Today's games are getting bigger and bigger, and the need for storage is getting higher and higher. Some large AAA games often exceed 100GB in size, and some even go as high as 200GB. The lack of hard disk space has become a headache for many players. In addition to the need for sufficient storage space, the game also has high requirements for the read and write speed of the storage device, otherwise it will seriously affect the loading and running experience of the game.
Although the traditional HDD has a large capacity, it has a slow read and write speed, which is completely unable to meet the needs of modern large-scale games. Even for a 7200-rpm high-speed hard drive, the maximum read speed is more than 100MB/s, which is far from keeping up. Players often have to wait for a few minutes to open a game and load a level, which affects the game experience. Moreover, the noise when reading and writing is also relatively large, which will affect the performance of the sound effect.
In view of this, solid-state drives (SSDs) came into being and became the new darling of the storage industry. SSDs have no mechanical moving parts, and the read and write speeds are very fast, and some high-end products can even reach ultra-high speeds of 7000MB/s. It only takes a few seconds for SSD to open large games, which completely solves the pain points of gamers for traditional hard drives.
SSD has developed to a relatively mature day, and the price has gradually become more affordable, but there has always been a defect of small capacity. However, with the development of storage technologies such as the new generation of QLC and PLC, the capacity of SSDs is also expanding. Nowadays, many SSDs already have 4TB and 8TB ultra-large capacity versions, which can basically meet the needs of most gamers.
Portable mobile SSD has become a new development hotspot. The portable SSD, which is as thin as a business card and as light as nothing, can not only meet the needs of large-capacity and high-speed storage, but also can be easily carried around, becoming a good helper for mobile office and on-the-go entertainment. Top hardware brands are also frantically joining the mobile SSD market to start a new round of competition.
Western Digital seems to have seen this trend and launched a series of new game storage products in WD_BLACK. No, the Dragon Shield Bureau exhibited several of these portable SSDs on site.
The first is WD_BLACKP40 gaming mobile SSD, which is a flagship-level product. Compact and delicate, but with outstanding performance. It adopts the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 protocol interface, and the transfer speed is close to 2000MB/s, which can be called the "fighter" in the mobile hard disk. With this P40, gamers will say goodbye to the long loading times of previous blockbuster games.
In addition to speed, the P40 also boasts a shock-resistant design that won't leak data even if it hits an accidental fall. Its RGB lighting effects can also be customized, giving this portable hard drive a cool look full of personality.
WD_BLACKP10 is a popular gaming mobile hard drive, slightly inferior to the P40, using the USB 3.2 Gen 1 protocol and a maximum speed of 130MB/s. But the biggest feature is that it provides a large-capacity version of up to 5TB, which has become a "fat" level mobile hard drive. With a P10 in hand, you can easily load hundreds of triple-A games.
PS5 and Xbox players can also enjoy WD_BLACK benefits. WD_BLACK D30 portable SSD for up to 900MB/s speeds up to console gaming. Simply plug in the console to expand the massive storage space, making it effortless for players to play cross-platform.
In addition to gaming storage, Western Digital has also launched several mobile SSDs for office, such as the MyPassport SSD Edition and the Elements SE series, which I was impressed with. MyPassport is small and portable, but with a capacity of up to 4TB and a read and write speed of more than 1,000 MB/s, MyPassport can meet the needs of efficient storage and transfer of various digital files such as documents, videos, and pictures. The Elements SE has a unique square body design and a wide range of external cables, making it convenient and efficient to "plug and play".
First of all, WD_BLACKP40, I used it to copy a 130GB game file. The whole transfer process only took more than 1 minute, looking at the amazing read and write speed, I sincerely sighed that this portable hard drive lives up to its name! This transfer speed is definitely a great blessing for gamers who often transfer large game files between different devices.
Next, I plugged in my P40 drive into my console and opened up a 146GB open-world game. The game loading screen lasted just over 10 seconds, and I was in the game scene. In the past, when playing this kind of blockbuster, the loading process often took a few minutes, and the efficiency improvement is simply too obvious!
I also deliberately tried the WD_BLACK D30 Mobile SSD's console gaming acceleration experience. The 900MB/s read speed is really amazing, and the read and load speed of various large games on the console can be said to be a world of difference compared to ordinary mechanical hard drives.
As for office mobile SSDs, the MyPassport SSD version has a write speed of more than 1000MB/s and I feel a new level of efficiency in transferring large files. 4K video footage that used to take a few minutes to transfer can now take just over 10 seconds with the help of this SSD. Elements SE isn't as fast as MyPassport, but I love its compact design and great portability.