Western Digital · Updated July 2026
WD_Black SN8100: price, specs & release date
The WD_Black SN8100 costs $179.99, #2 cheapest of 9 internal ssds (median $239.99). It earns a Platinum Deskmark — 82/100 pay-blind standing, #1 of 10 in class.
Verified Jul 11, 2026 · figures linked to their source in the table below
- Best for Fastest consumer Gen5 SSD tested; record-setting synthetic throughput and top-tier random-read IOPS; Power-efficient and runs cool (peak under 50 degrees C in PCWorld's testing).
- Skip if Premium pricing versus Gen4 and rival Gen5 drives is a dealbreaker.
WD_Black SN8100, released 2025-05. Every price and spec below is linked to its source and dated — no guesses.
Source: sandisk.com verified ✓ corroborated verify in ledger
Is the WD_Black SN8100 a good buy?
At $180, the WD_Black SN8100 is #2 cheapest of the 9 internal ssds we track, where the median is $239.99. On the spec sheet, its seq read of 14900 Mbps is the highest of the 10, its seq write of 14000 Mbps is the highest of the 10, and its random read kiops of 2300 is the highest of the 7. By release date, it is the newest of the 10 we date.
Evidence of Record
Our data- Independent labsmeasured it
- 2
- Physical metricsrecorded
- 5
- Outlets on record2 tested · 1 mention-only
- 3
Two independent labs measured this product across 5 physical metrics — speed, pcmark 10 storage, 3dmark storage score and 2 more. With a second lab on record, each figure comes from more than one independent hands-on source — a measure of how much evidence exists, not a rating of the product.
speed · pcmark 10 storage · 3dmark storage score · deepseek r1 7b · thermal
Review consensus · sourced & dated
What reviewers say about the WD_Black SN8100
Three whitelisted labs (Tom's Hardware, StorageReview, PCWorld) benchmarked the 2TB WD_Black SN8100 and rate it among the fastest consumer Gen5 SSDs tested, with class-leading synthetic throughput and top-tier random IOPS plus strong power efficiency. Tom's Hardware and PCWorld flag premium pricing; PCWorld also hit write-speed inconsistency on an older motherboard that vanished on a new test bed. (TechPowerUp's review was dropped because only its intro/spec page was retrievable, leaving no verifiable quotes or measurements.)
Tested by Tom's Hardware, StorageReview, PCWorld
Consistently praised
- Fastest consumer Gen5 SSD tested; record-setting synthetic throughput and top-tier random-read IOPS · 3 sources
- Power-efficient and runs cool (peak under 50 degrees C in PCWorld's testing) · 2 sources
- Excellent all-around real-world performance, including gaming, DirectStorage and AI-model loading · 2 sources
- Strong bundled software (WD/SanDisk Dashboard, Acronis), 5-year warranty and single-sided M.2 2280 form factor · 2 sources
Commonly flagged
- Premium pricing versus Gen4 and rival Gen5 drives · 2 sources
- Real-world gains over the best drives are small; overkill for most users
- Write-speed inconsistency / severe drops on an older motherboard slot
Where reviewers disagree PCWorld saw erratic write speeds dropping as low as 300MBps on an older Z790 board, which disappeared after moving to a new Z890 test bed, whereas Tom's Hardware and StorageReview reported consistently stable top-tier performance. Pricing framing also splits: Tom's Hardware and PCWorld list the price as a con, while StorageReview frames the 'aggressive pricing' positively as part of why it's an easy pick.
The sources (3)
If the WD Black SN8100 has one weak spot, it's here in the pricing
FIO sequential 128K read: 15,000 MB/s · FIO sequential 128K write: 14,100 MB/s · FIO 4K random read: 2.312M IOPS · FIO 4K random write: 2.144M IOPS · Blackmagic read / write: 10,005.2 / 10,581 MB/s · PCMark 10 Storage score: 8,644 · 3DMark Storage score: 6,047 · DeepSeek R1 7B LLM load time: 2.5702 s
It's extremely fast, consistent, and outperforms its competition in most of our benchmarking.
It led the pack in sequential read and write speeds, posted some of the best 4K random IOPS numbers, and performed exceptionally well in real-world scenarios like large language model loading, DirectStorage game asset transfers, and GPU Direct Storage workloads.
ahead of many Gen5 competitors, though its write performance lags slightly
Write speed, new test bed: 13.5 GBps · Write speed, older test bed (worst case): as low as 300 MBps · Peak drive temperature: under 50 degrees Celsius
In retests on our new Z890/Core Ultra 225 the SN8100 performed like a champ.
The SN8100 sometimes wrote at 13.5GBps but sometimes dropped as low as 300MBps.
The WD Black SN8100 is one of the fastest NVMe SSDs in synthetic benchmarks that I've ever tested.
