Western Digital today announced a 4TB version of four of its consumer external SSDs.
The WD My Passport SSD, SanDisk Extreme, SanDisk Extreme Pro, and WD Black P50 Game Drive are otherwise the same as the lower-capacity drives in their respective lines. They all employ the PCI Express bus and support NVMe technology and include generous five-year warranties. All except the WD Black P50 feature 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption.
WD My Passport SSD
The WD My Passport SSD is a small, stylish SSD with a textured anodized aluminum frame. It is good for both business travelers and consumers looking to store their media library. Equipped with a USB-C port, the connection type is USB 3.2 Gen 2, which supports a maximum throughput of 10Gbps. WD rates the drive for a peak read speed of 1,050MBps and a maximum write speed of 1,000MBps. The 1TB version earned our Editors’ Choice when I recently reviewed it. The 4TB version will be available in any of five colors: gray, gold, red, silver, and blue.
WD Black P50 Game Drive
The WD Black P50 Game Drive has a visually striking chassis designed to appeal to gamers. It is capable of blazing speeds (up to 2,000MBps for both read and write) when used with a PC that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. As almost no computers natively support this connection, you would have to mod your rig by adding either a compatible motherboard or expansion card to take advantage of its highest speeds. Doubling its current highest capacity to 4TB will enable gamers to store a few more precious games on a single drive.
SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2
The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2, a PCMag Editors’ Choice, and the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 are geared to content creators such as photographers and videographers, and have some with some durability features, including a rubberized casing that covers its aluminum frame and protects it from falls from up to 6.5 feet. The SanDisk Extreme features read speeds of 1,050MBps and write speeds of up to 1,000MBps, while the SanDisk Extreme Pro supports read and write speeds of up to 2,000MBps, provided that your computer has a port that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x2.
Estimated list prices for the 4TB drives are $679.99 for the 4TB WD My Passport SSD, $699.99 for the 4TB SanDisk Extreme, $749.99 for the 4TB SanDisk Extreme Pro, and $749.99 for the WD Black P50. They are all expected to be available through retailers later in the first quarter of 2021.