Best 500GB PCIe 4.0 Western Digital SSDs
There are 7 500GB PCIe 4.0 Western Digital SSDs compared here. The fastest is the Western Digital Black SN7100 at 7250 MB/s read at 500GB, and the highest-rated for endurance is the Western Digital WD BLACK™ SN850 NVMe (1200 TBW). Sequential reads across the group span 4150–7250 MB/s at 500GB.
Why this configuration
A 500GB PCIe 4.0 Western Digital SSD is a mainstream Gen4 pick. Gen4 is the current default NVMe tier: about 7,000 MB/s, widely supported, and priced for volume. Western Digital specifically tends to be chosen here for its firmware track record and warranty support.
500GB is a sensible OS-plus-a-few-games size.
Usually chosen for: most modern desktop and laptop builds.
Good fit: mainstream desktop and laptop builds.
Ranked list
Speeds on this page are the manufacturer's 500GB ratings where published (7 of 7 drives), not the family headline figure. Rated writes at 500GB run 4100–6900 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 500GB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Western Digital WD BLACK™ SN850 NVMe 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | WD_BLACK G2 | Sandisk Modelo 20-82 | 7000 | 1200 | Find on Amazon |
| 2 | Western Digital Black SN7100 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | SanDisk Polaris 3 | 7250 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 | Western Digital Blue SN5100 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Polaris 3 | 7100 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 | Western Digital Blue SN5000 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Value | WD Polaris 3 | 5500 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 5 | Western Digital Black SN770 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | SanDisk 20-82-10081-A1 (Polaris MP | 5150 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 6 | Western Digital Black SN770M 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | WD 20-82-10081 | 5150 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 7 | Western Digital Blue SN580 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | SanDisk 20-82-10082 (Polaris MP16+ | 4150 | — | Check price on Amazon |
The parts, explained
500GB is a comfortable OS-and-games starting point.
PCIe 4.0 x4 delivers roughly 7,000 MB/s, the current price-to-performance sweet spot for most builds.
Staying with Western Digital means consistent firmware, tooling and warranty handling across the range.