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If you need a cool gift this holiday for your geeky friend? Western Digital has a collection of new storage devices for you to consider.
This week, the storage maker unveiled a box full of great ideas that include two portable SSD upgrades, an Xbox storage expansion card upgrade, and, probably most significant, an all-new WD_BLACK SN7100 NVMe SSD.
Western Digital's new storage devices: There's something for everyone
The first portable SSD upgrade is the SanDisk Extreme PRO, the new version of the one first released in 2020 with USB 3.2 (10Gbps) and later with a USB 3.2 x2 (20Gbps) minor upgrade. Per Western Digital, this 2024 version features the latest USB4 to deliver up to 3,800 MB/s read and up to 3,700 MB/s. It's compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and can also work with previous USB standards.
The new portable SSD drive shares the same ruggedness as the original, is IP65-rated for water and dust resistance and is protected against drops from up to two meters. It'll be available in 2TB and 4TB.
The second portable SSD upgrade is the SanDisk Extreme, which first came out in 2018. This latest version brings the capacity to 8TB. Its other specs remain essentially the same. This is a compact, rugged drive with USB 3.2 1(10Gbps).
The third storage upgrade is the WD_BLACK C50 expansion card for Xbox, which is now available in 2TB. Western Digital says the C50 features an NVMe SSD on the inside and supports Xbox Velocity Architecture and Quick Resume features to deliver a top-notch gaming experience:
"It's a fast and easy way to give the Xbox Series X/S a big capacity boost and keep more titles installed. Just plug this officially licensed card directly into the console for similar performance as Xbox internal storage."
SN7100 NVMe SSD: The latest in the WD_BLACK family
Since its launch in August 2019, Western Digital's WD_BLACK family has regularly put out new drives for gamers. The SN7100 is the latest member.
This is a PCIe Gen 4x4 DRAMless NVMe SSD designed to deliver raw performance without unnecessary bells and whistles. Western Digital says it's "perfectly suited to help mainstream gamers take full advantage of today’s highly visual and immersive games that continue to grow in file size."
The new SSD is built with Western Digital’s latest TLC 3D NAND to deliver up to 7,250MB/s read and 6,900MB/s write with up to a 35% performance boost over our previous generation SSD. It also has 600TBW endurance per TB and comes with up to 100% more power efficiency at maximum speed than the previous generation, making it ideal for gaming laptops.
Availability and pricing
Western Digital says the SanDisk Extreme PRO with USB4 is expected to be available in early 2025 in 2TB and 4TB for U.S. suggested retail price of $279.99 and $429.99, respectively. The 8TB SanDisk Extreme is available now for $799.99.
The new 2TB WD_BLACK C50 Expansion Card for Xbox comes with one month of Game Pass Ultimate, and one month of Discord Nitro is also available now for $199.99.
Finally, the new all-new WD_BLACK SN7100 NVMe SSD is also available now in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities, with the pricing ranging from ranging from $59.99 to 159.99. You can expect the 4TB version to come next year.
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