Introducing the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD, the ultimate storage solution for gamers. With its sleek black design and portable external form factor, this SSD is not only stylish but also convenient for on-the-go gaming. Equipped with a generous 1 TB storage capacity, you can now store all your favorite games, DLCs, and more without worrying about running out of space. The WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD utilizes USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (USB-C connector) technology, ensuring lightning-fast transfer speeds for seamless gaming experiences. This means you can spend more time playing and less time waiting for your games to load. Say goodbye to long loading screens and hello to instant access. Designed with reliability and durability in mind, this SSD is built to withstand the demands of intense gaming sessions. It is constructed with top-notch components to ensure optimal performance and long-term reliability, so you can game with confidence. Whether you're a casual gamer or a professional eSports player, the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD is the perfect companion to enhance your gaming setup. It provides the extra storage space you need to keep all your games organized and easily accessible, giving you an edge in the virtual world. Not only does this SSD offer impressive storage capacity and lightning-fast speeds, but it also provides seamless compatibility with both PC and Mac. Simply plug it in and start gaming without any hassle of reformatting. It's the perfect storage solution for gamers of all kinds. Upgrade your gaming experience with the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD. Its sleek design, portable form factor, generous storage capacity, and high-speed performance make it the ideal choice for gamers who demand the best.
Introducing the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD, the ultimate storage solution for gamers. With its sleek black design and portable external form factor, this SSD is not only stylish but also convenient for on-the-go gaming. Equipped with a generous 1 TB storage capacity, you can now store all your favorite games, DLCs, and more without worrying about running out of space. The WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD utilizes USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (USB-C connector) technology, ensuring lightning-fast transfer speeds for seamless gaming experiences. This means you can spend more time playing and less time waiting for your games to load. Say goodbye to long loading screens and hello to instant access. Designed with reliability and durability in mind, this SSD is built to withstand the demands of intense gaming sessions. It is constructed with top-notch components to ensure optimal performance and long-term reliability, so you can game with confidence. Whether you're a casual gamer or a professional eSports player, the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD is the perfect companion to enhance your gaming setup. It provides the extra storage space you need to keep all your games organized and easily accessible, giving you an edge in the virtual world. Not only does this SSD offer impressive storage capacity and lightning-fast speeds, but it also provides seamless compatibility with both PC and Mac. Simply plug it in and start gaming without any hassle of reformatting. It's the perfect storage solution for gamers of all kinds. Upgrade your gaming experience with the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD. Its sleek design, portable form factor, generous storage capacity, and high-speed performance make it the ideal choice for gamers who demand the best.
Introducing the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD, the ultimate storage solution for gamers. With its sleek black design and portable external form factor, this SSD is not only stylish but also convenient for on-the-go gaming. Equipped with a generous 1 TB storage capacity, you can now store all your favorite games, DLCs, and more without worrying about running out of space. The WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD utilizes USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (USB-C connector) technology, ensuring lightning-fast transfer speeds for seamless gaming experiences. This means you can spend more time playing and less time waiting for your games to load. Say goodbye to long loading screens and hello to instant access. Designed with reliability and durability in mind, this SSD is built to withstand the demands of intense gaming sessions. It is constructed with top-notch components to ensure optimal performance and long-term reliability, so you can game with confidence. Whether you're a casual gamer or a professional eSports player, the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD is the perfect companion to enhance your gaming setup. It provides the extra storage space you need to keep all your games organized and easily accessible, giving you an edge in the virtual world. Not only does this SSD offer impressive storage capacity and lightning-fast speeds, but it also provides seamless compatibility with both PC and Mac. Simply plug it in and start gaming without any hassle of reformatting. It's the perfect storage solution for gamers of all kinds. Upgrade your gaming experience with the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD. Its sleek design, portable form factor, generous storage capacity, and high-speed performance make it the ideal choice for gamers who demand the best.
Introducing the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD, the ultimate storage solution for gamers. With its sleek black design and portable external form factor, this SSD is not only stylish but also convenient for on-the-go gaming. Equipped with a generous 1 TB storage capacity, you can now store all your favorite games, DLCs, and more without worrying about running out of space. The WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD utilizes USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (USB-C connector) technology, ensuring lightning-fast transfer speeds for seamless gaming experiences. This means you can spend more time playing and less time waiting for your games to load. Say goodbye to long loading screens and hello to instant access. Designed with reliability and durability in mind, this SSD is built to withstand the demands of intense gaming sessions. It is constructed with top-notch components to ensure optimal performance and long-term reliability, so you can game with confidence. Whether you're a casual gamer or a professional eSports player, the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD is the perfect companion to enhance your gaming setup. It provides the extra storage space you need to keep all your games organized and easily accessible, giving you an edge in the virtual world. Not only does this SSD offer impressive storage capacity and lightning-fast speeds, but it also provides seamless compatibility with both PC and Mac. Simply plug it in and start gaming without any hassle of reformatting. It's the perfect storage solution for gamers of all kinds. Upgrade your gaming experience with the WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD. Its sleek design, portable form factor, generous storage capacity, and high-speed performance make it the ideal choice for gamers who demand the best.
