WD_BLACK SN7100 Review – Power-Efficient Speed for Mobile Gaming

This might be my last Gen4 NVMe SSD to review for a while as brands are pumping out their Gen5 SSDs (I actually have 3 review units to review at the moment). While Gen5 offers double the amount of read and write speed compared to a Gen4, they are still quite expensive and not many gamers would probably want to use all their resources to upgrade to a Gen5.

For those who are still sticking to the Gen4 NVMe SSDs, you’ll still be treated with a really good performance and endurance, such as this WD_BLACK SN7100.

The WD_BLACK SN7100 NVMe SSD promises up to 7,250MB/s read speeds with a 35% performance boost over the previous generation (the WD_BLACK SN770 – check my review back in 2022) – but does it actually make your games load faster?

After spending several weeks with the 2TB model in my gaming desktop, I can confidently say this drive delivers where it matters most for gamers.

The SN7100 follows the standard M.2 2280 form factor, measuring 80mm x 22mm x 1.14mm and weighing just 5.8 grams. There’s nothing flashy about the design – no RGB lighting or fancy heat spreaders – which is actually perfect for laptops and gaming handhelds where space and power efficiency matter more than aesthetics.

The drive uses Western Digital’s next-generation TLC 3D NAND technology with a PCIe Gen4 interface. What’s particularly noteworthy is that this is a DRAM-less design, which traditionally might raise concerns about performance since it will use your system’s memory, but WD has engineered this drive specifically with power efficiency in mind without sacrificing speed.

The numbers on paper are impressive: 7,250MB/s sequential read and 6,900MB/s sequential write speeds for the 1-2TB models, with 1000K IOPS random read and 1400K IOPS random write performance.

With demanding games that require a lot of storage and long loading screens like Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty, or Dragon Age: Veilguard, the difference in loading times will immediately be noticeable if you have older SSDs like the Gen3 NVMe or worse, SATA SSDs. Plus, this drive has even faster writing speed on paper compared to the SN850X and SN850 which is great when saving game files or content creation activities.

With the CrystalDiskMark, I get slightly less but this kind of test always depends on many factors and environments.

One of the standout features of the SN7100 is its power efficiency. WD claims up to 100% more power efficiency at maximum speed over the previous generation, and this translates to real benefits for laptop and handheld gaming.

The operating temperature range of 0°C to 85°C provides plenty of headroom for most scenarios (gaming and non-gaming), and I never encountered any thermal issues during my testing period.

The WD_BLACK Dashboard software (Windows only) provides useful monitoring tools for drive health, drive endurance rating, performance metrics, and firmware updates. The Game Mode feature is a nice touch that optimises the drive’s performance profile for gaming workloads, though the performance difference is subtle in most real-world scenarios. You also don’t need to install the software if you don’t want to – and most people can’t be bothered with it and that’s fine too.

There is also an option for 4TB capacity to house all of your gaming collection and should hold many AAA games for months to come. Having this much fast storage means you’re less likely to constantly juggle game installations.

If you purchase a WD drive, you also get a free licence to run Acronis True Image (can be downloaded at Western Digital website). As long as the software detects a WD Drive (as a source or destination), you can use it to backup or clone your drive over. I did this to clone my Windows drive running an older NVMe SSD with Acronis True Image. The whole process only took me 10 minutes and as easy as clicking the next buttons. It just makes moving your Windows to a newer, faster, drive so much easier.

WD_BLACK SN7100 REVIEW CONCLUSION

The WD_BLACK SN7100 NVMe SSD delivers meaningful real-world improvements for gaming rather than just impressive benchmark numbers. The combination of blazing-fast speeds, excellent power efficiency, and solid build quality makes this drive particularly appealing for laptop and handheld gaming (those that supports NVMe drives anyway).

While desktop gamers will certainly benefit from the performance improvements, the SN7100’s true strength lies in mobile gaming scenarios where every second of loading time and every minute of battery life matters. The drive handles everything from quick game launches to intensive streaming and content creation workloads without breaking a sweat. Loading maps are quicker in AAA games which offers better gaming experience.

For gamers looking to upgrade their storage with a focus on both performance and efficiency, the WD_BLACK SN7100 represents excellent value. It’s not just about the numbers – this drive genuinely improves your gaming experience in ways you’ll notice every time you play.

It’s available in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB. Check your local retailers for pricing.

Disclosure: WD_BLACK SN7100 review sample was supplied for reviewing