SanDisk WD_BLACK SN8100 리뷰: Gen5 SSD의 뛰어난 성능

SanDisk’s WD_BLACK SN8100 is blazing fast. We tested it against top Gen5 SSDs—and it might just be our new favorite consumer drive.

The Sandisk WD_BLACK SN8100 is the company’s newest flagship Gen5 SSD, built to push performance in modern desktops and workstations. It targets power users who need fast, reliable storage for demanding tasks like 8K editing, large game installs, and complex project workloads. With capacities up to 4TB available now and an 8TB model expected later this year, the SN8100 is their highest-performing consumer drive yet.

편집자 주 :

Before we get too far, we recognize that the title of this review and the product’s branding may be confusing. WD has recently spun out the flash business, which is called Sandisk now (again?). The SN8100 was started as a WD product, then transitioned to Sandisk as the split took place. The WD_Black branding has historically been WD’s premium offering, targeted to gamers and enthusiasts. Until Sandisk launches new products under its own flag, expect brand confusion as the dust settles. Ideally, Sandisk will abandon WD references and return to a more well-understood family and product names like “Extreme” and “Extreme Pro.”  – Brian Beeler

Sandisk WD_BLACK SN8100 Features and Performance Profile

BiCS8 TLC 3D CBA NAND powers the new drive and features onboard DRAM to help with metadata caching and sustained performance over long sessions. Sandisk also includes its nCache 4.0 SLC caching layer to boost short-term write speeds. However, what helps drive the SN8100’s performance the most is the Sandisk-tuned Silicon Motion SM2508 controller under the hood. Built on a 6nm process, this quad-core ARM Cortex R8 chip supports eight NAND channels at up to 3,600 MT/s each, giving it serious throughput potential.

The controller features smart clock-gating, which helps cut power use by dynamically shutting off unused parts of the chip in real time. It also supports advanced ECC through Silicon Motion’s NANDXtend technology, helping to preserve data integrity and endurance even under heavy workloads. On the interface side, the SN8100 runs on PCIe Gen5 x4 with NVMe 2.0 support, while remaining backward compatible.

As for the specifics of its performance profile, Sandisk claims the SN8100 can hit sequential read speeds of up to 14.9GB/s across all capacities. For writes, the 2TB and 4TB models are rated at up to 14GB/s, while the 1TB version tops at 11GB/s.

On the random side, the 2TB and 4TB drives are listed at up to 2.3 million IOPS for reads and 2.4 million IOPS for writes. The 1TB version brings that read figure down to 1.6 million IOPS but still holds the same write performance.

These specs place the SN8100 firmly in the top tier of PCIe Gen5 SSDs, making it one of the fastest consumer drives announced. That said, we’ll put it through some heavy benchmarking, including sustained performance and consistency under load, to test it in our benchmarks to see how well it delivers beyond the spec sheet.

All models comply with TCG Opal 2.02, a widely adopted storage security specification that enables hardware-based encryption and policy management. TCG Opal allows integration into software ecosystems that manage secure boot, drive locking, and data erasure routines.

The 2TB and 4TB drives are rated 6.5W during active reads and 7.0W for writes. The 1TB version uses slightly less, with 6.2W for both operations. Idle power consumption is rated at 5mW. Sanfisk indicates this efficiency is a significant improvement over previous Gen4 drives, especially under load, which should translate to less strain on system cooling.

Sandisk WD_BLACK SN8100 Reliability

The SN8100 also comes in a version with a pre-installed heatsink, which uses anodized aluminum and dual thermal interface pads to help manage heat passively. Its low-profile design makes it easy to fit into tighter builds and doesn’t need extra power cables or active cooling. WD also included customizable RGB lighting, allowing users to match the drive’s appearance with the rest of their build.

The ratings for endurance are in line with those of other high-end TLC-based drives. The 4TB model is rated for up to 2,400TBW, the 2TB at 1,200TBW, and the 1TB at 600TBW. All capacities come with a five-year limited warranty and an MTTF of 1.75 million hours.

드라이브 관리

SSD management occurs through the 샌디스크 대시보드, a streamlined utility with a clean layout that gives users access to key diagnostic and monitoring features. It lets you check drive health, track performance, monitor temperature, and confirm interface status at a glance. The tool also supports firmware updates and, for drives like the SN8100, includes options for customizing RGB lighting if your model supports it.

The main overview screen is organized into clear panels. At the top, you’ll see the drive’s name, capacity (in this case, the WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB), and the current firmware version. It shows overall drive health as a percentage, live temperature readings, and a detailed capacity breakdown (available, used, and unallocated). You’ll also find real-time reporting on the interface speed. At the bottom, a performance graph updates with read/write speeds and queue data every few seconds, although it’s idle in this screenshot.