originally posted on bestbuy.com
I have used an external SSD for my game storage and backup for years. The benefits to using an external SSD is that it makes my gaming library extra portable, and I save a ton of time because I do not have to redownload all my games to another computer. For the last 3 days I have been testing the Western Digital, Black series P40 game drive and I love it.The P40 uses the new USB 3.2 gen 2X2 standard which allows it to operate at up to 2 GBps. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of devices that use the 2x2 standard yet. In my case my 2021 and 2022 gaming laptops do not support the new 2X2 standard. However, that does not mean that I was not able to get a performance boost. The P40 still performed twice as fast as any other portable SSD I own. For comparison, ... MoreI have used an external SSD for my game storage and backup for years. The benefits to using an external SSD is that it makes my gaming library extra portable, and I save a ton of time because I do not have to redownload all my games to another computer. For the last 3 days I have been testing the Western Digital, Black series P40 game drive and I love it.The P40 uses the new USB 3.2 gen 2X2 standard which allows it to operate at up to 2 GBps. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of devices that use the 2x2 standard yet. In my case my 2021 and 2022 gaming laptops do not support the new 2X2 standard. However, that does not mean that I was not able to get a performance boost. The P40 still performed twice as fast as any other portable SSD I own. For comparison, previous generation drives such as the Samsung T5 and WD Passport SSDs only operate at 500 MBps max. In my benchmarks of the P40 it operated at a little over 1 GBps read and write speeds.As for real world performance, the P40 is a beast. Whether I was doing data transfers or playing games from the drive it was always blazing fast. Also, the aluminum case did an excellent job of heat dissipation. The P40 did get warm with long term use but it never got too hot. It also has built-in RGB lights that are controlled in the WD Dashboard app. Additionally, it also can be controlled with the ASUS Aura Sync app. Meaning I can synchronize the lighting with any compatible RGB keyboards, mice, fans, etc. The only thing I did not like about the drive was that the provided cable was too long and rigid.With that said, this is a fantastic removable SSD that performs well, and I can’t wait to test its full potential on a Gen 2X2 port. Until then, I still highly recommend this drive.
originally posted on bestbuy.com
## DesignThe WD_BLACK P40 SSD Game Drive has a cool, rugged-looking exterior and is slim, lightweight and easy to transport, but also looks cool sitting next to your gaming console.Once plugged in and powered up, the RGB LEDs on the drive light up and complement the gaming-centric design of this drive very well. The RGB lights can be customized with the “Dashboard” (which is Windows-only) software that is found on the drive itself. If you plan to format the drive, you may want to copy this file off first.The LEDs are located near the 2 long sides of the drive pointing down, meaning you really only see the colors off the reflection of the surface it is setting on. If you would like them to be more noticeable, you can flip the drive over so the LEDs point up and ... More## DesignThe WD_BLACK P40 SSD Game Drive has a cool, rugged-looking exterior and is slim, lightweight and easy to transport, but also looks cool sitting next to your gaming console.Once plugged in and powered up, the RGB LEDs on the drive light up and complement the gaming-centric design of this drive very well. The RGB lights can be customized with the “Dashboard” (which is Windows-only) software that is found on the drive itself. If you plan to format the drive, you may want to copy this file off first.The LEDs are located near the 2 long sides of the drive pointing down, meaning you really only see the colors off the reflection of the surface it is setting on. If you would like them to be more noticeable, you can flip the drive over so the LEDs point up and are then clearly visible.## PerformanceWhile WD claims up to 2000MB/s performance, this requires a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection, which requires relatively new computer hardware. Using the USB-C connection on my Dell G15 laptop released in 2021, I was able to achieve just over 1000MB/s according to CrystalDiskMark (results attached). The drive is able to transfer large files very quickly, which is great for working with HD video files or large game files. The roomy 1TB of storage gives you plenty of room for your game library or for working on movie projects. Of course, individual results will vary based on your hardware and what type of port (USB 2.0, USB 3.1, etc) you plug the drive into.## FeaturesThe drive works with PS5 and PS4, XBox Series X|S and One, Windows and macOS, although the RGB customization software only works with Windows. The software allows you to customize the RGB lighting effect. By default, the RGB effect will be set to “Rainbow” which cycles through all the colors, but there are over 10 other options, including setting it to a static color or another effect such as “wave” or “flash”.The drive has a USB-C port and comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A adapter for plugging into “traditional” USB ports.## SummaryThe WD_Black P40 Game Drive is lightweight and small, making it very easy to carry with your gaming laptop or to discreetly set it next to your gaming console. This external SSD is very fast and I achieved just over 1000MB/s performance on my Dell G15 laptop. The RGB lights are a nice touch and can be customized with the included Windows software.
