# WD Black SN770 1 TB



## W1zzard (Mar 11, 2022)

The competitively priced Western Digital WD Black SN770 achieves impressive performance results that match the more expensive Samsung 980 Pro, WD Black SN850, and Kingston KC3000. It seems WD has found a solution to overcome the limitations of DRAM-less designs—very impressive.

*Show full review*


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## Rowsol (Mar 11, 2022)

The 570 was impressive as well. WD is killing it.


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## Cutechri (Mar 11, 2022)

What can I say, I am impressed


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## trparky (Mar 11, 2022)

About time someone was able to compete with Samsung SSDs because up until now, Samsung has been at the top and have been pricing their SSDs as such. Competition is good.


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## Cutechri (Mar 11, 2022)

I love how we have to repeat that competition is good just to remind the rabid fanboys of the truth.


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## mechtech (Mar 11, 2022)

Interesting M.2, hopefully CAD prices aren't out there.

@W!zz
"The hottest part on the drive reached 86°C, which is quite a bit *lower* than the software reported temperature of 74°C. " I'm assuming that's higher?


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## Tartaros (Mar 11, 2022)

Hope there won't be any switcheroo fiasco this time.+


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## dj-electric (Mar 11, 2022)

WD truly killing it lately with their entries. Very nice


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## seth1911 (Mar 11, 2022)

The boot time is since the first ssd for consumer totally useless cause many dont use fast boot 

Ive saw only one point since nvme ssd are released against sata ssd,
its about unpack cracked games and ripped movies.


If the game loads in 15 seconds or 20 seconds is totaly useless.


Edit:
Nice Fact about SSD and console even Ratchet and Clank the new one is only for ps5,
but like horizon forbidden west load from menu a save game take on both:
PS5 insane SSD onboard with 675 GB usable 10,31 seconds
PS4 with Sata SSD 1TB (931GB) 12,16 seconds


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## chrcoluk (Mar 11, 2022)

Using system ram in place of onboard? a nvme feature, downside been more risky to data and higher ram usage.

Was it confirmed its not using more than 64megs of system ram?

Personally I dont want dramless ssd's as standard.

WD do seem samsungs strongest competitor right now. My comment based on the in house capability.


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## jamexman (Mar 12, 2022)

I would guess not good enough for PS5 upgrade?


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## Zareek (Mar 12, 2022)

Impressive but can you trust WD to not pull some shenanigans with parts and things of that nature? What are they hiding? I just don't trust them. Ever since the WD Red fiasco, they've continued to give everyone reasons to doubt them.


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## xvi (Mar 12, 2022)

Been looking for a nice 2TB nvme drive to upgrade the ol' desktop and am surprised at the pricing for top end 980 Pro and SN850 (huge premium for the heatsink version of the 850).

Maybe the solution is grab a 770 and just upgrade down the line a little sooner than originally expected?

Thanks for the review, W1z!


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## DrCR (Mar 12, 2022)

“—very impressive.”
Project Farm come to mind for anyone else?


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## RJARRRPCGP (Mar 12, 2022)

Zareek said:


> Impressive but can you trust WD to not pull some shenanigans with parts and things of that nature? What are they hiding? I just don't trust them. Ever since the WD Red fiasco, they've continued to give everyone reasons to doubt them.


What happened with WD? I'm guessing that some models, if not most of them, are SMR!


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## Mussels (Mar 12, 2022)

Just a genuinely solid product it seems



jamexman said:


> I would guess not good enough for PS5 upgrade?



I gotta know where you got that idea from


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## Assimilator (Mar 12, 2022)

Impressive, but I'm still not sold on WD due to the bait-and-switch they pulled with the WD Blue/SN550 drives.

Also, what is it with NVMe drives topping out at 2TB? The only company that's gone higher is Sabrent AFAIK. We need more storage in smaller footprints so SATA can finally die for good.


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## thewan (Mar 12, 2022)

no magic happening here again. the sn770 1tb is ~210 USD. The KC3000 1TB is still the cheapest of the bunch, with its price continues to stay ~175 USD despite ongoing world issues (war, nand contamination, etc)


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## Anymal (Mar 12, 2022)

Some kind of sorcery, W1zzard!


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## xu^ (Mar 12, 2022)

any ideas on how this would perform on pci-e gen 3?  looking to upgrade my 250gb nvme but i dont have a gen 4 motherboard, but this would be handy for a future upgrade, if it still performs well on gen 3.


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## Cutechri (Mar 12, 2022)

xu^ said:


> any ideas on how this would perform on pci-e gen 3?  looking to upgrade my 250gb nvme but i dont have a gen 4 motherboard, but this would be handy for a future upgrade, if it still performs well on gen 3.


