This SSD puts the competition to shame. This is top performance for PC and consoles (Test)

Sandisk is a company known not only by passionate enthusiasts of new technologies. We are talking about a functioning American leader in the flash memory market since 1988. For almost a decade he was a part of it Western Digital Corporationbut last year it separated and became independent again. Sandisk is a very large player in the NAND and SSD market, responsible for approximately 10-13% of the global sharewhich puts it at the forefront, behind companies such as Samsung, SK hynix and Micron.

Today we are taking their top-ranked model, i.e WD_Black SN8100 in the 2 TB version, which will soon be known as Sandisk Optimus GX Pro 8100. This is a standard semiconductor medium M.2 2280 and using the interface PCI Express 5.0 x4 and protocol NVMe 2.0. It was decided to connect the controller Silicon Motion SM2508 and bones Kioxia BiCS8 (3D TLC NAND). It completes it DDR4 cache.

They are on sale four capacity variants – 1, 2, 4 and 8 TB and a version with and without the factory radiator. Traditionally, they differ slightly in their declared efficiency. The manufacturer promises us dizzying results up to 14,900 MB/s for reading and up to 14,000 MB/s for sequential writing and up to 2,400,000 IOPS for reading and up to 2,300,000 IOPS for random writing.

The Telepolis editorial test platform includes components prepared for almost everything that manufacturers offer to the consumer market. The computer is based on the top model of the Intel Arrow Lake processor. The exact specification is as follows:

• Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
• Motherboard: MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk WiFi
• RAM: Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 RGB CUDIMM (2x 24 GB, 8400 MHz, CL 40)
• Graphics card: GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB MASTER
• Charger: Cooler Master MWE Gold V2 1050 W
• Case: Fractal North XL
• Cooling: Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB
• Thermal paste: SilentiumPC Pactum PT-4

We conduct tests on the current Windows 10 system. Background programs are kept to a minimumand component management applications are disabled. This is to ensure constant measurement conditions and eliminate variables. Each test is performed several times (5 to 10 times) and then an average value is obtained.

For measurements, we used popular and proven programs in the latest versions, including: CrystalDiskMark, PCMark 10 and 3DMark. In addition, there were practical tests using specially prepared file packages:

• 12,500 JPG files with a total weight of 30.5 GB
• 3 MKV files with a total weight of 48 GB
• 1 file weighing 63 GB

The first test aims to verify the manufacturer’s declarations regarding read and write speeds. It is performed using CrystalDiskMark. The measurements took place not on the default settings, but in the NVMe SSD profile. Three different packages were checked – 16 MiB, 1 GiB and 32 GiB. Each measurement taken fromhe was defeated five times in three series. Then the whole thing was added up to calculate the average.

In case of sequential reading WD_Black SN8100 differs significantly from the manufacturer’s declaration – instead of 14.9 GB/s we see an average of 12.1 GB/s. Despite everything these are still top transfers that leave the previous generation flagships far behind based on the PCI Express 4.0 x4 interface. Importantly, the competitive Kingston FURY Renegade G5 offers the same speeds with almost identical components.

Sequential recording looks much better. Not only is it faster, but it is also closer to the specifications promises – about 13.4 GB/s. This allows you to overtake the flagship from Samsung, but also the first PCIe 5.0 x4 SSD models from very popular companies in Poland, such as ADATA or Patriot.

The next series of tests concerns reading and writing again, but randomly. Here, many tested SSDs experience significant drops. And these are the types of speeds that most users will observe on a daily basis.

In the case of random reading, Sandisk has reasons to be satisfied because it landed at the top of the table. Basically ex aequo with the already mentioned Kingston FURY Renegade G5, which uses the identical Silicon Motion SM2508 + Kioxia BiCS8 connection. This is also the case about 20% better result than the heavily advertised Samsung 9100 Pro.

Random recording looks a bit worse, but still decent – here the Americans drop to 3-4th place. However, this will be important mainly in the case of workstations, i.e. a lot of files that are processed frequently (e.g. video processing). Home users – internet, office suite, games, etc. – should rather look at the reading, because this is what their SSD usually does.