originally posted on bestbuy.com
The WD Black P40 game drive provides an easy way to add fast storage for your gaming PC (or Xbox or PS5). This is especially nice for those want add storage but may not be as comfortable with installing an internal drive in a PC, or perhaps if using a gaming laptop, may not have an open M.2 slot.Setup is really quite easy--it's plug and play. Windows pops up with a window to show the installer for the WD Dashboard utility, which is very good. Otherwise the drive is ready to go immediately. The drive supports up to a 2000MB/s transfer rate via USB; the cable is a Type-C but helpfully there is an adapter for Type A connections. How fast the drive performs is dependent upon the USB feature support that you have. I did hit the rated 2000MB/s (see the attached photo ... MoreThe WD Black P40 game drive provides an easy way to add fast storage for your gaming PC (or Xbox or PS5). This is especially nice for those want add storage but may not be as comfortable with installing an internal drive in a PC, or perhaps if using a gaming laptop, may not have an open M.2 slot.Setup is really quite easy--it's plug and play. Windows pops up with a window to show the installer for the WD Dashboard utility, which is very good. Otherwise the drive is ready to go immediately. The drive supports up to a 2000MB/s transfer rate via USB; the cable is a Type-C but helpfully there is an adapter for Type A connections. How fast the drive performs is dependent upon the USB feature support that you have. I did hit the rated 2000MB/s (see the attached photo screenshot from CrystalDiskMark), but it varied depending on the machine I used. My Asus gaming laptop hit the higher mark, but my homebuilt gaming desktop did not. A slower interface halved the performance to around 1000MB/s, which is vastly faster than mechanical hard drives and still faster than a SATA SSD. Xbox and PS5 performance will vary, and the Xbox Series X/S will restrict playing games to older Xbox One/X360 games (archiving of Series X/S games will work though).The design is consistent with other WD Black external storage products except for the addition of the RGB, and the case gets warm but not too hot. It's also pretty small and thus very portable. I thought the included Dashboard software excellent; it provides an easy to read interface detailing all the drive info. It also includes the control software for the RGB lighting, which can be connected to 3rd party lighting platforms. The lighting is a nice touch and adds a bit to the otherwise industrial look. It's pleasing yet not over the top.Overall, I think it's a good drive for those looking for fast external storage. You'll need to check your USB connections if you want to ensure top performance, but even connected to slower USB interfaces it's still vastly preferable to mechanical drives.
| Color | Black |
| Size | 1TB |
I have used an external SSD for my game storage and backup for years. The benefits to using an external SSD is that it makes my gaming library extra portable, and I save a ton of time because I do not have to redownload all my games to another computer. For the last 3 days I have been testing the Western Digital, Black series P40 game drive and I love it.The P40 uses the new USB 3.2 gen 2X2 standard which allows it to operate at up to 2 GBps. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of devices that use the 2x2 standard yet. In my case my 2021 and 2022 gaming laptops do not support the new 2X2 standard. However, that does not mean that I was not able to get a performance boost. The P40 still performed twice as fast as any other portable SSD I own. For comparison, ... MoreI have used an external SSD for my game storage and backup for years. The benefits to using an external SSD is that it makes my gaming library extra portable, and I save a ton of time because I do not have to redownload all my games to another computer. For the last 3 days I have been testing the Western Digital, Black series P40 game drive and I love it.The P40 uses the new USB 3.2 gen 2X2 standard which allows it to operate at up to 2 GBps. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of devices that use the 2x2 standard yet. In my case my 2021 and 2022 gaming laptops do not support the new 2X2 standard. However, that does not mean that I was not able to get a performance boost. The P40 still performed twice as fast as any other portable SSD I own. For comparison, previous generation drives such as the Samsung T5 and WD Passport SSDs only operate at 500 MBps max. In my benchmarks of the P40 it operated at a little over 1 GBps read and write speeds.As for real world performance, the P40 is a beast. Whether I was doing data transfers or playing games from the drive it was always blazing fast. Also, the aluminum case did an excellent job of heat dissipation. The P40 did get warm with long term use but it never got too hot. It also has built-in RGB lights that are controlled in the WD Dashboard app. Additionally, it also can be controlled with the ASUS Aura Sync app. Meaning I can synchronize the lighting with any compatible RGB keyboards, mice, fans, etc. The only thing I did not like about the drive was that the provided cable was too long and rigid.With that said, this is a fantastic removable SSD that performs well, and I can’t wait to test its full potential on a Gen 2X2 port. Until then, I still highly recommend this drive.