Specifications
| Price (US) | $179.99 US MSRP for the 1TB capacity variant: $179.99. Tom's Hardware (13 May 2025) states verbatim: "the SN8100 comes in 1TB ($179.99 U.S. MSRP), 2TB ($279.99 U.S. MSRP) and 4TB ($549.99 U.S. MSRP) capacities." Price shown is for the 1TB (WDS100T1X0M) variant. |
|---|---|
| Brand | Western Digital |
| Released | 2025-05 |
| Capacity options (TB) | 1, 2, 4, 8 |
| Form factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe |
| Seq read (Mbps) | 14900 |
| Seq write (Mbps) | 14000 |
| Random read kiops | 2300 |
| Random write kiops | 2300 |
| Nand type | TLC |
| Has dram cache | Yes |
| Endurance tbw | — |
| Warranty years | 5 |
Source: sandisk.com (verified 2026-07-11) · corroborated by tomshardware.com. The official Sandisk product page (source) confirms the exact model "WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD," its PCIe Gen 5.0x4 NVMe M.2 interface, TLC 3D CBA NAND, rated sequential read up to 14,900MB/s and sequential write up to 14,000MB/s (larger capacities), "over 2,300,000 IOPS of random performance," and a 5-Year Limited Warranty. Tom's Hardware's launch article (corroboration, 13 May 2025) confirms the same model and states the launch pricing verbatim — "1TB ($179.99 U.S. MSRP)" — and lists M.2 2280 form factor, onboard DRAM ("DRAM: Yes"), and 2,300K random reads / 2,300K random writes. enduranceTbw is left null because neither cited page states the 1TB variant's TBW (Sandisk cites 4,800 TBW for the 8TB model and Tom's cites 2,400 TBW for the 4TB), so no 1TB figure was present verbatim on the two sourced URLs.
Is the WD_Black SN8100 worth it vs cheaper internal ssds?
WD_Black SN8100 against its closest cheaper and pricier internal ssds on the specs that matter — every value sourced. See all 9 ranked →
| Product | Price | Capacity options (TB) | Form factor | Interface | Seq read (Mbps) | Seq write (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD_Black SN8100 this | $179.99 | 1, 2, 4, 8 | M.2 2280 | PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe | 14900 | 14000 |
| WD_Black SN7100 | $84.99 | 0.5, 1, 2, 4 | M.2 2280 | PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe | 7250 | 6900 |
| Seagate FireCuda 540 | $189.99 | 1, 2 | M.2 2280 | PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe | 10000 | 10000 |
Frequently asked questions
What do reviewers say about the WD_Black SN8100?
Three whitelisted labs (Tom's Hardware, StorageReview, PCWorld) benchmarked the 2TB WD_Black SN8100 and rate it among the fastest consumer Gen5 SSDs tested, with class-leading synthetic throughput and top-tier random IOPS plus strong power efficiency. Tom's Hardware and PCWorld flag premium pricing; PCWorld also hit write-speed inconsistency on an older motherboard that vanished on a new test bed. (TechPowerUp's review was dropped because only its intro/spec page was retrievable, leaving no verifiable quotes or measurements.) Praised: Fastest consumer Gen5 SSD tested; record-setting synthetic throughput and top-tier random-read IOPS; Power-efficient and runs cool (peak under 50 degrees C in PCWorld's testing); Excellent all-around real-world performance, including gaming, DirectStorage and AI-model loading; Strong bundled software (WD/SanDisk Dashboard, Acronis), 5-year warranty and single-sided M.2 2280 form factor. Flagged: Premium pricing versus Gen4 and rival Gen5 drives; Real-world gains over the best drives are small; overkill for most users; Write-speed inconsistency / severe drops on an older motherboard slot. (From 3 tester reviews, 3 lab-tested.)
How much does the WD_Black SN8100 cost?
The WD_Black SN8100 has a US price of $179.99 (US MSRP for the 1TB capacity variant: $179.99. Tom's Hardware (13 May 2025) states verbatim: "the SN8100 comes in 1TB ($179.99 U.S. MSRP), 2TB ($279.99 U.S. MSRP) and 4TB ($549.99 U.S. MSRP) capacities." Price shown is for the 1TB (WDS100T1X0M) variant.), as of 2026-07-11.
How does the WD_Black SN8100 compare on price?
At $180, the WD_Black SN8100 is #2 cheapest of the 9 internal ssds we track, where the median is $239.99.
When was the WD_Black SN8100 released?
The WD_Black SN8100 was released 2025-05.
What are the WD_Black SN8100's key specs?
WD_Black SN8100 (Western Digital): capacityOptionsTb 1, 2, 4, 8, formFactor M.2 2280, interface PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe, seqReadMbps 14900, seqWriteMbps 14000. Full sourced spec sheet verified 2026-07-11.
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