An obscure 4-year-old Intel SSD is still the world's fastest despite WD Black SN8100's outstanding performance in benchmarks

Date:
Sat, 24 May 2025 18:28:00 +0000

Description:
Though the SN8100 boasts blazing Gen5 speeds and strong efficiency, it still cant dethrone Intels four-year-old Optane P5800X in real-world SSD performance.

FULL STORY ======================================================================SN8100 tops flash-based SSD charts with record speeds and great thermals with no fan required Sandisks SN8100 delivers stunning PCIe Gen5 performance with nearly 15 GB/s read speeds Intels four-year-old Optane P5800X still outpaces the SN8100 in real-world speed tests

SanDisks new WD Black SN8100 PCIe Gen5 SSD is fast, efficient, and engineered to meet the demands of gamers and power users alike.

The drive uses a PCIe Gen5 x4 interface and is available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities. Built around SanDisk's in-house 8-channel controller and BiCS 3D TLC NAND, it supports read speeds of up to 14.5 GB/s and write speeds up to 12.7 GB/s, placing it among the fastest Gen5 drives currently available.

However, despite the SN8100s cutting-edge design and impressive benchmarks, Intels now-defunct, four-year-old Optane P5800X still holds the crown as the fastest SSD in real-world use. Benchmarks suggest top speeds - but not across the board

In synthetic benchmarks like CrystalDiskMark and ATTO, the SN8100 breaks lab records for sequential throughput and random reads, reaching up to 2.3
million IOPS.

According to TweakTown , this SSD is like none other; its at least 20% more powerful than any flash-based SSD weve ever encountered.

It also demonstrates notable efficiency, consuming just 7 watts under load
and requiring no active cooling, making it a serious contender for best SSD
or the best portable SSD for enthusiast builds.

Still, synthetic benchmarks dont always reflect real-world performance. In practical transfer tests, the SN8100 ranked ninth overall, indicating that while it's extremely fast, it's not without limitations, and it doesn't dethrone the Intel Optane P5800X.

Launched in 2021, the P5800X remains unmatched in real-world responsiveness and latency. While its sequential read speeds top out at 7.2 GB/s - slower than the SN8100 - its random read/write IOPS exceed 4.5 million, and latency frequently drops below 10 microseconds. Thats where it truly shines.

Flash-based SSDs like the SN8100 still rely on garbage collection and page-level management, leading to occasional latency spikes during small, random workloads. In contrast, the P5800X maintains consistent performance under heavy load, with no significant dips, a key reason why its still regarded as the fastest SSD ever made.

That said, the SN8100 is an impressive drive in its own right. It's a customized version of Silicon Motions SM2508 controller, enhanced with proprietary technologies like nCache 4.0 and WD Black Gaming Mode.

It also fits into the Sony PlayStation 5s expansion slot, achieving read speeds of 6,550 MB/s in that setup, well above the consoles minimum requirement. However, with a price tag of $280 for the 2TB model, it clearly belongs in the premium tier. You might also like Take a look at some of the best external hard drives available to buy And check out the best portable SSDs you can get today We've listed the best NAS devices around



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/cloud-computing/an-obscure-4-year-old-inte l-ssd-is-still-the-worlds-fastest-despite-wd-black-sn8100s-outstanding-perform ance-in-benchmarks


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