## DesignThe WD_BLACK P40 SSD Game Drive has a cool, rugged-looking exterior and is slim, lightweight and easy to transport, but also looks cool sitting next to your gaming console.Once plugged in and powered up, the RGB LEDs on the drive light up and complement the gaming-centric design of this drive very well. The RGB lights can be customized with the “Dashboard” (which is Windows-only) software that is found on the drive itself. If you plan to format the drive, you may want to copy this file off first.The LEDs are located near the 2 long sides of the drive pointing down, meaning you really only see the colors off the reflection of the surface it is setting on. If you would like them to be more noticeable, you can flip the drive over so the LEDs point up and ... More## DesignThe WD_BLACK P40 SSD Game Drive has a cool, rugged-looking exterior and is slim, lightweight and easy to transport, but also looks cool sitting next to your gaming console.Once plugged in and powered up, the RGB LEDs on the drive light up and complement the gaming-centric design of this drive very well. The RGB lights can be customized with the “Dashboard” (which is Windows-only) software that is found on the drive itself. If you plan to format the drive, you may want to copy this file off first.The LEDs are located near the 2 long sides of the drive pointing down, meaning you really only see the colors off the reflection of the surface it is setting on. If you would like them to be more noticeable, you can flip the drive over so the LEDs point up and are then clearly visible.## PerformanceWhile WD claims up to 2000MB/s performance, this requires a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection, which requires relatively new computer hardware. Using the USB-C connection on my Dell G15 laptop released in 2021, I was able to achieve just over 1000MB/s according to CrystalDiskMark (results attached). The drive is able to transfer large files very quickly, which is great for working with HD video files or large game files. The roomy 1TB of storage gives you plenty of room for your game library or for working on movie projects. Of course, individual results will vary based on your hardware and what type of port (USB 2.0, USB 3.1, etc) you plug the drive into.## FeaturesThe drive works with PS5 and PS4, XBox Series X|S and One, Windows and macOS, although the RGB customization software only works with Windows. The software allows you to customize the RGB lighting effect. By default, the RGB effect will be set to “Rainbow” which cycles through all the colors, but there are over 10 other options, including setting it to a static color or another effect such as “wave” or “flash”.The drive has a USB-C port and comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A adapter for plugging into “traditional” USB ports.## SummaryThe WD_Black P40 Game Drive is lightweight and small, making it very easy to carry with your gaming laptop or to discreetly set it next to your gaming console. This external SSD is very fast and I achieved just over 1000MB/s performance on my Dell G15 laptop. The RGB lights are a nice touch and can be customized with the included Windows software.
The WD Black P40 game drive provides an easy way to add fast storage for your gaming PC (or Xbox or PS5). This is especially nice for those want add storage but may not be as comfortable with installing an internal drive in a PC, or perhaps if using a gaming laptop, may not have an open M.2 slot.Setup is really quite easy--it's plug and play. Windows pops up with a window to show the installer for the WD Dashboard utility, which is very good. Otherwise the drive is ready to go immediately. The drive supports up to a 2000MB/s transfer rate via USB; the cable is a Type-C but helpfully there is an adapter for Type A connections. How fast the drive performs is dependent upon the USB feature support that you have. I did hit the rated 2000MB/s (see the attached photo ... MoreThe WD Black P40 game drive provides an easy way to add fast storage for your gaming PC (or Xbox or PS5). This is especially nice for those want add storage but may not be as comfortable with installing an internal drive in a PC, or perhaps if using a gaming laptop, may not have an open M.2 slot.Setup is really quite easy--it's plug and play. Windows pops up with a window to show the installer for the WD Dashboard utility, which is very good. Otherwise the drive is ready to go immediately. The drive supports up to a 2000MB/s transfer rate via USB; the cable is a Type-C but helpfully there is an adapter for Type A connections. How fast the drive performs is dependent upon the USB feature support that you have. I did hit the rated 2000MB/s (see the attached photo screenshot from CrystalDiskMark), but it varied depending on the machine I used. My Asus gaming laptop hit the higher mark, but my homebuilt gaming desktop did not. A slower interface halved the performance to around 1000MB/s, which is vastly faster than mechanical hard drives and still faster than a SATA SSD. Xbox and PS5 performance will vary, and the Xbox Series X/S will restrict playing games to older Xbox One/X360 games (archiving of Series X/S games will work though).The design is consistent with other WD Black external storage products except for the addition of the RGB, and the case gets warm but not too hot. It's also pretty small and thus very portable. I thought the included Dashboard software excellent; it provides an easy to read interface detailing all the drive info. It also includes the control software for the RGB lighting, which can be connected to 3rd party lighting platforms. The lighting is a nice touch and adds a bit to the otherwise industrial look. It's pleasing yet not over the top.Overall, I think it's a good drive for those looking for fast external storage. You'll need to check your USB connections if you want to ensure top performance, but even connected to slower USB interfaces it's still vastly preferable to mechanical drives.
The WD Black P40 is a super fast portable SSD geared towards gamers and creators (photography, video editing, etc.).The WD Black P40 comes with the drive itself, a USB C to USB C cable, and a USB C to USB A adapter (regular retangular USB connector). The drive has a metal feel and is lightweight. It is very small and can conveniently be placed inside your pocket or somewhere without worrying it will take up much space. When connected, the LEDs on its sides power on. They add a nice visual touch and aren't too bright.The great thing about SSDs are not only their speed, but the ability for you to use it on the go. Since it has no moving parts inside of it, it being bounced around or moved around while in use and will not damage any internal parts of the drive. The ... MoreThe WD Black P40 is a super fast portable SSD geared towards gamers and creators (photography, video editing, etc.).The WD Black P40 comes with the drive itself, a USB C to USB C cable, and a USB C to USB A adapter (regular retangular USB connector). The drive has a metal feel and is lightweight. It is very small and can conveniently be placed inside your pocket or somewhere without worrying it will take up much space. When connected, the LEDs on its sides power on. They add a nice visual touch and aren't too bright.The great thing about SSDs are not only their speed, but the ability for you to use it on the go. Since it has no moving parts inside of it, it being bounced around or moved around while in use and will not damage any internal parts of the drive. The real world speed of the drive really depends on your hardware and what you are connecting it to. To attain faster speeds, use and connect it to a USB C port. If your computer supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, then you will be able to get the fastest read and write speeds offered. On my personal computer, I was able to get read speeds averaging 1000MBps and write speeds around 700MBps or so. If you don't have USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 capable hardware, it is backwards compatible and will work on USB 3.0 ports and below as well. Note, the PS5 supports speeds for USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 (10Gbps theoretical) while the Xbox Series X supports USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps theoretical).It is also important to note that the WD P40 can be used on computers and consoles alike although can only be used on one at a time. If you would like to use it on one then on the other, the drive will have to be formatted (data on it will be erased) for it to work on the other. In other words, if it will be used to store games on a Playstation or Xbox, it should stay connected to it unless you would like to switch to completely using it for a computer (again, the data on it will need to be formatted and deleted to use the drive). This is not WD P40 specific, but something to know for everyone.I would also like to add that inside of the USB enclosure, WD added a WD SN730 Black Nvme SSD. It offers very similar performance to the popular SN750 Nvme SSD.Overall, the WD P40 offers very good performance and is recommended for anyone looking to store their games and have quick load times as well as content creators wanting a drive for on the go.
