WD Black SN7100 2TB NVMe SSD Review

WD Black SN7100 2TB Performance Testing

We test using both the default smaller test size and larger test sets on our benchmarks. This allows us to see the difference between lighter and heavier workloads.

CrystalDiskMark x64

CrystalDiskMark is used as a basic starting point for benchmarks as it is something commonly run by end-users as a sanity check.

Out of the gate, the WD SN7100 2TB achieved mostly achieves its rated sequential read performance of 7250 MB/s, while falling a bit short on the rated write speed. Write performance is typically the Achilles heel for DRAM-less drives, and CrystalDiskMark is generally one of the easiest benchmarks to perform well in, so consider my curiosity piqued.

The WD SN7100 read performance on the larger CrystalDiskMark test actually ticks up a bit, but write performance takes a large hit. Almost every other drive on my chart has a DRAM cache, and unfortunately it shows.

ATTO Disk Benchmark

The ATTO Disk Benchmark has been a staple of drive sequential performance testing for years. ATTO was tested at both 256MB and 8GB file sizes.

ATTO sequential results tend to come in slightly below what CrystalDiskMark records on most of my reviews, for the WD SN7100 that is the case. On the smaller 256MB test there is also a lot of performance variability across the benchmark run, which is something that is not a good sign. With that said, write performance can tend to vary a lot in this test, so we will have to see how the rest of testing goes before drawing any conclusions.

The larger ATTO test shows a large improvement for the SN7100, both at the measured 32MB point as well as across the entire test run. It would seem the larger test set allows the SN7100 to stretch its legs a bit, and perhaps there is less reliance on the HMB buffer which helps improve performance. Regardless of the reason, the SN7100 performs like a high-end Gen 4 drive in this test.

Anvil’s Storage Utilities

Anvil’s Storage Utilities is a comprehensive benchmark that gives us a very in-depth look at the performance of the drives tested. This benchmark was run with both a 1GB and 8GB test size.

Anvil results for the WD SN7100 2TB are excellent. Read score tops my Gen 4 chart, while write score is competitive with the other high-end Gen 4 drives.

The WD SN7100 holds strong on the larger Anvil test. Write score maintains its chart-topping performance, and while read score comes in a bit lower than other high-end drives, it is still in their orbit.

AS SSD Benchmark

AS SSD Benchmark is another good benchmark for testing SSDs. We run all three tests for our series. Like other utilities, it was run with both the default 1GB as well as a larger 10GB test set.

In a quick reversal of fortune, performance in AS SSD drops the WD Black SN7100 to the bottom of my chart. Read score for whe WD drive comes in below all the other drives on my chart, and write score only manages be third from the bottom of the chart.

Things stay somewhat bleak for the WD Black SN7100 on the larger AS SSD test. In relative terms almost everything stays the same from the smaller test, except now write score is second from the bottom instead of third. AS SSD is just not the SN7100’s strong suit.

SPECworkstation, thermals, and our conclusion are up next.