Tech enthusiasts and power users can rejoice. SanDisk has just unveiled the WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD, a blazing-fast PCIe Gen 5.0 storage solution poised to redefine high-performance gaming, AI applications and content creation. Or at least on paper that’s what they claim. We’ll see real world performance soon enough once reviewers get their hands on the device.
Touting speeds of up to 14,900 MB/s and storage capacities reaching 8TB, this next-gen NVMe SSD is built to meet the demands of cutting-edge workflows and immersive gaming experiences. For those looking to future-proof their rigs, the WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD offers a 100% power efficiency improvement over its PCIe Gen 4.0 predecessor delivering top-tier performance without excessive energy consumption according to SanDisk.
Given the fact that PC tech these days is really quite power hungry, it’s great to see that SanDisk are ensuring efficiency is at the heart of their new NVMe SSD.
A New Era of Speed and Reliability
Eric Spanneut, vice president of devices for SanDisk, stated:
“Whether it’s for high-level gaming, professional content creation or AI applications, high-performance users now have a PCIe Gen 5.0 storage solution that matches speed with power efficiency to help them build the ultimate gaming rig or best-in-class workstation, enabling them to play and create with next-level performance and reliability. The WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe™ SSD with PCIe® Gen 5.0 delivers peak storage performance for the most discerning users.”
Joe Macri, Senior Vice President and CTO for Compute and Graphics at AMD, also chipped in, adding:
“PCIe Gen 5.0 is the next evolution of the PCIe interface offering up to 2x performance capability over today’s PCIe 4.0. The WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD with PCIe Gen 5.0 revolutionizes storage performance and power efficiency bringing the next level of flash storage to PCs for Gamers, Content Creators, or Professionals seeking only the highest storage performance possible.”
Key highlights include:
- PCIe Gen 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD technology for next-level gaming and workflow speeds.
- Sequential read/write speeds up to 14,900 MB/s and 14,000 MB/s.
- Over 2,300,000 IOPS random performance for ultra-responsive applications.
- Up to 2,400TBW endurance, handling intensive gaming, editing, and AI tasks.
- RGB LED customization in the optional heatsink model.
Built for High-Performance Gaming & AI Workloads
Intel’s Vice President of their Client Ecosystem Group, Todd Lewellen, praised the SSD’s integration with Intel Core Ultra processors, stating that the combination will “vastly accelerate gaming, content production, and AI workloads.”
For users looking to push their systems to the limit, SanDisk is offering an optional heatsink variant with an anodized aluminium cooling solution. This low-profile cooling design which is quite similar to previous models ensures that the NVMe remains cool under pressure, and with such blistering speeds being claimed, I would certainly hope that the heatsink does a good job with regards to heat dissipation.
SanDisk confirms that an 8TB WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD and its heatsink variant will be available later this year while 1TB, 2TB and 4TB variants are already available via their website, if you live in the USA, ready to power the next wave of high-performance computing.
South African pricing and availability will be announced at a later stage but given the hefty United States $279.99 price tag for the 2TB heatsink-less version, expect to pay quite a premium price when it launches locally. Visit the official product page for more information.
Written by Sahil Lala