The Western Digital 1TB Portable SSD WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive is a great external storage drive if you’re looking for some extra storage space which you can actually play your games off of without any sort of loss of quality or extended load times. I was previously using a more standard external hard drive with my laptop because the internal drive was not big enough for some of the bigger games like Call of Duty.After plugging the drive in for the first time (I opted to use the USB adapter that was included to plug into a standard USB port on my laptop since I am using my USB-C port for a separate USB hub), the drive was immediately recognized by my Windows-based system and I noticed the dashboard software installer was included on the drive. I went ahead and ... MoreThe Western Digital 1TB Portable SSD WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive is a great external storage drive if you’re looking for some extra storage space which you can actually play your games off of without any sort of loss of quality or extended load times. I was previously using a more standard external hard drive with my laptop because the internal drive was not big enough for some of the bigger games like Call of Duty.After plugging the drive in for the first time (I opted to use the USB adapter that was included to plug into a standard USB port on my laptop since I am using my USB-C port for a separate USB hub), the drive was immediately recognized by my Windows-based system and I noticed the dashboard software installer was included on the drive. I went ahead and installed it and I must say I really like the layout.The device’s RGB lighting can be controlled through the dashboard software and they even include a link there to easily download Acronis True Image software in case you need to clone another drive onto the new game drive. Unfortunately for me, the drive I was previously using was also being used as a general storage drive and all I wanted to transfer to the new drive was my game files. After unsuccessfully trying to transfer them over, I finally decided to simply download and install them directly to the drive but this was not the fault of the drive itself or even the software that is included.After installing my games to this new drive and testing them out, I was very impressed and happy with the performance. Great load times, no lagging, basically everything I expected from a dedicated game drive.Overall, the Western Digital 1TB Portable SSD WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive is a great external storage game drive and I highly recommend it!
The Western Digital BLACK 40 Solid State Drive is a must have for your gaming experience. Whether gaming on PC, Xbox Series X/S, or PS5, you can utilize this drive for much needed 1TB of extra storage when it comes to gaming. I used this SSD on the PC and will review based on that.Out of the box, the hard drive itself is about the size of a credit card, just a bit longer. It has a nice solid feel to it and does not feel very fragile. It is also lightweight, but enough weight to it to make it feel durable, which is a securing thought with something that stores information. There is a little folded page that diagrams how to hook the hard drive up on each source and info on formatting the hard drive to which ever source you are choosing to use. It comes with a beefy ... MoreThe Western Digital BLACK 40 Solid State Drive is a must have for your gaming experience. Whether gaming on PC, Xbox Series X/S, or PS5, you can utilize this drive for much needed 1TB of extra storage when it comes to gaming. I used this SSD on the PC and will review based on that.Out of the box, the hard drive itself is about the size of a credit card, just a bit longer. It has a nice solid feel to it and does not feel very fragile. It is also lightweight, but enough weight to it to make it feel durable, which is a securing thought with something that stores information. There is a little folded page that diagrams how to hook the hard drive up on each source and info on formatting the hard drive to which ever source you are choosing to use. It comes with a beefy USB-C cable that is around a foot and a half in length. If using this drive for PC, you will just use the USB-C cable connected to a Thunderbolt port. If connecting to the Xbox or the PS5, it comes with an adapter to plug in regular usb port. I formatted the drive on PC using the Thunderbolt port, and when I tried plugging it in using the regular USB 3.2 port, I could access the drive from Windows Explorer, but it would not show up on the Xbox app or Steam download drives. When I plugged it back into Thunderbolt port, it instantly recognized it again, so i'm not sure if it can be used on PC with the USB 3.2 ports.When first plugging in the drive into the PC, you will want to go to Windows Explorer and find the WD_Black Drive. Open it and inside will be a program to install the WD Dashboard, which is used to monitor and use features of the WD_Black drive. After installing the dashboard, you will want to exit out of everything, go back to windows explorer, right click on the drive, go to format.. Once in the format screen you will set the file structure to NTFS, quick format and you can rename the drive if you want. Hit the format button and it will format the drive for PC use. Doing so however will delete the Dashboard install program so make sure you install the program before Formatting. After that, you can create your game folders and link them in the XBOX app or steam store as the primary download location.Using the dashboard app lets you view the performance of the SSD, the health of it, how much space is used and remaining, and lets you set the RGB functions that are on the SSD too. The outer ring of the drive is LED lit and you can select between many choices for which one to use. The dashboard program also lets you see your drives temps and interface speed capability.There are some additional tools available depending on what hard drive you are viewing and allow you to manage your SSD better.Gaming performance is as expected. The load times are very short when testing games like Doom Eternal, Dead By Daylight, and the new Modern Warfare 2. Loading is usually so quick you just end up at the mercy of your internet connection for any online play. Transfer speeds outside of gaming are pretty good. Transferring an 8GB file from an internal SSD to the WD_Black drive took about 30 seconds.Overall the performance and value of the WD_Black SSD is pretty good, but unfortunately with gaming, 1TB just never seems like enough! I would still say this drive is well worth getting. It is sleek, adds some style with the RGB and will get you the fast speeds you need to load your games in a flash!
