WD_BLACK P50 Game Drive SSD Review: High-Performance SSD Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Best Products > Computer Components
WD_BLACK P50 Game Drive SSD Review
A rugged and wickedly fast solid-state drive
By Andy Zahn Andy Zahn Writer Lower Columbia College Andy Zahn is a writer specializing in tech. He's reviewed cameras, weather stations, noise-cancelling headphones, and more for Lifewire. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 11, 2021 Tweet Share Email We independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products—learn more about our process. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission. 4.8 WD _BLACK P50 Game Drive SSD
Lifewire / Andy Zahn What We Like Extremely fast data transfer speeds Compact and portable Rugged and durable design What We Don't Like Expensive Runs hot The WD Black P50 Game Drive’s rugged frame is reassuring, and it’s small and light enough to take with you anywhere you go. It’s also blazing fast, which is essential for high-end gaming and productivity. View On Amazon View On Best Buy View On B&H Photo Video 4.8 WD _BLACK P50 Game Drive SSD
Lifewire / Andy Zahn View On Amazon View On Best Buy View On B&H Photo Video in this article Expand Design Setup Process What’s New Performance Price WD Black P50 Game Drive vs WD My Passport SSD Final Verdict Specs Western Digital provided us with a review unit for one of our writers to test. Read on for their full take. Modern video games demand more than sheer graphical power and a beefy processor; they also demand a considerable share of your storage capacity, and fast transfer speeds to access those mountains of data. The WD_BLACK P50 Game Drive external SSD is built to handle the rigors of high-end gaming, providing both capacity and blazing speed in a compact and durable package so that your games can go anywhere you do. Design Ready for the virtual battlefield
The WD_BLACK P50 Game Drive looks and feels like a serious piece of hardware, measuring 4.65x2.44x0.55 inches (LWH). Its rugged aluminum design is a solid and reassuring weight that puts your mind at ease as to its durability. Its ridged top plate has a militaristic aesthetic that is further accentuated by stencil print style type, giving the P50 a “cool” factor not typically associated with storage devices. Lifewire / Andy Zahn Underneath, there’s ventilation for cooling, and the drive sits on rubberized feet that provide spacing between the drive and the surface it’s placed on, as well as help prevent it from slipping off accidentally. A white indicator light informs you of the drive’s status. Its ridged top plate has a militaristic aesthetic that is further accentuated by stencil print style type. The P50 comes with cables to connect it to both USB Type-C ports and USB Type-A, making it instantly compatible with most modern devices. The P50 Game Drive comes in capacities of 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, which is a versatile range that should fit most people’s portable data storage needs. Setup Process Plug and play
The best thing to be said about any setup process is for there to be no setup process, which is the case when using the P50 with any PC or laptop. Just plug it in and it’s ready to go. With consoles, you’ll need to go through each system’s process for setting up an external drive, which is anything but complicated, and an instruction manual is included to guide you through the steps for PS4 and Xbox One. What s New First in its line
WD’s line of black series NVMe SSDs have been at the leading edge of the high-performance SSD market for a long time. The P50 Game Drive is the first external SSD in the Black series. Lifewire / Andy Zahn Performance Blazing fast and future proof
Chances are that your computer or other device is going to be the limiting factor when it comes to transfer speeds with the P50 game drive. It features USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2 compatibility, which is tech that isn’t even in most computers or consoles yet. The P50 is certainly capable as a tool in the avid gamers tool kit, but it’s especially useful for photographers, videographers, animators, and graphic designers. In fact, while the P50 is compatible with the PS5 and Xbox Series X, those systems can’t actually take advantage of this drive’s full capability because their USB Type-A ports can only handle half the speed of the P50s 20Gbps potential. However, if you do have a PC with USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2 compatibility, then even the heftiest file transfers will just breeze by at the drive’s full 2,000 Mbps read/write speeds, as I found while testing the drive. Lifewire / Andy Zahn It’s most useful to me as a content creator who needs to transfer photo and video files rapidly from one system to another and to be able to work on those files from the external drive itself without running into bandwidth issues. The P50 is certainly capable as a tool in the avid gamers tool kit, but it’s especially useful for photographers, videographers, animators, and graphic designers. Performance like that delivered by the P50 Game Drive doesn’t come cheap. The P50 Game Drive comes with a 5-year warranty because this is a drive intended to be used for years to come while the rest of the tech industry finally catches up with its high degree of performance. I will say, though, that the P50 ran rather warmly, even while not under active use, which is a concern. Price You get what you pay for
Performance like that delivered by the P50 Game Drive doesn’t come cheap. The drive starts at an MSRP of $180 for the 500GB version, and goes up to $750 if you need the maximum capacity of 4TB. However, the $250 1TB version I tested isn’t too steep and provides plenty of storage space. It’s a good balance of price and capacity, given the high level of performance this hard drive provides. Lifewire / Andy Zahn WD Black P50 Game Drive vs WD My Passport SSD
If you want to get more terabytes for your dollars, the WD My Passport SSD offers tremendous capacity for your money, and it’s quite a bit smaller, making it more portable. However, it’s also only half as fast as the WD Black P50 Game Drive, so transfers won’t be as lightning quick. The 9 Best External Hard Drives, Tested by Lifewire Final Verdict A serious external SSD for high-end gaming and productivity. If the fastest transfer speeds are essential to get your game on or to get the job done, then the WD_BLACK P50 Game Drive is a killer external drive. It’s rugged, fast, and portable with a tough aluminum exterior to help keep your data safe while you’re on the road. Similar Products We' ve Reviewed
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Product Name _BLACK P50 Game Drive SSD Product Brand WD MPN WDBA3S0010BBK-WESN Price $250.00 Release Date December 2019 Weight 4.1 oz. Product Dimensions 4.65 x 2.44 x 0.55 in. Color Black Price Starting at $180 Warranty 5 years Transfer Speed 2,000 Mbps read/right Available Capacities 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire WD My Passport SSD Review: Portable and Affordable How to Add and Use an External Hard Drive with Xbox Series X or S The 9 Best External Hard Drives, Tested by Lifewire WD 1TB My Passport Review: Entry-Level Hard Disk for Cheap Storage The 10 Best SSDs for Gaming in 2022 WD Black P10 Review: Dedicated Gaming Storage in a Slick Package How to Choose an External Hard Drive The 10 Best Hard Drives for Gaming in 2022 WD Black 4TB Performance Hard Drive Review: Massive Storage in an Enduring, Reliable Hard Drive The 9 Best SATA Hard Drives, Tested by Lifewire The 9 Best Hard Drives for PlayStation 4 of 2022 WD 10TB Elements Desktop Review: Large, Straightforward Storage Capacity for Your Home Office ADATA SD700 Review: Speedy Storage Performance Protected by Military-Grade Durability Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSHD Review: Great for Gamers USB-C vs. USB 3: What's the Difference? The 8 Best 8TB External Hard Drives of 2022 Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies