Whilst DRAMless, testing on other sites seem appear to show it performing competitively with DRAM-laden SSDs (e.g. the SN850) in all cases other than raw sustained sequential throughput.
PCMark, ATTO, CrystalDiskMark, DiskBench, and iometer used for sequential and random measurements across multiple queue depths, block sizes, power usage and compared against 8 other drives.
Since NVMe, DRAM has played less of a role in SSD performance due to the availability of a host buffer. It helps, but only in certain cases, and not by a huge margin.
DRAM on a SSD is not for buffering. It's just a cache for which "sector" get written where. It only affects how fast you will find where to read or write your data, it does nothing for endurance.
I never said it was for buffering. But the technology used in NVMe SSD’s is called host buffering which effectively replaces DRAM on an SSD by using system RAM (which is the same speed onboard DRAM would be anyway, making onboard DRAM a moot benefit in NVMe drives)
A DRAMless SSD means it uses the host machine's main memory as a cache. That has a potential performance impact (from a chunk of 'lost' RAM, and from CPU time to shuffle data to and from that cache across the PCIe bus) but not a longevity issue, and how much of a performance impact depends on the host device. For a typical desktop PC the impact is likely to be negligible, for a low-end laptop it may be more measurable.
You should probably read some reviews before making ill-informed judgements. This is still an excellent performer, and probably the best bang-for-your-buck SSD on the market now.
GPU benchmarks are boring these days because consumers can't get their hands on them. SSD benchmarks? That's where we can enjoy Anandtech. A product announcement without numbers from The Destroyer is more boring than a GPU benchmark.
Part of the problem with the DRAMless PCIe 3.0 NVME drives was the limited throughput of the x4 3.0 link. The doubling of bandwidth with 4.0, coupled with generally faster DRAM, even DDR5, means that, often, a dramless PCIe 4.0 x4 drive will have more bandwidth to what it uses as a DRAM cache than older drives that had integrated DRAM.
The problem wasn't DRAM speed or PCIe bandwidth, it was almost entirely latency. That's improved in part because most DRAMless controllers are also underpowered and don't have enough caches. Chances are, this WD controller has a surprising mix of more powerful/higher clocked cores than typical for a DRAMless controller and more on-die cache.
This looks pretty neat, especially at the 1TB price and perf. On the other hand, the drive below this, the SN750 SE, has price and perf both more like their Blue drives.
Practically speaking, I guess they decided gamer-y branding and a PCIe 4 interface (even at PCIe 3 speeds!) will sell them a few more drives at the lower end too. (And lower-end NVMe SSDs are good enough to rarely be the bottleneck for a lot of users.) Just odd, to me and I'm guessing the type of folks reading AT generally, that the branding isn't really related to the performance.
Alright, but wasn't the Black branding a synonym for High Performance from WD? They have Blue, Red, Gold, Green, Purple... yet they chose Black for a DRAM-less SSD.
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edzieba - Wednesday, February 2, 2022 - link
Whilst DRAMless, testing on other sites seem appear to show it performing competitively with DRAM-laden SSDs (e.g. the SN850) in all cases other than raw sustained sequential throughput.29a - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wd-black-sn77...Since this site doesn't do many good reviews anymore.
lmcd - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
Is this comment satire? There's like 5 drives and 0 interesting benchmarks in the link you posted.ET - Friday, February 4, 2022 - link
Yeah, 9 is like 5.jordanclock - Saturday, February 5, 2022 - link
PCMark, ATTO, CrystalDiskMark, DiskBench, and iometer used for sequential and random measurements across multiple queue depths, block sizes, power usage and compared against 8 other drives.What more do you want?
ballsystemlord - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
Now if only AT would get a sample and test this drive.Wereweeb - Wednesday, February 2, 2022 - link
I really want to see what the QD1 random r/w is like when it's almost full. Does it rely on HMB?29a - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wd-black-sn77...I replied to the wrong person above.