Random 4k performance, the one that matters, will be significantly better on PCIe 3.0, speaking from experience. I have a 4.0 slot on my board but I keep my 980 Pro on a 3.0


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## Mussels (Mar 12, 2022)

Assimilator said:


> Impressive, but I'm still not sold on WD due to the bait-and-switch they pulled with the WD Blue/SN550 drives.
> 
> Also, what is it with NVMe drives topping out at 2TB? The only company that's gone higher is Sabrent AFAIK. We need more storage in smaller footprints so SATA can finally die for good.


Your own link covers it right at the top 






xu^ said:


> any ideas on how this would perform on pci-e gen 3?  looking to upgrade my 250gb nvme but i dont have a gen 4 motherboard, but this would be handy for a future upgrade, if it still performs well on gen 3.


any bench going above 3.5GB/s or so will get capped there - sustained performance may be better, since the cache and temps wont hit their limits as fast

Anything under those limits (like random read/write) will perform exactly the same


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## bug (Mar 13, 2022)

> a DRAM-less value-oriented SSD design with support for PCI-Express 4.0, but lacking a DRAM cache



@W1zzard And that's in stark contrast with other DRAM-less drives that do not lack a DRAM cache. Right?


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## chrcoluk (Mar 13, 2022)

Cutechri said:


> Random 4k performance, the one that matters, will be significantly better on PCIe 3.0, speaking from experience. I have a 4.0 slot on my board but I keep my 980 Pro on a 3.0


Same, got a 980 PRO on 3.0, the only benefit of 4.0 is a little higher sequential read which isnt very important,  

That is interesting as well that you have tested and noticed 3.0 has better 4k.


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## xvi (Mar 13, 2022)

Mussels said:


> I gotta know where you got that idea from


Can't tell if this is sarcasm or not? Seems like I keep hearing everyone frothing at the mouth for the SN850 w/heatsink for their PS5s. I've been having trouble finding any references to whether or not it's useful at all in a desktop environment.


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## Thorsthimble (Mar 13, 2022)

I'm getting similar numbers on the one I just picked up for my laptop. If I'm being honest, I didn't research it much and had no idea it was DRAMless. I only realized that fact after I got it in my hands and noticed the distinct lack of chips on the PCB. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed by my moment of stupidity. I'm quite happy with it, especially at the price I paid for it.


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## defaultluser (Mar 13, 2022)

Told you folks that WD's acquisition of Sandisk was a good thing - they have good flash, but just needed that top-tier custom chipset dev dollars!


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## W1zzard (Mar 13, 2022)

Thorsthimble said:


> I'm getting similar numbers on the one I just picked up for my laptop. If I'm being honest, I didn't research it much and had no idea it was DRAMless. I only realized that fact after I got it in my hands and noticed the distinct lack of chips on the PCB. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed by my moment of stupidity. I'm quite happy with it, especially at the price I paid for it.


Let us know if you encounter any stalls, hangs or similar during daily usage


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## [XC] Oj101 (Mar 13, 2022)

Assimilator said:


> Also, what is it with NVMe drives topping out at 2TB? The only company that's gone higher is Sabrent AFAIK. We need more storage in smaller footprints so SATA can finally die for good.


And (at least) ADATA with the S40G and SX8100, Corsair with the MP400 (up to 8TB), MP510, MP600 x, and Kingston KC3000. All available in our home country as well


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## Waifu Hunter 2.0 (Mar 15, 2022)

thewan said:


> no magic happening here again. the sn770 1tb is ~210 USD. The KC3000 1TB is still the cheapest of the bunch, with its price continues to stay ~175 USD despite ongoing world issues (war, nand contamination, etc)


Where did you find it for $210? I've only seen it for $130...


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## W1zzard (Mar 15, 2022)

Waifu Hunter 2.0 said:


> Where did you find it for $210? I've only seen it for $130...


Maybe he's looking at a smaller foreign country's market.
$115 on Amz US: https://www.amazon.com/WD_BLACK-SN770-Internal-Gaming-Solid/dp/B09QV692XY/
€140 on various European stores, € 166 on Amz DE


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## TheinsanegamerN (Mar 22, 2022)

Assimilator said:


> Impressive, but I'm still not sold on WD due to the bait-and-switch they pulled with the WD Blue/SN550 drives.
> 
> Also, what is it with NVMe drives topping out at 2TB? The only company that's gone higher is Sabrent AFAIK. We need more storage in smaller footprints so SATA can finally die for good.


Sabrent seems to be the only company willing to use higher density NAND to make big drives. 

That's why I have one of their 4TB rocket 4 plus drives. I think corsair was going to make a 4TB NVMe drive at some point, but no one else is bothering. It's annoying.