The WD Black P40 is fast and ultra slim portable drive with some added features. The P40 is not exactly a step up from the P50, but more of a smaller version with some added LED lights.The P40 features an NVMe USB 3.2 Gen 2X2 with speeds up to 2000MB/s, these speeds are definitely questionable considering I was never able to reach even half that, but more on that later. The casing is much smaller this time around, which makes it easier to carry with you. The case is made of a shock proof housing that can protect it from certain drops. This drive no longer has air vents built in, which hasn’t been an issue because this drive doesn’t get anywhere near as hot as the P50 does. The box also includes a USB-C to USB-C cable, which is more than double the length of the ... MoreThe WD Black P40 is fast and ultra slim portable drive with some added features. The P40 is not exactly a step up from the P50, but more of a smaller version with some added LED lights.The P40 features an NVMe USB 3.2 Gen 2X2 with speeds up to 2000MB/s, these speeds are definitely questionable considering I was never able to reach even half that, but more on that later. The casing is much smaller this time around, which makes it easier to carry with you. The case is made of a shock proof housing that can protect it from certain drops. This drive no longer has air vents built in, which hasn’t been an issue because this drive doesn’t get anywhere near as hot as the P50 does. The box also includes a USB-C to USB-C cable, which is more than double the length of the P50’s cable. There is also a USB-C to USB-B adapter included as well.The P40 has a few new features this time around, including 2 built-in LED strips on the bottom of the drive. The lights can be customized, and they add a nice illuminating glow to the surface where its placed. The drive also comes with preinstalled software called “the dashboard”. With the software you are able to monitor your read/write speeds with a useful performance chart, as well as check the health of your drive, the current temperature, and customize the LED lights on the drive. While the drive is compatible with both PC and Mac, this part only works with PC.As for the performance of the drive, I am pleased with how well it performs. While it claims it can reach speeds of up to 2000MB/s, my speeds on my PC peaked at 642MB/s. Granted, this is mostly due to the fact that my motherboard doesn’t fully support the latest speeds. But when I plugged it into my MacBook pro with thunderbolt 4, I was able to see some major increase in speeds. I downloaded Overwatch 2 directly to the drive along with the program to run it...It performs flawlessly. The drive never gets that hot, not to mention I can switch over to my desktop on the fly.Overall, I am very pleased with the P40 drive. It’s not exactly an upgrade from the earlier model (the P50), but I don’t think WD was trying to make it one. It does have the potential to reach 2000MB/s, but keep in mind that’s only if you have a motherboard that supports the latest version. The small size makes it easy to carry around with you, and the LED lights give it a unique and satisfying look. The dashboard software gives you great insight on the performance of the drive, as well as customizing options. The one and only complaint I have, I wish they would’ve added some small rubber feet on the bottom to prevent it from sliding around on the desk. Other than that, I think this is a great drive and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a new gaming drive.
The WD_Black P40 is a fast NVMe SSD drive in a well built external RGB enclosure with a very fast SuperSpeed 20 Gb/s USB-C interface. The case feels very solid in my hands and the top seems to be made of aluminum to help dissipate heat.It comes with a USB-C cable and a USB-A adapter along with their WD_Black Dashboard software (Windows only) to allow you to customize the RGB lighting, check on the drive’s status, along with tools to erase/sanitize the drive.There seems to be some issue as some options were grayed out and not available due to “driver limitations”. The Dashboard seems to think there are no USB drives attached even though I have the WD_Black P40 drive connected to my computer’s USB-C port. In addition, the Interface Speed Status was not available ... MoreThe WD_Black P40 is a fast NVMe SSD drive in a well built external RGB enclosure with a very fast SuperSpeed 20 Gb/s USB-C interface. The case feels very solid in my hands and the top seems to be made of aluminum to help dissipate heat.It comes with a USB-C cable and a USB-A adapter along with their WD_Black Dashboard software (Windows only) to allow you to customize the RGB lighting, check on the drive’s status, along with tools to erase/sanitize the drive.There seems to be some issue as some options were grayed out and not available due to “driver limitations”. The Dashboard seems to think there are no USB drives attached even though I have the WD_Black P40 drive connected to my computer’s USB-C port. In addition, the Interface Speed Status was not available in the Dashboard. This issue occurred with all of my computers that I tried with the WD_Black P40 Dashboard software. The ability to change the RGB lighting effects seem to work well.CrystalDiskInfo reports the internal drive as a Western Digital SN560E using UASP (NVM Express 1.4) interface. This is a very new SSD that I didn’t find much information about after searching the web. According to Western Digital it has a rated speed of up to 2000 MB/s.For real-world testing, I plugged the drive into my Lenovo Desktop’s USB-C port and the transfer rate copying over 33 GB of game installation files reached about 280 MB/s but went down to under 10 MB/sec when copying a lot of smaller files. When I plugged the drive into a Superspeed USB-A 10 Gb/s port, I saw speeds reaching 350 MB/s.When I plugged the drive into my Microsoft Surface Laptop 4’s USB-C port, it gave 450 MB/s to 600 MB/s transfer speed when copying over 33 GB of files. To me, that’s pretty darn fast.After copying over 66 GB worth of file, the drive only got slightly warm so I think the external enclosure adequately dissipates heat during normal use cases.I probably wouldn’t want to run an application that constantly reads/writes to the drive since fast NVMe drives can run hot under this situation.Overall, I can easily recommend the WD_Black P40 SSD drive to anyone looking for fast portable storage for their computer.