One particularly useful section is the Interface Speed panel. Here, the software displays both the capability of the SSD (in this case, “Gen5, 4 lanes”) and its actual connection (also “Gen5, 4 lanes”). This is especially helpful because not all M.2 slots on a motherboard run at full x4 speeds, even if they support Gen5. Having both values shown side by side gives you a quick way to confirm whether your drive is running at its full potential or is bottlenecked by the slot.

Sandisk WD_BLACK SN8100 Specifications

The SanDisk WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD is available now at SanDisk.com and select global retailers in 1TB ($179.99), 2TB ($279.99), and 4TB ($549.99) capacities. Heatsink versions will arrive this fall, starting at $199.99 for 1TB. An 8TB model, with and without heatsink, is expected later this year.

SN8100 Performance

유사품

Before diving into the benchmarks, here’s a list of comparable drives tested alongside the SN8100 and their respective PCIe generation:

• 크루셜 P310 (PCIe 4세대)
• 결정적인 T705 (PCIe 5세대)
• 크루셜 P510 (PCIe 5세대)
• 삼성 9100 프로 4TB (PCIe 5세대)
• Samsung 990 Pro (PCIe 4세대)
• WD SN850X (PCIe 4세대)

For this review, we’ll focus on the 2TB model of the WD_BLACK SN8100.

이 드라이브들을 다양한 테스트를 통해 실제 성능과 합성 성능을 평가할 것입니다. 여기에는 대용량 AI 모델 처리 속도를 측정하는 LLM 로드 시간, 게임 애셋 로드 및 게임 내 데이터 처리 속도를 확인하는 DirectStorage 테스트, 그리고 고해상도 비디오 편집 시 읽기 및 쓰기 속도를 평가하는 Blackmagic Design 테스트가 포함됩니다. 또한 PCMark 10을 실행하여 전반적인 시스템 응답성을 측정하고, 3DMark Storage를 통해 게임 성능을 테스트하며, FIO 테스트를 통해 고부하 작업 시 최대 순차 및 랜덤 읽기/쓰기 속도를 측정할 것입니다.

벤치마킹에 사용한 고성능 테스트 장비는 다음과 같습니다.

• CPU : AMD 라이젠 7 9800X3D
• Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Hero
• RAM: G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal Series DDR5-6000 (2x16GB)
• GPU : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
• OS: Windows 11 Pro, Ubuntu 24.10 Desktop

최고의 합성 성능

FIO 테스트는 SSD 및 HDD를 포함한 저장 장치의 성능을 측정하는 데 사용되는 유연하고 강력한 벤치마킹 도구입니다. 순차 및 임의 읽기/쓰기 작업과 같은 다양한 작업 부하에서 대역폭, IOPS(초당 입출력 작업) 및 대기 시간과 같은 메트릭을 평가합니다. 이 테스트는 저장 시스템의 최대 성능을 평가하는 데 도움이 되므로 다양한 장치 또는 구성을 비교하는 데 유용합니다. 이 테스트의 최대 버스트 성능을 측정하여 두 SSD 모두에서 작업 부하를 10GB 공간으로 제한했습니다.

In the FIO burst test, the SN8100 delivers exceptional peak performance across all workloads. It tops the chart in sequential throughput, hitting 15GB/s for reads and 14.1GB/s for writes, edging out even the Crucial T705 and Samsung 9100 Pro. Latency is equally impressive, averaging just 0.56ms for reads and 0.59ms for writes.

For 4K random operations, the SN8100 sustains 2.312M IOPS for reads and 2.144M IOPS for writes, with average latencies of 0.22 ms and 0.24 ms, respectively. These figures place it among the fastest drives tested, trailing only the 9100 Pro in read IOPS while offering a competitive write and latency profile.

평균 LLM 로드 시간

평균 LLM 로드 시간 테스트는 DeepSeek R1 7B, Meta Llama 3.2 11B, DeepSeek R1 32B의 세 가지 LLM의 로드 시간을 평가했습니다. 각 모델은 10회 테스트되었으며, 평균 로드 시간을 계산했습니다. 이 테스트는 드라이브가 대용량 언어 모델(LLM)을 메모리에 얼마나 빨리 로드할 수 있는지 측정합니다. LLM 로드 시간은 AI 관련 작업, 특히 실시간 추론 및 대규모 데이터 세트 처리에 매우 중요합니다. 로드 속도가 빠르면 모델이 데이터를 빠르게 처리하여 AI의 응답성을 향상시키고 대기 시간을 줄일 수 있습니다.

