Today at its Flash Perspective event, Western Digital made the somewhat odd choice of rebranding its very popular G-Technology line as SanDisk Professional. I say somewhat odd as the brand was very popular and they seem to be keeping the branding but want customers to think of it as something else and new. Just like the G-Technology line, the “new” SanDisk Professional brand is comprised of premium storage solutions that are aimed at content creators of creative professionals. WD also announced that it was expanding its WD_BLACK gaming portfolio with three new SSDs.
Today at its Flash Perspective event, Western Digital made the somewhat odd choice of rebranding its very popular G-Technology line as SanDisk Professional. I say somewhat odd as the brand was very popular and they seem to be keeping the branding but want customers to think of it as something else and new. Just like the G-Technology line, the “new” SanDisk Professional brand is comprised of premium storage solutions that are aimed at content creators of creative professionals. WD also announced that it was expanding its WD_BLACK gaming portfolio with three new SSDs.
SanDisk Professional Line
G-Technology has been around for a long time and is well known by creative professionals including those in Hollywood. The needs of these users are changing and SanDisk is looking to keep up while still providing top quality. Building on this foundation, the SanDisk Professional line will feature 16 modular workflow solutions. Some of the highlights include:
- PRO-CINEMA CFexpress VPG400 – An all-new professional-grade, rugged CFexpress card for videographers and cinematographers needing superior, uninterrupted performance with video recording at a minimum of 400MB/s to keep up with the demands facing today’s videography, broadcast, and cinema industries. The new card is expected to be available this summer.
- PRO-READER series – Four new PRO-READER devices that feature a USB-C interface that supports SuperSpeed USB 10Gbs. Designed to work with the latest and most common camera media including CFast, CFexpress, RED Mini-Mag, CF, microSD, and SD cards. The series of PRO-READERS are expected to be available this summer.
- PRO-DOCK 4 – A new 4-bay reader docking station that can bridge capture and ingest with a scalable offloading solution that can save critical time and money on multi-camera productions. The PRO-DOCK 4, expected to be available later this summer, enables up to four simultaneous card offloads.
- A new 4TB G-DRIVE ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD along with the trusted line up of G-DRIVE ultra-rugged portable drives, desktop devices featuring enterprise-grade Ultrastar drives, and G-RAID and G-RAID SHUTTLE transportable, enterprise-grade RAID solutions that offer an exceptional range of reliable, high-performance, high-capacity drives for everything from transfer to 100TB+ back up and archive for all types of mission-critical content. The broad range of new drives is expected to begin rolling out by early June.
WD_BLACK Expansion
Moving from creative professionals to those that enjoy the fruits of those labors, WD has video game-related announcements too. Expanding its WD_BLACK portfolio, the company announced three new SSDs aimed at consoles and PC gamers alike.
First up is PC gamers. Here WD is releasing the WD_BLACK SN750 SE NVMe SSD. This is the next step from its earlier WD_Black SN750 we looked at a couple of years ago. The big difference with the SE is that it leverages PCIe Gen4 technology and all the performance benefits that come with that. The drive is DRAM-less but says it can still deliver up to 3.6GB/s read speeds, only slightly better than the non-SE version. The drive comes in capacities up to 1TB and uses 30% less power.
WD_BLACK SN750 SE NVMe SSD Key Specs
| Capacities | 250GB | 500GB | 1TB |
| Interface | PCIe Gen4 | ||
| Performance | |||
| Sequential read | 3.2GB/s | 3.6GB/s | 3.6GB/s |
| Sequential write | 1GB/s | 2GB/s | 2.03GB/s |
| Endurance | 200TBW | 300TBW | 600TBW |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 80mm x 22mm x 2.38mm | ||
| Weight | 7.5g | ||
| Operating Temp | 32°F to 160°F (0°C to 70°C) | ||
| Non-operating temp | -67°F to 185°F (-55°C to 85°C) | ||
| Warranty | 5-year limited | ||
On to the consoles. For general consoles (though they state it works with PlayStation 5) there is the WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD. This SSD comes with up to 2TB of capacity (roughly 50 games) and has speeds up to 900MB/s. The drive comes with a detachable stand to place next to your console.
The last SSD is the same as the above though built specifically for the Xbox, the WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD for Xbox. While it offers the same benefits as the above, it has an Xbox-inspired design. It also comes with a 1-month membership to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Availability
The new WD_BLACK SN750 SE NVMe SSD is expected to be available this summer starting at $55. The WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD and WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD for Xbox are available now with starting prices of $90 and $100 respectively.
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