Western Digital has announced a key update to its mainstream solid-state drives (SSDs) in the form of WD Blue SN580. The PCIe 4.0-compliant range is available from today in capacities ranging from 250GB to 2TB and expands upon in-market Blue SN570 in every meaningful metric.
| WD Blue SN580 | 250GB | 500GB | 1TB | 2TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | WD | WD | WD | WD |
| NAND | WDC TLC | WDC TLC | WDC TLC | WDC TLC |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| DRAM | No | No | No | No |
| Sequential Read Speed (MB/s) | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,150 | 4,150 |
| Sequential Write Speed (MB/s) | 2,000 | 3,600 | 4,150 | 4,150 |
| Random Read IOPS (K) | 240 | 450 | 600 | 600 |
| Random Write IOPS (K) | 470 | 750 | 750 | 750 |
| Form Factor | M.2 | M.2 | M.2 | M.2 |
| Endurance (TBW) | 150 | 300 | 600 | 900 |
| Encryption | No | No | No | No |
| Heatsink version | No | No | No | No |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years |
| Price | £51 | TBC | £97 | £193 |
Using the PCIe 4.0 interface for the first time on Blue drives paves the way for faster performance. Speeds and feeds scale with capacity, as expected, and WD continues using in-house controllers and NAND on this DRAM-less design.
Built as much for laptops as desktops, Blue SN580 also uses SLC caching technology for keeping speeds up with frequently-accessed data, while endurance is reasonable for an entry-level SSD.
Though quicker than the last generation, WD Blue SN580 falls short in obtaining enough throughput to be considered as expanded storage in a PlayStation 5 console; WD has plenty of Black drives for that purpose.
Recommended pricing is typically steep at a series’ launch, and the latest WD Blue is no exception. We expect cost to plummet as stock becomes more widespread.
It’s a slight shame there is no 4TB option present for those who prioritise capacity and value, but again, WD Black has that covered. A five-year warranty is also fast becoming standard for the industry.
“As creator workflows become more robust and complex with heavy applications and large multimedia assets like 4K video, it’s easy to become frustrated with long load times,” said Eric Spanneut, vice president of client and enterprise SSDs for Western Digital. “The new WD Blue SN580 NVMe SSD boosts productivity, so professionals and entrepreneurial creators can focus on bringing their imaginations to life without having to wait long for files to transfer or programs to load.”
The WD Blue SN580 NVMe SSD is now available for purchase from the Western Digital Store.