In the Average LLM Load Time test, the SN8100 ranks near the top across all model loads. It completes the DeepSeek R1 7B load in just 2.5702 seconds, outperforming every other drive in the comparison, including the previous fastest, Samsung 9100 Pro (2.6173s). For the more demanding Meta Llama 3.2 11B Vision model, it records 3.5856 seconds, placing it just behind the 9100 Pro (3.6017s) and slightly faster than the T705 (3.6312s) and 990 Pro (3.6312s).

Its advantage is most noticeable with the DeepSeek R1 32B model, which posted a load time of 4.2870 seconds. The second-place 9100 Pro posted a time of 4.3735 seconds, finishing well ahead of the other consumer drives in the lineup, including the P510 (5.0594s) and T705 (5.1080s).

3DMark 직접 저장

3DMark DirectStorage 기능 테스트는 Microsoft의 DirectStorage가 PCIe SSD에서 게임 자산 로딩을 최적화하는 방식을 평가합니다. DirectStorage는 CPU 오버헤드를 줄이고 데이터 전송 속도를 개선하여 로딩 시간을 개선하며, 특히 GDeflate 압축 및 Windows 11의 BypassIO와 함께 사용할 때 더욱 그렇습니다. 이 테스트는 DirectStorage가 활성화될 때 잠재적인 대역폭 개선을 강조하기 위해 스토리지 성능을 분리합니다.

Looking at the results for this test, the SN8100 leads in nearly every DirectStorage metric. Starting with Storage to VRAM (GDeflate Compression), it showed a bandwidth of 26.11 GB/s, outperforming all other tested drives, including the high-end Crucial T705 (25.75 GB/s) and Samsung 9100 Pro (23.77 GB/s).

For uncompressed Storage to VRAM, the SN8100 delivers 12.94 GB/s with DirectStorage enabled (the best tested SSDs) and 7.63 GB/s with DirectStorage off. Its Storage to RAM speeds are equally good at 12.94 GB/s (DS on) and 9.78 GB/s (DS off), the highest among all entries.

The SN8100 also posts a strong GDeflate decompression bandwidth of 64.51 GB/s. Though this is lower than the rest of the tested consumer SSDs, it’s still a solid result.

Blackmagic Disk Speed ​​Test

Blackmagic Disk Speed ​​Test는 드라이브의 읽기 및 쓰기 속도를 벤치마킹하여 특히 비디오 편집 작업의 성능을 추정합니다. 이를 통해 사용자는 스토리지가 4K 또는 8K 비디오와 같은 고해상도 콘텐츠에 충분히 빠른지 확인할 수 있습니다.

Here, the WD SN8100 posts the fastest overall results with 10,005.2MB/s read and 10,581MB/s write. It edges out other Gen5 competitors like the Crucial T705 (8,464.2MB/s read, 10,256.4MB/s write), Samsung 9100 Pro (9,542.3MB/s read, 9,907.9MB/s write), and Crucial P510 (7,853.9MB/s read, 7,939.6MB/s write).

Among the Gen4 drives, the Samsung 990 Pro, WD SN850X, and Crucial P310 trail behind, with read speeds in the 5,200–5,800MB/s range and write speeds hovering just under 6,000 MB/s. These results are an excellent example of the generational performance leap offered by PCIe Gen5 technology.

PCMark10 스토리지

PCMark 10 스토리지 벤치마크는 애플리케이션 기반 추적을 사용하여 실제 스토리지 성능을 평가합니다. 시스템 및 데이터 드라이브를 테스트하여 대역폭, 액세스 시간 및 부하 시 일관성을 측정합니다. 이러한 벤치마크는 합성 테스트를 넘어서는 실질적인 통찰력을 제공하여 사용자가 최신 스토리지 솔루션을 효과적으로 비교하는 데 도움이 됩니다.

Results show that the SN8100 scored 8,644, among the leaders in this test. It lands just behind the Crucial T705 (8,783), but ahead of the Samsung 9100 Pro (7,552) and Samsung 990 Pro (7,173). It also significantly outperforms the other Gen4 drives: Crucial P510 (6,450), P310 (6,436), and WD SN850X (4,988).

3DMark 저장소

3DMark Storage Benchmark는 게임 로딩, 진행 상황 저장, 게임 파일 설치, 게임 플레이 녹화와 같은 작업을 측정하여 SSD의 게임 성능을 테스트합니다. 스토리지가 실제 게임 활동을 얼마나 잘 처리하는지 평가하고 정확한 성능 통찰력을 위해 최신 스토리지 기술을 지원합니다.

Here, the SN8100 scores 6,047, placing it at the top of the leaderboard with a nice lead. It outpaces all other tested Gen5 drives, including the Crucial T705 (5,100), Samsung 9100 Pro (4,779), and Crucial P510 (4,148), as well as every Gen4 model. This makes the WD SN8100 likely an impressive performer for gaming responsiveness and other real-world tasks.

