Western Digital Amps up Its WD_BLACK Gaming Portfolio With Three New SSD Solutions

Rhea-AI Summary

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) launched three new SSDs for its WD_BLACK™ gaming portfolio at the Flash Perspective event, enhancing storage solutions for gamers. The new offerings include:

• WD_BLACK SN750 SE NVMe SSD: Up to 3,600MB/s read speed, available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB, starting at $54.99.
• WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD: Up to 900MB/s read speed, available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB, starting at $89.99.
• WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD for Xbox: Xbox-certified, starting at $99.99.

These products aim to enhance gamer experiences with fast, reliable storage.

Positive

• Launch of three new SSDs expands WD_BLACK gaming portfolio.
• WD_BLACK SN750 SE offers competitive read speeds at 3,600MB/s with lower power consumption.
• D30 Game Drive SSD features high performance and storage capacity for faster gaming experiences.

Negative

• None.

Today at its Flash Perspective event, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) unveiled three new SSDs for its WD_BLACK™ portfolio of products, providing gamers around the world with fast, high-performance storage solutions to upgrade their PC and next-gen console gaming experience.

New WD_BLACK SSD storage drives deliver the speed and capacity gamers need for quick access to their favorite games. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Our WD_BLACK brand delivers a clear and simple promise to gamers – fast and reliable storage that enhances their gameplay,” said Rob Soderbery, executive vice president and GM, Flash Business, Western Digital. “With today’s new products, the WD_BLACK portfolio has diverse flash-powered solutions so that every gamer – whether they’re just starting out or more advanced – can explore the rich worlds of today’s most inventive games.”

“Over the past few years, the graphics and fidelity of immersive game worlds have become more intense, and flash technology has become critical to enhancing the gaming experience. Gamers not only need more storage, they need speed for quick access so they can instantly step into these rich game worlds and experience games the way they’re meant to be played,” said Geoff Keighley, industry veteran and host of The Game Awards who spoke at today’s event.

Living at the intersection of technology and entertainment, the WD_BLACK brand delivers innovative storage solutions customized for the gamer. The newly announced WD_BLACK gaming portfolio products include:

WD_BLACK SN750 SE NVMe SSD – The WD_BLACK SN750 SE NVMe SSD lets enthusiast gamers level up their PC or laptop gaming experience with PCIe Gen4 technology⁴ and space for more games. This DRAM-less internal storage solution leverages PCIe Gen4 technology (backward compatible with PCIe Gen3) to deliver read speeds of up to 3,600MB/s.⁵ With up to 30% less power consumption than its predecessor,⁶ laptop gamers can expect longer playtimes between charges. The included WD_BLACK Dashboard monitors the drive’s health while optimizing peak performance in gaming mode even during streaming.

• Pricing/Availability: The WD_BLACK SN750 SE NVMe SSD comes in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities⁷ starting at $54.99 (MSRP USD) in the United States. It is available for pre-order from the Western Digital Store and will be available at select Western Digital retailers, e-tailers, resellers and system integrators in Summer 2021.

WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD – For console gamers looking to minimize game load times and get into the game fast, this sleek and compact high-performance SSD comes with read speeds up to 900 MB/s.⁵ Gamers can spend more time playing games and less time deleting them with expanded storage for up to 50 games⁸ with capacities up to 2TB.⁷ Designed to perfectly complement next-gen consoles, the drive has a detachable stand for placement next to a system.

• Pricing/Availability: The WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD comes in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities⁷ starting at $89.99 (MSRP USD) in the United States. It is now available for purchase at select Western Digital retailers, e-tailers, resellers, system integrators and the Western Digital Store.

WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD for Xbox – Built to complement the Xbox console gaming experience, this officially-licensed version of the WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD offers accelerated speeds and capacity packaged in a compact Xbox-inspired design. Gamers can plug in their drive and quickly begin building their game library or making room on their console for new titles, while also being able to play legacy Xbox One favorites directly from the drive.² Included with purchase is a 1-month membership of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with access to 100+ games on consoles and PC, plus online console multiplayer.³

• Pricing/Availability: The WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD for Xbox comes in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB⁷ capacities starting at $99.99 (MSRP USD) in the United States. It is now available for pre-order from the Western Digital Store and will be available at select Western Digital retailers, e-tailers, resellers, system integrators in June 2021.

For more information on these products, or to learn more about our full WD_BLACK portfolio of gaming solutions, please visit www.WDBLACK.com or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Twitch, where you can tune in to an exciting livestream launch celebration with the WD_BLACK team beginning at 1 p.m. PT.

¹ Compatible with PlayStation™ 5 to play and store PS4™ games; archive PS5™ games. PS5 games archived to drive must be transferred to console before playing.
² Play and store Xbox One™ games; archive Xbox Series X|S games. Xbox Series X|S games archived to drive must be transferred to console before playing. If game was purchased and loaded from disc, original discs may be required to verify ownership. Internet connection and a Xbox live account required.
³ 1-Month trial offer of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for new Xbox Game Pass members only. Limit: 1 per person/account. Available for a limited time. See product packaging for full details.
⁴ PCIe Gen4 storage technology requires a compatible motherboard. WD_BLACK SN750 SE is backwards compatible with PCIe Gen3.
⁵ As used for transfer rate, 1 MB/s = 1 million bytes per second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending upon host device, usage conditions, drive capacity, and other factors.
⁶ As compared to WD_BLACK SN750 NVMe SSD using MobileMark 2018 Average Active Power test.
⁷ As used for storage capacity, 1GB = 1 billion bytes and 1TB = one trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment.
⁸ Number of games based on a 36GB average per game. The number of games will vary based on file size, formatting, other programs, and factors.

About Western Digital
Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. As a leader in data infrastructure, the company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities of data. Our data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk®, and WD® brands.

Western Digital, the Western Digital logo, G-Technology, SanDisk, WD, WD_BLACK and the WD_BLACK logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. PlayStation, PS4, and PS5 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Xbox and Xbox One are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. and Microsoft Corporation do not endorse and did not help create these products. NVMe™ is a trademark of NVM Express, Inc. PCIe® is a registered trademark and/or service mark of PCI-SIG in the United States and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Product specifications subject to change without notice. Pictures shown may vary from actual products. Not all products are available in all regions of the world.

© 2021 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210526005446/en/

FAQ

What new products did Western Digital announce for WDC on May 26, 2021?

Western Digital announced the WD_BLACK SN750 SE NVMe SSD, WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD, and WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD for Xbox.

What are the read speeds of the new WD_BLACK SSDs released by WDC?

The WD_BLACK SN750 SE has read speeds up to 3,600MB/s, and the D30 Game Drive SSD offers up to 900MB/s.

When will the new WD_BLACK SSDs be available for purchase?

The WD_BLACK SN750 SE will be available in Summer 2021, and the D30 Game Drive SSDs are already available for purchase.

What is the pricing for the new SSDs from WDC?

The WD_BLACK SN750 SE starts at $54.99, the D30 Game Drive SSD starts at $89.99, and the Xbox version starts at $99.99.