The WD Blue SN5000 NVMe SSD is Western Digital’s latest offering targeting creative professionals and power users. With PCIe Gen 4 technology, impressive capacity options, and enhanced performance features, it promises to be a significant upgrade for those handling intensive workloads. Or if you just need a massive storage upgrade to store your games.
Sure, it may not be as fast as the WD_BLACK SN850 but the SN5000 is also fast while saving your some extra cash for other PC parts upgrade.
The WD Blue SN5000 comes in the standard M.2 2280 form factor that fits perfectly into most modern motherboards and laptops. Available in various capacity options (500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB), it caters to different storage needs and budgets. The 4TB model, which I have for this review, retails for around AU$339 – offering significant value considering the amount of storage you’re getting.
Performance-wise, the SN5000 boasts impressive read speeds of up to 5,500MB/s read and 5,000MB/s write on the 4TB model, leveraging PCIe Gen 4 technology. While this isn’t the absolute fastest in the market (some premium drives push to 7,000MB/s like the WD_BLACK SN850 and beyond), it hits a sweet spot of performance and affordability that makes it attractive for most professional users.
What really matters is how this drive performs in everyday scenarios. During my testing, the SN5000 showed exceptional responsiveness and speed. Transferring large video files was a breeze, especially if you compare this to old, traditional SATA drives with 550MB/s capped transfer speed. The Western Digital nCache 4.0 technology seems to make a genuine difference in maintaining consistent performance during intensive tasks.
With CrystalDiskMark, I could definitely get the promised speed:
Modern games require more and more space these days, with titles like Call of Duty easily exceeding 200GB. Assuming you don’t play or store just one game at a time, you can end up filling your hard drive space quickly without realising. For example, you’d probably store online first person shooter games like Overwatch 2 or Marvel Rivals, along with CounterStrike 2 and Valorant. Then, in your offline or spare time, you probably want to play games from other genre like RPGs. For example, I’m still trying to finish my Dragon Age: The Veilguard while playing Overwatch 2 regularly.
This is where having a 4TB NVMe drive becomes a game-changer (pun intended). With 4TB capacity, you’ll be able to install your entire active game library (okay, still depends on how many you have) without worrying about constantly uninstalling titles to make room for new ones.
Beyond just capacity, the SN5000’s read speeds translate to noticeably faster game loading times. Open-world games that traditionally struggle with asset streaming (such as seamless map loading) will show smoother performance with fewer hitches or texture pop-ins. While the difference isn’t as dramatic as upgrading from an HDD to an SSD, it’s still a meaningful improvement over budget NVMe drives or SATA SSDs.
For professionals working with AI-assisted applications and creative software, the SN5000 also shines. Applications like Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve benefit tremendously from the drive’s throughput. Faster drive means faster throughput and to those who often edit large media files will benefit from the speed (and capacity) upgrade.
With an endurance rating of 1,200 TBW (Terabytes Written) for the 4TB model, the SN5000 is built to handle years of intensive use (and it comes with a 5-year limited warranty). This high endurance figure is particularly important for creative professionals who regularly work with large files and may write hundreds of gigabytes per day to their drive.
Western Digital’s included Dashboard software provides useful monitoring tools to keep track of drive health and available space. The 5-year warranty offers peace of mind that this drive is built to last through multiple computer upgrade cycles.
WD Blue SN5000 Review Conclusion
The WD Blue SN5000 hits a sweet spot in the NVMe market by offering substantial capacity options, impressive performance, and reliability at a reasonable price point. The 4TB model in particular makes a compelling case for those who need massive storage but don’t want to compromise on speed.
For creative professionals working with large files, the consistent performance during intensive workloads is a significant advantage. Gamers will appreciate having enough space to install dozens of modern titles without constant juggling of uninstallations. And for everyday computing, the responsiveness and multitasking capabilities make for a smoother, more enjoyable experience.
At AU$339 for the 4TB model, it’s not the cheapest NVMe drive on the market, but the combination of high capacity, strong performance, and Western Digital’s reputation for reliability makes it an excellent value proposition. If you’re looking to future-proof your storage setup for the next few years of increasingly demanding applications and games, the WD Blue SN5000 is an investment worth making.
Disclosure: WD Blue SN5000 review sample was supplied for reviewing
