WD brings cheap high-speed NVMe SSD performance to creators
Prices for Western Digital's new storage sticks start from $55.
The drop in SSD NVMe prices means the miniature storage sticks are becoming increasingly accessible. Even the super-fast Samsung 960 EVO 500GB model, with speeds of 3,200 MB/s, recently dipped below $150 to make room for its successor. Sizing up the market, Western Digital is aiming its upcoming WD Blue SN500 NVMe SSDs at those on a budget. The new 500GB stick packs around half the read and write speeds of Samsung's 960 Evo (1,700MB/s and 1,450MB/s respectively) but, at $78, costs roughly half the price.
It's also three-times faster than WD's SATA SSD, making it ideal for 4K video editing and storage, according to the company. And now that the likes of NVIDIA and camera-maker RED are starting to introduce 8K editing to the masses, even high-end video producers may want to give it a look. Of course, 4K clips can hog a lot of storage, so it's handy to have low-cost options when shopping around for an SSD upgrade.
Cheaper still is the new 250GB model, which costs $55. There's no confirmed release date as yet for the duo. Meanwhile, gamers chasing more storage and higher speeds can turn to WD's pricier Black 3D NVMe (unveiled last year) which packs a 1TB model with 3,470 MB/s for $280.
