Western Digital releases new Blue SN500 M.2 SSD, starting from just $55

SSDs have come down in price over the last decade, but more advanced NVMe modules remain out of reach for many consumers. Western Digital is looking to challenge that by offering exceptional read and write speeds for the price. The company has updated its Blue family of flash storage to include the new SN500 NVMe SSD, based on the in-house architecture featured in the WD Black NVMe range.

This new storage module offers three times the performance of its SATA Blue counterpart, that's how much of an upgrade NVMe is compared against a traditional 2.5-inch SATA SSD. Geared towards content creators and PC enthusiasts, the new NVMe from Western Digital has been optimized for resource-intensive applications thanks to the read and write speeds of up to 1,700MB/s and 1,450MB/s, respectively. It can do all this using just 2.7W of power.

Where this NVMe SSD will turn heads is the price. The 250GB variant starts at $55, while the 500GB model will set you back $78. Coupled with a five-year warranty from Western Digital and you have quite the fast storage solution at a budget-friendly price. The SN500 is available for purchase right now.

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.