Benchmarks are often referred to as “blank numbers.” The truth is, however, that while some of them do not actually make much sense, there are still several proven solutions on the market with repeatable scenarios. One of them is PCMark 10 with “Full Drive Benchmark”. It records approximately 204 GB of data and measures speeds and access times.

Another of our selected test programs also comes from UL Benchmarks. We are talking about the well-known and respected 3DMark with the less known “Storage Benchmark” scenario. It is noticeably shorter than PCMark 10 and geared more towards gamers. It includes seven different tests including:

• Battlefield V Loading;
• Loading Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
• Loading Overwatch Game;
• Copying the folder with the Counter Strike: Global Offensive game;
• Game video recording (OBS, 1080p, 60 FPS);
• Installing The Outer Worlds game;
• Game save in The Outer Worlds.

Benchmarks confirm that WD_Black SN8100 is an incredibly efficient medium. It is suitable for both work and gaming PCs. It is hot on the heels of Kingston, and the main differences probably result from the firmware used – which you will see in the later parts of the test. The advantage over Samsung is visible to the naked eye.

It’s time to stop with artificial tests and move on to practical tests. To start with, we take the scenario of copying small files. We used it for this purpose a package consisting of 12,500 photos in *.jpg format. We are talking about various resolutions and sizes (from 72 KB to 50 MB), but most of them are standard graphics ranging in size from 1 to 5 MB. As in every case, the test was carried out several times and then an average was taken.

Here comes the first clash with reality, which is unfortunately painful. WD_Black SN8100 is very fast, but it can lose to the previous generation flagships. I was so surprised that I repeated the test several times – without any major changes. It’s hard for me to say clearly whether it’s a matter of aggressively monitoring temperatures or slower cache memory.

When copying medium files we are talking about a folder with three films in *.mkv format, which gives us a total of over 48 GB. Again, the test was performed on the same medium several times to obtain the arithmetic average. Less copy time means better results.

Luckily the situation in the case of medium and large files looks normal – Sandisk offers what other top PCIe 5.0 x4 SSDs offer. The difference between individual models is literally a few seconds, which is impossible to notice in everyday use.

We already know the performance, but what do the temperatures look like? After all, they affect the life of the equipment. It’s no secret that efficient SSDs like to heat up. Especially in tight spaces like a laptop or console. Measurements were performed during long-term file copying in a well-ventilated, closed computer housing. None of the media was under the graphics card. The room temperature was 25°C.

A big advantage of WD_Black SN8100 is low temperaturesespecially since we tested the version without a radiator. This will be an advantage for people considering this SSD for the PlayStation 5 (Pro) console or a laptop, although it may be warmer there due to poorer air circulation. Despite everything you don’t have to worry about thermal throttling.

WD_Black SN8100 is A very successful SSD that I can confidently recommend. The Americans did not use the hackneyed Phison+Micron combination, but instead chose newer components. I’m talking about controller from Silicon Motion and 3D TLC NAND chips developed in cooperation with Kioxia. Effect? It is one of the most efficient media on the market. And all this with low power consumption (up to 7.5 W under load) and temperatures.

Good performance is visible both in synthetic programs and real applications. There was a slight hiccup with small files (a package of 12,500 photos), but the transfer time was OK. It is also worth appreciating the wide range of capacities – from 1 to 8 TBas well as a version with a factory heatsink, which will please Sony PlayStation 5 (Pro) owners.

Are there any disadvantages? In the product itself, basically no. However, it should be remembered that the PCI Express 5.0 interface is still mainly the domain of more expensive motherboards and laptops. If you have a computer from years ago, it is quite possible that you will not use its full potentialbecause your M.2 slots are limited to PCI Express 4.0 x4.

The biggest problem is the price. Due to the artificial intelligence craze, and NAND memory (and DRAM) being sucked out of the market by AI centers, the availability of WD_Black SN8100 varies greatly. In just a few days I observed shortages and jumps from PLN 1,399 to PLN 2,599. Is it worth paying so much? In the case of a workstation – yes, as a carrier for a home SSD – no. It’s better to get something cheaper and pay the difference for the CPU or GPU.