WD Black SN850P: One Minute Review
As a big supporter of the WD Black SN850, I can't deny that I'm a little disappointed with the WD Black SN850P. Although it's faster on paper, I found that the SN850P's actual performance actually lags behind that of the previous SN850, even with a slightly lower score on the PS5's internal storage test. The design has also taken a step back this time, with the SN850P ditching the cool, if admittedly impractical, LED of its predecessor in favor of a much simpler and presumably cheaper to manufacture look.
This wouldn't be a big deal, but the SN850P is a bit more expensive than not only the SN850 but also some of the best SSDs for PS5. When officially licensed alternatives like the Seagate Game Drive M.2 SSD for PS5 can be found cheaper and will perform slightly better, there's no real reason to choose the SN850P over the rest. That is unless you manage to find the 1TB or 2TB models on one of their fairly regular discounts, where price cuts of up to $50/£30 make these products much more competitive.
You must also consider the variants with greater capacity. Seagate's licensed drive doesn't come in capacities larger than 2TB, so the SN850P is one of the only options if you want to keep things official at that size. The 8TB variant is also one of the few 8TB PS5 SSDs on the market currently from a major brand and is pretty reasonably priced for what it is. If you were considering any of these versions, please add half a star to the score above.
Otherwise, the WD Black SN850P is disappointing overall. It's a good PS5 SSD that, thanks to its slightly overambitious price, doesn't stand out.
WD Black SN850P: Price and availability
- 1TB costs $119.99 / £107.99
- 2TB costs $189.99 / £184.99
- 4TB costs $319.99 / £329.99
- 8TB costs $749.99 / £705.99
The 1TB WD Black SN850P sells for $119.99/£107.99, although it can be found slightly below that price at online stores like Amazon. The 2TB one costs $189.99 / £184.99, although again you can expect to pay a little less if you buy it online.
Out of sales, both models cost a little more than the Seagate Game Drive M.2 SSD for PS5 equivalents (the 1TB model costs $99.99/£99.90 while the 2TB model costs $159, 99 / £159.90); again, a unit that performed slightly better in my tests.
The cost then increases substantially as you move up to the 4TB model, which costs $319.99/£329.99, or 8TB, which costs $749.99/£705.99. Although it's the most recent arrival, the 8TB has already started receiving discounts of around $50/£50 which put the price in line with most other 8TB PS5 compatible SSDs, making it a Solid option if you can afford it.
WD Black SN850P: Specifications
| Price | $119.99 / £107.99 / AU$199 (1TB), $189.99 / £184.99 / AU$339 (2TB), $319.99 / £329.99 / AU$699 ( 4TB), $749.99 / £705.99 / about AU$1,170 (8 TB) |
| Ability | 1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB |
| Quoted reading speed | 7300 MB/s (8TB: 7200 MB/s) |
| Quoted writing speed | 6,600 MB/s |
| Durability | 600TBW (1TB) |
| Warranty | 5 years |
WD Black SN850P: Design and features
- The design is a step below the SN850
- Heatsink included out of the box
- 5-year limited warranty
The design of the WD Black SN850P is, in my opinion, a step below the SN850. It has a similar overall appearance, with a sleek black heatsink built from very sturdy metal, but it lacks the small LED that was on the top of the SN850. This was never a big selling point; After all, you can't exactly see it when inserted inside a PS5. But it's still a slightly cheaper looking SSD overall.
Otherwise, it will have the same WD Black white branding, plus a small label indicating the product name. One notable difference is the introduction of a white PlayStation logo on the right side, which blends in nicely with everything.
Although it looks very similar from a distance, the heatsink has actually been redesigned with a slightly different shape and a few more spaces to disperse heat. Since I never experienced any noticeable thermal throttling on the SN850, I can't say this seems necessary, but it definitely can't hurt. It also fits perfectly on the PS5 or PS5 Pro.
In the box, you get the SSD in a small folding package, plus warranty and service information. You're covered by a five-year limited warranty here, which offers some peace of mind and means this unit will likely last you the rest of the life of the PS5 if you choose to purchase one.