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## trparky (Mar 22, 2022)

TheinsanegamerN said:


> Sabrent seems to be the only company willing to use higher density NAND to make big drives.
> 
> That's why I have one of their 4TB rocket 4 plus drives. I think corsair was going to make a 4TB NVMe drive at some point, but no one else is bothering. It's annoying.


I don't imagine that there's a lot of people who need that size of SSD, so they've got gone after that segment of the market. They know their market and they cater to it.


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## Athlonite (Apr 5, 2022)

trparky said:


> I don't imagine that there's a lot of people who need that size of SSD, so they've got gone after that segment of the market. They know their market and they cater to it.


Also the small fact that going from 2 > 4 > 8 TB NVMe ssd's can be quite expensive in my own country of gougelandastan (New Zealand) goig from 1TB to 2TB NVMe ssd can more often than not cost me more than twice what the 1TB SSD was, the 1TB WD SN850 Black with/out heatsink is currently $399.00 gougelandastani Plunkett's vs 2TB WD Black for well over $800 Gougelandastani Plunkett's

even though an NVMe SSD is way more simplistic to manufacture than an HDD ssd prices still far out strip those of HDD's at comarable sizes


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## Mussels (Apr 6, 2022)

There comes a point where they cant add more NAND chips to a design, as well.


If they have chips with more density, they can slap those in and bam - bigger product... but without that option, the design needs to be re-jiggered to add twice as many flash memory modules and that's a new product design entirely


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## xvi (Apr 7, 2022)

I ended up picking up a 2TB model. What really surprised me is considering this is the largest size they offer, it feels incredibly basic in the hand. I think the sticker really makes you feel like more is going on, so I've edited this photo from W1z's review to illustrate my point. Holding it for the first time, I quickly wondered what the heck I paid so much for. It just felt like a cheap clone of a real drive, I guess because there's no DRAM chip.

*Blue* = does something and *Red* = flat PCB that does nothing






My current drives are two Samsung 950 Pro 256GB in RAID0 (a bad idea). I'll be limited somewhat on the PCIe Gen 3 slots but whatever. I'll report back once I figure out how I'm going to migrate over to the new SN770. I've put a generic cooler on it immediately, I heard rumors it gets warm. Will see.


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## bug (Apr 7, 2022)

xvi said:


> I ended up picking up a 2TB model. What really surprised me is considering this is the largest size they offer, it feels incredibly basic in the hand. I think the sticker really makes you feel like more is going on, so I've edited this photo from W1z's review to illustrate my point. Holding it for the first time, I quickly wondered what the heck I paid so much for. It just felt like a cheap clone of a real drive, I guess because there's no DRAM chip.
> 
> *Blue* = does something and *Red* = flat PCB that does nothing
> 
> ...


Have you ever seen the inside of a USB stick? Flash devices are that simple. Their closest relative is a RAM stick, after all.


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## Mussels (Apr 7, 2022)

That's why NVME comes in a few sizes - the reviewed one here is the common 2280




I suppose it could be used to keep hot components apart further, or to re-use an existing design where possible (If they design it well, the same PCB could be used for multiple SSD designs at no extra cost)


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## xvi (Apr 7, 2022)

Mussels said:


> That's why NVME comes in a few sizes - the reviewed one here is the common 2280


Oh yeah, definitely familiar with the different M.2 sizes. My immediate thought was "Why don't they offer this in a 2230?"
Heat would definitely be a consideration though, yeah.


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## Mussels (Apr 7, 2022)

xvi said:


> Oh yeah, definitely familiar with the different M.2 sizes. My immediate thought was "Why don't they offer this in a 2230?"
> Heat would definitely be a consideration though, yeah.


Micron actually have you covered there, with 2TB PCI-E 4.0 NVME 2230 NVME's
2400 | Micron Technologies, Inc.

Give it a generation or two, and they'll start swapping the longer slots for dual smaller slots imo.


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## kiriakost (Apr 7, 2022)

Topic title needs correction, *M.2 *description should be added.
I were confused thinking that this was a topic for SATA HDD WD Black.


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## Mussels (Apr 7, 2022)

kiriakost said:


> Topic title needs correction, *M.2 *description should be added.
> I were confused thinking that this was a topic for SATA HDD WD Black.


Why? the SN770 model name is pretty specific


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## bug (Apr 7, 2022)

Mussels said:


> Why? the SN770 model name is pretty specific


Look who you're replying to. He always knows better than everyone else 
Notice how he's not suggesting or asking for a title change. He demands it.


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## Mussels (Apr 7, 2022)

bug said:


> Look who you're replying to. He always knows better than everyone else
> Notice how he's not suggesting or asking for a title change. He demands it.


I have a 7 year old. I'm used to it.


