WD Blue SN550 1TB NVMe SSD: features, specs and who it suits

The WD Blue SN550 is an internal NVMe solid state drive from Western Digital. The 1TB model (WDS100T2B0C) uses a PCIe Gen3 x4 connection, the M.2 2280 format and 3D NAND, with speeds rated at up to 2,400MB/s. It is meant for upgrading a laptop or desktop for everyday work, creation and casual gaming.

What NVMe means for speed

NVMe is a protocol made for flash storage, which talks to the processor over PCIe lanes rather than the older SATA interface. This drive uses four lanes of PCIe Gen3, which Western Digital describes as 8Gb/s per lane. Western Digital says it can deliver over four times the speed of its best SATA SSDs, and a SATA drive tops out at about 550MB/s.

In daily use, the gain shows up in boot times, application launches and large file copies. Browsing and office work are generally limited by other things, so the difference may feel smaller there. Speeds quoted are maximums and depend on the host system and workload.

Controller and firmware

The listing says Western Digital designed the controller and firmware itself to tune performance. The drive uses 3D NAND, which stacks memory cells in layers, a common way to raise capacity in a small chip.

Health monitoring

Western Digital's SSD Dashboard software watches the drive's health. Such tools typically report temperature, remaining life and firmware status, and are worth checking from time to time.

Capacity

The 1TB listed here is counted as one trillion bytes, so the space your operating system shows will be a little less. That is normal for all storage drives.

Compatibility: not for SATA

The listing carries a clear warning: this NVMe drive is not compatible with the SATA interface. Many M.2 slots are SATA-only, particularly in older laptops, so this drive will not work in them. You need an M.2 slot with PCIe NVMe support. The M.2 2280 size means 22mm wide and 80mm long, so check your device takes that length.

Since this is a Gen3 drive, it will also work in a faster Gen4 slot, at Gen3 speeds.

Who it suits

It suits people upgrading an older computer's boot drive, adding fast storage to a laptop that supports NVMe, or building a general-purpose PC. Those wanting top speeds from a Gen4 system may look at faster drives.

What to check before you buy

• Slot type: confirm that your M.2 slot supports PCIe NVMe, not only SATA.
• Length: check for a 2280 mounting point.
• Operating system: NVMe drives may need current drivers on older systems.
• Heat: check whether your laptop or board has an M.2 cover.
• Moving data: plan to clone or reinstall your system.
• Software: check that the Dashboard supports your operating system.

The short version

• A 1TB NVMe SSD, PCIe Gen3 x4, M.2 2280, with 3D NAND.
• Rated at up to 2,400MB/s.
• Controller and firmware designed by Western Digital.
• Not compatible with SATA-only M.2 slots.

Bloiq is reader-supported. Some links may earn us a commission; it never affects what we write. How we make money.