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Nvme

WDC PC SN520 SDA 256GB

▲ 501 ▼

Release date ≈ Q4 2018.

Average Bench: 148% (159th of 1072)

Based on 3,002 user benchmarks.  Model: NVMe WDC PC SN520 SDA
Poor: 102%Average: 148% Great: 179%

Popular builds with this SSD

Outstanding average bench

The Nvme WDC PC SN520 SDA 256GB averaged 47.6% higher than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Nvme WDC PC SN520 SDA 256GB near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 588MB/s
Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed 731MB/s

Very poor consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Nvme WDC PC SN520 SDA 256GB is 76.7%. This is a particularly wide range which indicates that the Nvme WDC PC SN520 SDA 256GB performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sustained Write Speed 358MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 109MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 3,002 samples)
Rank 159148%
Min Avg Max
662 Read 978 1,237
450 Write 1,029 1,226
403 Mixed 844 1,104
206 SusWrite 358 447
180% 802 MB/s
Min Avg Max
21.2 4K Read 41.6 47.4
62.2 4K Write 109 156
24.4 4K Mixed 52.7 67.5
188% 67.7 MB/s
Min Avg Max
412 DQ Read 731 858
215 DQ Write 568 852
224 DQ Mixed 588 730
457% 629 MB/s
User Benchmarks BenchSequentialRandom 4kDeep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
67GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 0000 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 272 270 187 181 183 179 MB/s
140% Outstanding
Read 943
Write 1,115
Mixed 824
SusWrite 212
174% 773 MB/s
4K Read 42.5
4K Write 118
4K Mixed 58.6
202% 73.2 MB/s
DQ Read 686
DQ Write 496
DQ Mixed 556
425% 579 MB/s
135GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 20200000 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 454 470 394 319 282 302 MB/s
139% Outstanding
Read 836
Write 1,100
Mixed 533
SusWrite 370
160% 710 MB/s
4K Read 34.5
4K Write 84.8
4K Mixed 49.9
161% 56.4 MB/s
DQ Read 819
DQ Write 668
DQ Mixed 716
544% 734 MB/s
71GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 20110001 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 444 319 304 287 274 267 MB/s
126% Outstanding
Read 957
Write 1080
Mixed 1,020
SusWrite 316
190% 843 MB/s
4K Read 35.6
4K Write 71.5
4K Mixed 44.4
149% 50.5 MB/s
DQ Read 548
DQ Write 466
DQ Mixed 490
372% 501 MB/s
153GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 20110000 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 387 331 311 292 290 287 MB/s
113% Outstanding
Read 967
Write 966
Mixed 892
SusWrite 316
176% 785 MB/s
4K Read 23.9
4K Write 55.6
4K Mixed 39.2
116% 39.6 MB/s
DQ Read 497
DQ Write 345
DQ Mixed 368
289% 403 MB/s
106GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 0006 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 193 73 85 51 47 43 MB/s
83.5% Excellent
Read 767
Write 1,052
Mixed 686
SusWrite 82
145% 647 MB/s
4K Read 23.9
4K Write 54.8
4K Mixed 22.4
94% 33.7 MB/s
DQ Read 640
DQ Write 238
DQ Mixed 553
379% 477 MB/s
46GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 0000 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 258 180 192 171 177 170 MB/s
53% Above average
Read 420
Write 375
Mixed 352
SusWrite 192
75% 335 MB/s
4K Read 8.5
4K Write 12.9
4K Mixed 12.1
35% 11.2 MB/s
DQ Read 413
DQ Write 189
DQ Mixed 283
215% 295 MB/s
3,002 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 75,702,772 SSDs tested

Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU GPU SSD HDD RAM MBD
Typical WDC PC SN520 SDA 256GB Builds (Compare 741 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings
Gaming
Gaming 8%
Tree trunk
Desktop
Desktop 64%
Destroyer
Workstation
Workstation 8%
Tree trunk

System: Asus TUF Gaming FX505GD_FX505GD

CPU
Core i5-8300HIntelBench 65%, 167,898 samples467x
Core i7-8750HIntelBench 70%, 442,631 samples274x
GPU
UHD Graphics 630IntelBench 5%, 506,702 samples413x
GTX 1050 (Mobile)NvidiaBench 23%, 160,694 samples328x
SSD
WDC PC SN520 SDA 256GBNvmeBench 148%, 3,002 samples61x
RAM
M471A1K43CB1-CTD 1x8GBSamsungBench 40%, 96,646 samples217x
HMA81GS6CJR8N-VK 1x8GBHynixBench 40%, 73,050 samples97x
M471A2K43CB1-CTD 1x16GBSamsungBench 44%, 44,819 samples41x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER

Popular WDC PC SN520 SDA 256GB systems:

How Fast Is Your SSD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.

UserBenchmark of the month

Gaming Desktop ProGaming

How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchmark
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
  • - Identify the strongest components in your PC
  • - See speed test results from other users
  • - Compare your components to the current market leaders
  • - Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
  • - Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware
Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) April 2024 SSD Rankings

Welcome to our 2.5" and M.2 SSD comparison. We calculate effective speed for both SATA and NVMe drives based on real world performance then adjust by current prices per GB to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top SSDs. [SSDrivePro]

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Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

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Speed Comparisons

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1072 Drives (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list

See how consistently different SSDs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Devices FAQ
What is sustained sequential write speed?
What’s the difference between SLC, MLC and TLC?
What is 3D XPoint and how fast is it?
What’s the difference between SATA, PCIe and NVMe?
What’s the difference between NAND and V-NAND?
What is sequential write speed?
What is sequential read speed?
What is incompressible data?
What is queue depth?
Solid State Drives
What is the SSD value for money rating?
What is 4K 64 thread write speed?
Can CPU power saving states (C1,C2,C3) impact SSD speed?
What is the effective SSD speed index?
How is the AS SSD write score calculated?
How is the AS SSD read score calculated?
How is the AS SSD total score calculated?
ALL FAQs »

 Best User Rated
The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $273Nvidia RTX 4060 $295Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $133Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $178Nvidia RTX 4070 $539Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $37Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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