Leeea - Friday, February 4, 2022 - link
ty for the linkyacoub35 - Wednesday, February 2, 2022 - link
So does the lack of DRAM put more wear on the NAND for whatever functions the DRAM would have handled?Would like to see a chart showing the 750 side-by-side with the 770 so we can more easily compare the specs.
meacupla - Wednesday, February 2, 2022 - link
I haven't heard lack of DRAM increasing wear on NAND.What lack of DRAM does is reduce write performance.
tonsui - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
Lack of external DRAM buffering often results in increased write amplification.Samus - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
Since NVMe, DRAM has played less of a role in SSD performance due to the availability of a host buffer. It helps, but only in certain cases, and not by a huge margin.bug77 - Friday, February 4, 2022 - link
DRAM on a SSD is not for buffering. It's just a cache for which "sector" get written where. It only affects how fast you will find where to read or write your data, it does nothing for endurance.Samus - Tuesday, February 8, 2022 - link
I never said it was for buffering. But the technology used in NVMe SSD’s is called host buffering which effectively replaces DRAM on an SSD by using system RAM (which is the same speed onboard DRAM would be anyway, making onboard DRAM a moot benefit in NVMe drives)zamroni - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
More wear on the slc cache thoughedzieba - Friday, February 4, 2022 - link
A DRAMless SSD means it uses the host machine's main memory as a cache. That has a potential performance impact (from a chunk of 'lost' RAM, and from CPU time to shuffle data to and from that cache across the PCIe bus) but not a longevity issue, and how much of a performance impact depends on the host device. For a typical desktop PC the impact is likely to be negligible, for a low-end laptop it may be more measurable.boozed - Wednesday, February 2, 2022 - link
There's nothing like diluting one's performance brand.kyuu - Wednesday, February 2, 2022 - link
You should probably read some reviews before making ill-informed judgements. This is still an excellent performer, and probably the best bang-for-your-buck SSD on the market now.R0H1T - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
Best? Hardly, the best VFM NVMe ssd is the SN570 right now 😁chrysrobyn - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
GPU benchmarks are boring these days because consumers can't get their hands on them. SSD benchmarks? That's where we can enjoy Anandtech. A product announcement without numbers from The Destroyer is more boring than a GPU benchmark.lightningz71 - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
Part of the problem with the DRAMless PCIe 3.0 NVME drives was the limited throughput of the x4 3.0 link. The doubling of bandwidth with 4.0, coupled with generally faster DRAM, even DDR5, means that, often, a dramless PCIe 4.0 x4 drive will have more bandwidth to what it uses as a DRAM cache than older drives that had integrated DRAM.lmcd - Thursday, February 3, 2022 - link
The problem wasn't DRAM speed or PCIe bandwidth, it was almost entirely latency. That's improved in part because most DRAMless controllers are also underpowered and don't have enough caches. Chances are, this WD controller has a surprising mix of more powerful/higher clocked cores than typical for a DRAMless controller and more on-die cache.Pneumothorax - Friday, February 4, 2022 - link
Assuming this will work great on PS5?twotwotwo - Friday, February 4, 2022 - link
This looks pretty neat, especially at the 1TB price and perf. On the other hand, the drive below this, the SN750 SE, has price and perf both more like their Blue drives.Practically speaking, I guess they decided gamer-y branding and a PCIe 4 interface (even at PCIe 3 speeds!) will sell them a few more drives at the lower end too. (And lower-end NVMe SSDs are good enough to rarely be the bottleneck for a lot of users.) Just odd, to me and I'm guessing the type of folks reading AT generally, that the branding isn't really related to the performance.
twotwotwo - Friday, February 4, 2022 - link
That wasn't supposed to be a reply 🤣skavi - Friday, February 4, 2022 - link
Does PS5 do host buffer?jordanclock - Saturday, February 5, 2022 - link
The PS5 does not do HMB, so this drive is probably not a great choice for that.meacupla - Sunday, February 6, 2022 - link
I think I heard from WD's twitch stream that PS5 does not currently work with SN7703ogdy - Saturday, February 5, 2022 - link
Alright, but wasn't the Black branding a synonym for High Performance from WD?They have Blue, Red, Gold, Green, Purple... yet they chose Black for a DRAM-less SSD.
I must be missing something.
Wereweeb - Monday, February 7, 2022 - link
Selling mediocre SSD's with "premium" branding is now the standard, for some reason.