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## bug (Apr 7, 2022)

Mussels said:


> I have a 7 year old. I'm used to it.


Show-off! Congrats!


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## Assimilator (Apr 8, 2022)

Mussels said:


> I have a 7 year old. I'm used to it.


Your 7-year-old is almost certainly more coherent than that particular forum member.


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## Athlonite (Apr 9, 2022)

Mussels said:


> I have a 7 year old. I'm used to it.


Ha LOL you're only halfway to trouble


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## regs (May 17, 2022)

What kind of software is used for Fill whole disk test? AIDA64, HDTune or may there is something free?


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## Space Lynx (Oct 30, 2022)

Hi @W1zzard I have a question about the SN770 in particular, how does it score so high in RND4k Q1T1 read scores? 

I did not realize RND4k Q1T1 read scores were getting so high, in the high 70's and 80's, and the 512gb SN770 scores 93... wow. That is the most important score for real world usage too isn't it when people are talking about random 4k stuff never improving?

I am surprised to the SN770 score so high in that area, it doesn't have dram. Is dram on storage only good for people who copy lots of files or something?

@RandallFlagg hope you don't mind me using your post from the crystaldisk thread to ask this question, I was just very impressed by those numbers!!! the SN770 is on sale for $49 right now. even high end SN850X doesn't score that high RND4k Q1T1 read score... and isn't that the most important score for your casual/gamer user?


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## W1zzard (Oct 31, 2022)

CallandorWoT said:


> how


Probably one of WD's best-kept secrets



CallandorWoT said:


> and isn't that the most important score for your casual/gamer user?


correct

That's probably also why it scores so high in our real-life tests


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## Mussels (Oct 31, 2022)

Isn't this one of the drives that uses system DRAM as part of the caching, HMB or whatever it was

Haven't re-read the review, but if so any system with high performance RAM is likely to get fantastic results


I wonder if something like the 5800x3D would get faster results in such a setup,


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## Space Lynx (Oct 31, 2022)

Well considering my build is a budget build... I think I will just spend $49 on the SN770 500gb, and use my 4 year old 2tb ssd as storage. No reason to spend more on something when I really won't notice a difference anyway, just never owned a really nice nvme before, so I was very tempted by the Solidigm P44 Pro


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## Nopa (Oct 31, 2022)

Awesome review and performances! 
Can't wait to pair this doing RAID 0 with my current SN850 Black alongside new 7800X3D build. With the extra juices these hardware got, real-time loading speed is gonna be even faster.


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## W1zzard (Oct 31, 2022)

Mussels said:


> Haven't re-read the review, but if so any system with high performance RAM is likely to get fantastic results


Nah HMB is ULTRA-slow, because it's so far away from the drive physically .. getting data in and out of it takes forever in computer time durations .. 

You are posing an interesting question though .. how much of a SSD performance difference due to different memory speed, if any. Might be worth investigating later this year, after all those launches are done


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## Mussels (Nov 1, 2022)

W1zzard said:


> Nah HMB is ULTRA-slow, because it's so far away from the drive physically .. getting data in and out of it takes forever in computer time durations ..
> 
> You are posing an interesting question though .. how much of a SSD performance difference due to different memory speed, if any. Might be worth investigating later this year, after all those launches are done


Time to fire up the 5800x, 5800x3D, 12900K and 13900K systems on a whim


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## DrCR (Nov 1, 2022)

CallandorWoT said:


> Well considering my build is a budget build... I think I will just spend $49 on the SN770 500gb, and use my 4 year old 2tb ssd as storage. No reason to spend more on something when I really won't notice a difference anyway, just never owned a really nice nvme before, so I was very tempted by the Solidigm P44 Pro


Putting together that potentially swan song build? $49 500GB SN770 plus old 2TB SSD does sound like a good way to go. Chrispy_ laid out some SPCR-spec fan insight just recently if you want to search that up, should you be buying fans for the build.


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## Space Lynx (Nov 1, 2022)

DrCR said:


> Putting together that potentially swan song build? $49 500GB SN770 plus old 2TB SSD does sound like a good way to go. Chrispy_ laid out some SPCR-spec fan insight just recently if you want to search that up, should you be buying fans for the build.



I already have plenty of fans laying around that have built up over the years. I take good care of my stuff (i even dust each blade of fans i own with a wet paper towel, gently) and keep in storage for safe keeping. i have a noctua fan, 3x arctic storm fans, and a couple more just doing nothing. so i am good.

still trying to decide if i want the 500gb sn770 and use my 2tb ssd, or just go balls to the walls and get the solidigm p44 pro 1tb and well, i would still use my 2tb storage ssd, just not as often.

hmm... at end of day $80 isn't much money, but it also kind of ruins the whole point of this build, in that its a budget build that kicks ass. lol


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