Heatsink Performance:
While faster than their SATA-based SSDs, PCIe drives like the WD Black SN750 tend to generate more heat. In fact, if your computer doesn't have enough airflow or a large video card covering your M.2 slots, they can get quite hot. To prevent them from overheating, companies like Western Digital have implemented a mechanism called thermal throttling which automatically reduces a drive's performance when it reaches a certain temperature.
With the original SN750, the temperatures hovered around 41 ºC while idle and would climb up to 81 ºC when pushed hard. At this point, thermal throttling was triggered causing the dips in the graph you see below.
As you'd expect, the heatsink did have an impact on the SN750's temperatures. At idle, the drive's temperature averaged about 44 ºC, which is actually a few degrees higher than what we saw with the original SN750. However, under heavy loads, the temperature peaked at 63 ºC. If you do the math, this is a drop of about 18 degrees.
While 18 degrees doesn't sound like a lot, it's enough to prevent thermal throttling from occurring. Looking at the screenshot below, you can see that there aren't any dips in the transfer rate graph.
Final Thoughts:
The heatsink-equipped version of Western Digital's WD Black SN750 SSD is finally here and, like the original, it's a great choice for the gamer or enthusiast looking to boost the performance of their desktop PC. This M.2 form factor drive is powered by Western Digital's own Spectrum controller and is available with up to 2TB of the company's 64-layer BiCS 3D TLC NAND flash. Combine this with an ultra-fast PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe 1.3 interface and an EKWB-designed heatsink and you have an SSD capable of delivering high levels of performance for long periods of time. The 1TB version of the WD Black SN750 flew through our sequential transfer rate tests, reading at speeds as high as 3,499 MB/s and writing at more than 3,018 MB/s. The drive also did very well in our random write tests, producing more than 226,000 IOPS at low queue depths.
Despite its sleek, modern design, there is one downside to the WD Black SN750's heatsink and that is its size. This version of the drive is both taller and wider than the original, and as a result, it doesn't fit on all motherboards. Western Digital has addressed this issue by providing a list of compatible motherboards. However, it's still probably a good idea to check and make sure that the heatsink won't hit your video card, a PCI slot or any of the other components on your motherboard.
The WD Black SN750 is available now with the heatsink in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities. Prices on Amazon.com currently range from $130 up to $530, with the 1TB version reviewed here retailing for about $250. If you don't need the heatsink, the original WD Black SN750 can also be picked up for about $25 less.
Highs:
- Sleek EKWB designed heatsink
- Available in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities
- PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe 1.3 interface
- Equipped with 64-layer BiCS3 3D TLC NAND
- Excellent sequential and random read and write speeds
- Small M.2 2280 form factor
- Large DRAM cache
- WD Black SSD Dashboard with "gaming mode"
- 5 year warranty
Lows:
- Heatsink causes clearance issues with some motherboards
- Does not support hardware based encryption