tldr: The WD_Black P40 1TB is a great external drive with incredibly fast transfer speeds, cool but tastefully applied RGB lights, and at a sale price is a great value. The speed of this drive makes me confident I’m going to get great performance now and even better when I upgrade my PC or add an interface card that will give me the full speed of this drive. Definitely recommended.Long review if you’re interested-The only weakness I could find on this drive is the caching, whether it be RAM or very high speed flash memory that is in the drive, only the first 4-5GB of a single file transfer will move to the drive at maximum speed, once the cache is full, the write speeds eventually fall off to below 450MB/s (3.6Gbps) down from a high of 1.4GB/s (11.7Gbps, ... Moretldr: The WD_Black P40 1TB is a great external drive with incredibly fast transfer speeds, cool but tastefully applied RGB lights, and at a sale price is a great value. The speed of this drive makes me confident I’m going to get great performance now and even better when I upgrade my PC or add an interface card that will give me the full speed of this drive. Definitely recommended.Long review if you’re interested-The only weakness I could find on this drive is the caching, whether it be RAM or very high speed flash memory that is in the drive, only the first 4-5GB of a single file transfer will move to the drive at maximum speed, once the cache is full, the write speeds eventually fall off to below 450MB/s (3.6Gbps) down from a high of 1.4GB/s (11.7Gbps, indicated in Windows, not super accurate due to PC caching) Most benchmarking tools do not use huge files for testing, so this drive looks like a real champ in benchmarks, but the blistering write performance does fall off on files larger than 4-5GB. After the initial 4-5GB, the drive will slow down to less than half speed during the rest of the file write. The drive recovers (flushes the cache) quickly and maintains maximum performance. This is clearly the fastest and most responsive USB storage device I’ve ever used.The drive is physically attractive, with a blackout case with tasteful branding markings, all business, no silly colors for this -gaming- drive. The ridged design gives it a cool feel, like an ammo box or other perk box you might pick up in a game, but it also appears functional, giving a little air space to the drive on the bottom side to help with cooling. The RGB is also tasteful, if you are an RGB fan, you might enjoy that the Western Digital Dashboard software allows you to integrate the color scheme with your preferred RGB control software; Razer Chroma, ASUS Aura, Gigabyte RGB Fusion, and MSI Mystic Light. I use the Gigabyte RGB Fusion and was able to immediately see the drive in the Gigabyte software and take control of the lighting with no mess. I did not test the lighting very thoroughly, but it did respond to my changes in the software immediately. The lighting is on the “bottom” of the drive, is not terribly bright or offensive, and you can flip the drive to see more light or less, depending on preference.The USB naming convention is now incredibly confused and has changed (again), so PCs with ports that were listed as USB 3.0 are the same as USB 3.1 and ALSO the same as USB 3.2. Seriously. So now there is USB 3.2 family with a “Generation” or “Gen” to indicate it’s speed tier. USB 3.2 (remember, also USB 3.0 and USB 3.1) by itself is limited to 5Gbps. Then you have USB 3.2 Gen 1 (10Gbps cable length limited), 2 (10Gbps), and now 2x2 (20Gbps). I am going to try to explicitly name the ports that I am using for this review to avoid any confusion, but with the stupid naming now, it’s doubtful that it will help.I found I do not have any computers or devices with a full USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps) port. All of my testing was done with the manufacturer provided cable directly connected to the USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) CPU direct port on my PC test and directly to the Thunderbolt 3 port on my 2016 MacBook Pro. The Thunderbolt 3 standard is compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2, but is not compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 without a dock or adapter of some sort, so I expect to have similar speeds to the PC. I found the CPU direct port on my PC was considerably faster than the front panel port which is rated the same, but is connected via the chipset bus instead, so I stuck with the fastest port I have available.I have a couple of comparisons with my Samsung T7 ($50 cheaper, but no RGB) to show also. For testing on the Samsung T7, I used the WD provided cable, as the Samsung provided cable gave almost identical results, so I stuck with the (very slightly) faster WD cable for comparing both drives.I am using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test as it is the simplest and easiest to use free benchmark and makes a nice chart that shows what kind of video operations the drive can handle according to their standards. While you may not be using the drive for video operations, it’s a great benchmark to get a feel for the actual top end real performance you can expect; video editing is very taxing for storage devices. I also ran benches with CrystalDiskMark 8 and 3DMark Storage Benchmark on the PC, but I think it’s better to use the “same” software on both platforms to try to get comparable results.Blackmagic