullo-e]

Does it really need a heat sink? Didn't know that SSD heat up so much and would require a heat sink. Maybe this one does.

Many NVMe drives can get pretty warm and could throttle which recudes performance, just like a CPU or GPU.

 

[R0H1T]

Only real improvement is in the MSRP and the capacity. I guess we've hit a new plateau for SSDs in terms of performance until we either get faster NAND or PCIe 4.0.
The retail price of the previous gen Black is lower though.

More like controller+firmware & in some cases thermal issues.
There are faster PCIe 3.0 drives out there, but all of them will run hot - while some run super hot, though we will need PCIe 4.0 to break 10GBps mark for a single drive.

 

[Animalpak]

Nice looking heatsink but all motherboards especially mid and high end comes all with own heatsink so this is already unecessary.

 

[bonehead123]

Nice looking heatsink but all motherboards especially mid and high end comes all with own heatsink so this is already unecessary.

If the heatsink is any where as nice as ekwb's other heatsinks (which I have on both my drives), then it is probably way better than the majority of the ones that come with mobos, which from what I have seen up till now, are basically thin & cheap metal strips with some thermal pads or foam liners....

 

[Upgrayedd]

In comparision with 2TB HDD yes it's super expensive but relatively cheap if your monthly wage is 5000-10000 euros.

Way faster than a HDD too...in comparison*

 

[ratirt]

Many NVMe drives can get pretty warm and could throttle which recudes performance, just like a CPU or GPU.

Really? I know the temp rises while they work but didn't realize so much it would require heat spreader. I don't think my drives' temp. rises that much. I haven't noted anything worrying anyway.

Nice looking heatsink but all motherboards especially mid and high end comes all with own heatsink so this is already unecessary.

I dont't think they do come with a heat spreader. Can you give an example? My board didn't have any heat spreader. Maybe you are confusing this holding plate with a heat spreader.

 

[cucker tarlson]

Really? I know the temp rises while they work but didn't realize so much it would require heat spreader. I don't think my drives' temp. rises that much. I haven't noted anything worrying anyway.


I dont't think they do come with a heat spreader. Can you give an example? My board didn't have any heat spreader. Maybe you are confusing this holding plate with a heat spreader.

it's probably you confusing a heatspreader for a "holding plate".though the msi shiled is one of the worst out there,it traps heat more than it dissipates it

no cooler

m.2 shield

basic passive heatsink (aquaccomputer m.2 micro)

a quality m.2 heatsink (m.2 evo)

 

[ratirt]

it's probably you confusing a heatspreader for a "holding plate".though the msi shiled is one of the worst out there,it traps heat more than it dissipates it

no cooler

m.2 shield

basic passive heatsink (aquaccomputer m.2 micro)

a quality m.2 heatsink (m.2 evo)

Not sure about you or the others here but for me it has nothing to do with a heat spreader. It's more of a marketing scheme than a "heat spreader". High end and Mid range you say? My board is mid range and it is not a heat spreader especially with the paper and/or foil glued to it. Maybe the top notch boards have it but mine surely doesn't and I bet most mid range boards don't like Asus X470 pro. I bought my computer 2 months ago and believe me I have done my research about this. It's one thing to call it a heat spreader and other thing if it really is a heat spreader. For me it isn't. It's a holding plate or you can say it's a protection plate when your m.2's socket is under the video card. That's what my board has. The other socket doesn't have a "heat spreader" whatsoever.

 

[bajs11]

doesn't look to be much better than the Samsung 970 EVO
and yet very similarly priced with the same endurance