GPU 직접 스토리지

이 테스트벤치에서 수행한 테스트 중 하나는 Magnum IO GPU Direct Storage(GDS) 테스트였습니다. GDS는 NVIDIA에서 개발한 기능으로, GPU가 NVMe 드라이브나 다른 고속 스토리지 장치에 저장된 데이터에 액세스할 때 CPU를 우회할 수 있도록 해줍니다. GDS는 CPU와 시스템 메모리를 통해 데이터를 라우팅하는 대신 GPU와 스토리지 장치 간의 직접 통신을 가능하게 하여 대기 시간을 크게 줄이고 데이터 처리량을 개선합니다.

GPU 직접 스토리지 작동 방식

전통적으로 GPU가 NVMe 드라이브에 저장된 데이터를 처리할 때 데이터는 GPU에 도달하기 전에 먼저 CPU와 시스템 메모리를 거쳐야 합니다. 이 프로세스는 CPU가 중개자가 되어 지연 시간을 늘리고 귀중한 시스템 리소스를 소모하기 때문에 병목 현상이 발생합니다. GPU Direct Storage는 GPU가 PCIe 버스를 통해 스토리지 장치에서 직접 데이터에 액세스할 수 있도록 하여 이러한 비효율성을 제거합니다. 이 직접 경로는 데이터 이동과 관련된 오버헤드를 줄여 더 빠르고 효율적인 데이터 전송을 가능하게 합니다.

AI 워크로드, 특히 딥 러닝과 관련된 워크로드는 매우 데이터 집약적입니다. 대규모 신경망을 훈련하려면 테라바이트 규모의 데이터를 처리해야 하며, 데이터 전송이 지연되면 GPU 활용도가 낮아지고 훈련 시간이 길어질 수 있습니다. GPU Direct Storage는 데이터가 가능한 한 빨리 GPU에 전달되도록 하여 유휴 시간을 최소화하고 계산 효율성을 극대화함으로써 이러한 과제를 해결합니다.

또한 GDS는 비디오 처리, 자연어 처리 또는 실시간 추론과 같이 대용량 데이터 세트를 스트리밍하는 작업 부하에 특히 유용합니다. GDS는 CPU에 대한 의존도를 줄임으로써 데이터 이동을 가속화하고 다른 작업을 위한 CPU 리소스를 확보하여 전반적인 시스템 성능을 더욱 향상시킵니다.

Among the lineup of tested SSDs, the SN8100 delivers great performance, particularly at larger block sizes. At the 16K block size and a  128 queue depth, it achieves 3.4 GiB/s read (0.564ms, 225.9K IOPS) and 2.1 GiB/s write (0.907ms, 140.6K IOPS). This places it near the top for read throughput at this block size and ahead of many Gen5 competitors, though its write performance lags slightly.

As block sizes increase, the SN8100 continues to impress. At 128K, it reaches 5.9 GiB/s reads (2.626ms, 48.7K IOPS) and 5.8 GiB/s writes (2.668ms, 47.9K IOPS), outpacing nearly all other drives in both throughput and latency, including the Samsung 9100 Pro and Crucial T705.

At the 1M block size, the SN8100 posts a strong 6.5 GiB/s read (19.264ms, 6.6K IOPS) and 5.9 GiB/s write (21.063ms, 6.1K IOPS), placing it slightly ahead of the 9100 Pro and T705 in write performance and matching their read efficiency.

Overall, the SN8100 is one of the most well-rounded Gen5 drives for GDS tasks among the tested drives, consistently ranking near the top across all tested block sizes.

Here’s a full run-down:

결론

The Sandisk WD_BLACK SN8100 delivers precisely what you’d expect from a flagship Gen5 SSD. It’s extremely fast, consistent, and outperforms its competition in most of our benchmarking. Coupling all this with solid endurance ratings, hardware encryption support, and a five-year warranty, it covers almost everything most power users expect from a high-end SSD.

Performance-wise, the SN8100 showed impressive results in nearly every test. It led the pack in sequential read and write speeds, posted some of the best 4K random IOPS numbers, and performed exceptionally well in real-world scenarios like large language model loading, DirectStorage game asset transfers, and GPU Direct Storage workloads. It consistently landed at or near the top in synthetic and application-based benchmarks.

For anyone running a Gen5-supported system, the SN8100 is an excellent addition to your rig. It brings significant performance gains over Gen4 drives and is perfect for tasks that demand speed and reliability, such as gaming, editing high-resolution media, or running AI models. As one of the fastest consumer SSDs on the market, with an excellent software tool and aggressive pricing, it’s an easy pick for a Best Of 2025 award!

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