Disk Speed Test Results:WD_Black P40 Stress File size 2GB-Read: 918.1 MB/s (7.7Gbps)Write: 847.6 MB/s (7.1 Gbps)3DMark Storage Benchmark test result: 858Samsung T7 Stress file size 2GB-Read: 896 MB/s (7.5 Gbps)Write: 790.6 MB/s (6.63 Gbps)3DMark Storage Benchmark test result: 771These benchmark speeds show you how fast this drive can be, even on USB 3.2 Gen 2, it will undoubtedly run faster with a true USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection, as it’s well able to saturate the slower USB connection that I have. Reading should be much faster, and writing will be comparable up to that ~4GB threshold, then come down to still fast, but markedly slower speed which could not saturate the USB connection beyond 4GB.The drive does not get hot, even when working full tilt in the 3DMark Storage Benchmark, the highest exterior temperature I was able to measure on the case was 112F, which pretty much qualifies as “warm”. When the drive is not actively reading or writing, it cools off to about 15F above the room’s ambient temperature.Xbox performance was less than stellar, but that is no fault of the drive itself it seems. According to the WD marketing, this drive is intended to be able to run original Xbox 360 and Xbox One games directly from the drive, which works perfectly well. There is a noticeable difference between using the on-board storage and using the external drive, but it’s faster than either of the older consoles when loading old games that don’t have timed load screens. As far as archiving games “Optimized for Xbox X|S”, the drive itself seems to be way faster than the Xbox can copy/move via USB. After confirming that Microsoft lists the USB ports on the X|S are USB 3.1 Gen 1 (the exact same thing as USB 3.2 - 5Gbps), the drive manages to copy or move game files only at a max speed of 2.6 Gbps, which appears to be well below the theoretical real world speed of the interface, which can run as fast as 3.2 Gbps in published benchmarks. When writing games to the drive via Xbox USB, it shows the drive’s high speed cache allows the 2.6 Gbps throughput, then drops to roughly half that speed (1.39 Gbps) after 4-5 GB of write, then maintains that lower throughput through the rest of the write function. This seems to indicate there is a high speed buffer of SLC(?) flash, likely 4GB in the drive that allows snappy performance for most tasks, but once it’s full, then the slower flash memory on the drive becomes the limiting factor. It seems the speed on the drive when reading from the WD P40 and writing to the Series X internal SSD is rock steady at the 2.6 Gbps speed and does not falter. This makes sense as the high speed cache on the drive is not involved in read operations.
The Western Digital P40 1TB external drive is a great way to add space to your PS4, PS5 or Xbox gaming console, I happen to use it for my gaming laptop which leaves the internal SSD for programs and windows applications. This P40 is the successor to the P50 drive that came out last year and I have that as well and it has been a great drive for me. The P40 is slightly smaller and offers RGB lighting in the form of two strips on the bottom of the drive and the drive is incased in plastic instead of metal as the P50 was. A USB C interface is what you will need, but Western Digital has included a USB C to USB A 3.0 High speed adapter for you incase you don’t have USB C available. Western Digital dashboard software is an included handy application (on the root of the ... MoreThe Western Digital P40 1TB external drive is a great way to add space to your PS4, PS5 or Xbox gaming console, I happen to use it for my gaming laptop which leaves the internal SSD for programs and windows applications. This P40 is the successor to the P50 drive that came out last year and I have that as well and it has been a great drive for me. The P40 is slightly smaller and offers RGB lighting in the form of two strips on the bottom of the drive and the drive is incased in plastic instead of metal as the P50 was. A USB C interface is what you will need, but Western Digital has included a USB C to USB A 3.0 High speed adapter for you incase you don’t have USB C available. Western Digital dashboard software is an included handy application (on the root of the drive) where you can update the firmware of the drive, adjust the RGB colors, check performance of the drive, tools (shows drive life, temp, etc), and settings. Also, temperature monitoring of the drive can be done, and this drive will get warm to the touch, but not hot. Temperature has peaked at about 115 degrees F. I used CrystalDisk Mark 8 to preform some speed tests and the advertised speeds are up to 2 GB, but I was only able to see and average of 1.1 GB in my Peak performance testing and .844 GB in my real-world testing. I am not sure if this is a limitation of my devices, but I tested on a 2022 Lenovo Gaming laptop, 2021 Asus G15 gaming laptop and HP Omen desktop from 2018. All produced the same or very similar results. In contrast, I was seeing the same speeds on my older P50 drive. Either way, the speeds have been sufficient for me to use this for Call of Duty Warzone, and MWII with out issues and loading times are fast, I am usually one of the first ones loaded in the game when I play. Western Digital provides a full 5-year warranty on this drive and I fully confident that this will last the test of time.
| Color | Black |
| Size | 1TB |