WD Black SN850P: Performance
- Performance could be better for the price.
- Initial baseline score was very poor
- Reasonable results in real-world tests.
When I first inserted the WD Black SN850P, the PS5's internal benchmark measured it at a surprisingly low 5,966 MB/s. This is still above the console's recommended SSD specs, but nowhere near the advertised 7,300MB/s or really what you'd reasonably expect from a drive at this price. Fortunately, when I reformatted the drive and ran the test again a little later, it scored a more reasonable 6,338 MB/s, so I'll attribute that first number to random.
However, this second figure was still lower than I wanted, as the SN850, which is actually advertised as having a read speed of 7,000 MB/s, achieves figures in the 6,400 MB/s range on my machine. It also puts it behind the Seagate Game Drive M.2 SSD for PS5, which clocked in at 6,459 MB/s.
Fortunately, the WD Black SN850P performed quite well in a series of real-world tests. Moving to the drive from the PS5's internal storage, a 23.24GB copy of Vampire the Masquerade: Swan Song It was copied in just 12.61 seconds. A 33.35 GB installation of Lords of the fallen then it took 15.89 seconds, while a 45.98 GB installation of The Crew Motor Festival It took 21.02 seconds.
Testing some larger files, 101.9 GB of Very far away 6 The copy took 43.74 seconds, while a selection of several games with a total of 226.9 GB was copied in 3 minutes and 14 seconds. All of these figures are adequate and are no more than a few seconds away from equivalent transfers on the Seagate Game Drive M.2 SSD for PS5.
Copying again to the PS5, the 21.30GB one Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising was ready to play in 1 minute 27 seconds, while star swordwhich has 32.41 GB, it took 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Finally, the 38.34 GB Little Tina's Wonderland copied again in 2 minutes and 34 seconds. All of these figures are perfectly fine, and realistically depend more on the PS5's internal write speed than anything else.
Ultimately, you won't have any performance issues when using the WD Black SN850P. All the games I tried were smooth, with decent loading times and no noticeable slowdown. Just keep in mind that unless you buy on sale, you can get units with more power for the price.
Should you buy the WD Black SN850P?
Buy it if…
Don't buy it if…
Also consider…
Wondering what to choose instead of the WD Black SN850P? Look at these alternatives. You can also check out our guide to the best PS5 external hard drives for some external options.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | WD Black SN850P | Seagate M.2 SSD Game Drive for PS5 | Kingston Fury Renegade SSD |
| Price | $119.99 / £107.99 / AU$199 (1TB), $189.99 / £184.99 / AU$339 (2TB), $319.99 / £329.99 / AU$699 ( 4TB), $749.99 / £705.99 / about AU$1,170 (8 TB) | $116.75 / £98.99 / around AU$180 (1TB) / $159.99 / £183 / around AU$250 (2TB) | $95.59 / £94.99 / about AU$150 (1TB), $154.99 / £147 / about AU$240 (2TB) / $299.99 / £273.71 / about AU$460 (4TB) |
| Ability | 1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB | 1TB/2TB | 500GB / 1TB / 2TB /4TB |
| Quoted reading speed | 7300 MB/s (8TB: 7200 MB/s) | 7,300 MB/s | 7,300 MB/s |
| Quoted writing speed | 6,600 MB/s | 6,000 MB/s | 7,000 MB/s |
| Durability | 600TBW (1TB) | 1275TBW (1TB) | 1000TBW (1TB) |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years |
How I tested the Seagate Game Drive M.2 SSD for PS5
- Used as PS5 main SSD
- Tested over the course of a week.
- Tested with a variety of titles
I tested the WD Black SN850P for a week, using it as my primary PS5 SSD and playing a wide variety of games. During my time with the drive, I was careful to look for any noticeable performance hit compared to the console's internal storage.
I also evaluated the drive's performance using the PS5's built-in storage benchmark and copying a large library of games to measure the time required. I compared my experience to my hands-on testing of other PS5 SSD models, including the Samsung 990 Pro, WD Black SN850, Seagate Game Drive M.2 SSD for PS5, and more.
First reviewed December 2024.