Today Western Digital expanded its gaming portfolio, WD_BLACK, with even more drives and a gaming dock. These new products include a PCIe Gen4 SSD, the WD_BLACK SN850, an AIC NVMe SSD, the WD_BLACK AN1500, and the aforementioned dock, the WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock. All the new devices leverage the NVMe interface and bring new speeds to gamers.
Today Western Digital expanded its gaming portfolio, WD_BLACK, with even more drives and a gaming dock. These new products include a PCIe Gen4 SSD, the WD_BLACK SN850, an AIC NVMe SSD, the WD_BLACK AN1500, and the aforementioned dock, the WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock. All the new devices leverage the NVMe interface and bring new speeds to gamers.
Gaming has moved beyond the niche to the mainstream, with professional eSports emerging. As the demographic of the gamer has changed, so has the equipment landscape. Games are getting more and more advanced and need the latest hardware to support them. Noting this, WD has released new storage products in its WD_BLACK gaming line aimed at giving gamers both more capacity and better performance when playing.
First up is the new PCIe Gen4 internal SSD, the WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD. Leveraging PCIe Gen4 lets the SN850 hit speeds up to 7GB/s read and 5.3GB/s write, on the 1TB model. Aside from Gen4 technology, the SSD also uses the WD_BLACK G2 controller, improved low queue-depth performance, and a new cache technology. Not only will this speed up level loading times, it will make the PC run faster overall. The WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD has an optional RGB-enabled heatsink model for a cool look as well as longer peak performance. The non-heatsink version will be available in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities starting at $149.99.
For those still using motherboard with PCIe Gen3 interface, there is the new WD_BLACK AN1500 NVMe SSD Add-in-Card. This is a fully bootable plug and play add-in card. The card leverages RAID0 with two SSDs to hit speeds up to 6.5GB/s read and 4.1GB/s write. This AIC comes with customizable RGB lighting along with an integrated heatsink. The SN1500 comes in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities starting at $299.99.
Finally, there is the WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock NVMe SSD. For users with a Thunderbolt 3-compatible computer, this dock will give them a gaming station through a single cord. Built in NVMe technology speeds up games and the dock provides several ports for accessories. Like the above devices, the dock too, comes with RGB lighting for something a little extra. The WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock NVMe SSD is available in a 1TB capacity starting at $499.99.
Availability
- The WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD standard non-heatsink model is expected to be available for purchase before the end of October 2020. The WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD heatsink model is expected to be available for purchase in the first calendar quarter of 2021.
- The WD_BLACK AN1500 NVMe SSD Add-in-Card is now available for purchase at select Western Digital retailers, e-tailers, resellers, system integrators and the Western Digital store.
- The WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock and WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock NVMe SSD is now available for pre-order at select Western Digital retailers, e-tailers, resellers, system integrators and the Western Digital store.
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