What you need to know
- Western Digital is a major manufacturer of basically every kind of PC HDD and SSD storage.
- On Tuesday, the company's WD_BLACK branch announced (and released) the high-performance SN770M SSD.
- This NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4 gaming SSD is the compact M.2 2230 size, making it ideal for compact PCs.
- Western Digital has designed it for handheld gaming PCs like the ASUS ROG Ally and Steam Deck, but it's also compatible with many Surface and Dell ultrabooks.
Interface: NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
Form factor: M.2 2230
Capacity: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
Sequential speeds: Up to 5,150Mb/s read, up to 4,900Mb/s write
Random speeds: Up to 460K IOPS read, 800K IOPS write
Platforms: Windows 10 and beyond
Features: Microsoft DirectStorage support, compatibility with handheld gaming PCs (ASUS ROG Ally, Steam Deck), compatibility with certain ultrabooks
Handheld gaming PCs are quickly evolving into a proper market bustling with competition, as they provide more power and flexibility than other handhelds like the popular Nintendo Switch. This includes the ability to swap out the internal storage for faster and larger SSDs, and Western Digital is here to deliver the perfect, high-performance option for that purpose.
The new WD_BLACK SN770M SSD, from Western Digital's gaming-focused brand, adapts the tiny M.2 2230 form factor that's relatively uncommon in SSDs. This makes it the perfect size for handheld gaming PCs like the ASUS ROG Ally and Steam Deck, which is exactly what the company designed it for. Of course, it's also compatible with certain ultrabooks, like from Microsoft Surface or Dell.
WD_BLACK's latest gaming SSD is no slouch, either. Despite its small stature, the SN770M is still available with up to 2TB of capacity. It's also an NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4 SSD, meaning you're getting ludicrously fast speeds of up to 5,150MB/s read and 4,900MB/s write, especially with the 1TB or 2TB models. Those impressive speeds should improve performance and shorten load times in the best PC games.
Elsewhere, you're getting full support for Microsoft's DirectStorage for even better performance, a 5-year limited warranty for peace of mind, and compatibility with the Western Digital Dashboard software to keep your SSD tuned and ready to go. As always, tinkering with the internals on your handheld gaming PC shouldn't be done lightly, as it's all-too easy to damage something. Western Digital has released a tutorial for installing the SN770M SSD to help interested users.
The WD_BLACK SN770M SSD for handheld gaming PCs and ultrabooks is now available to purchase, with prices starting at $74.99 for 512GB, raising to $109.99 for 1TB and $219.99 for 2TB.
