Western Digital's Blue and SanDisk's Ultra SSDs have been updated with 3D BiCS FLASH and are shipping, according to online reseller B&H Photo. They're coming in capacities up to 1TB; the SanDisk Ultra 3D SSD shows a large 2TB model "coming soon," but no date is given for availability. The site also gave us a first look at initial pricing for these products.
Newegg may have the Blue 3D SSDs, as well. If you search by the product number, there are results, but the product description and specifications show the older Blue SSD (2016) information. There are even user reviews dating back to last year. Using the same series name--Blue, Black, Red and other color hard disk drive series--has confused users. There's a good chance that will carry over to the new SSD product line; SanDisk released a consumer SSD under the "Ultra" name in 2013, "Ultra Plus" (also in 2013), and "Ultra II" in 2014.
WD Blue 3D Technical Specifications
| Product | Blue 3D 250GB | Blue 3D 500GB | Blue 3D 1TB | Blue 3D 2TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $89.99 | $149.99 | $279.99 | Unknown |
| CapacityUser / Raw | 250GB / 256GB | 500GB / 512GB | 1,000GB / 1,024GB | 2,000GB / 2,048GB |
| Form Factor | 2.5-Inch 7mmM.2 2280 Single-Sided | 2.5-Inch 7mmM.2 2280 Single-Sided | 2.5-Inch 7mmM.2 2280 Single-Sided | 2.5-Inch 7mmM.2 2280 Single-Sided |
| Interface / Protocol | SATA 6Gbps / AHCI | SATA 6Gbps / AHCI | SATA 6Gbps / AHCI | SATA 6Gbps / AHCI |
| Controller | Marvell 88SS1074 | Marvell 88SS1074 | Marvell 88SS1074 | Marvell 88SS1074 |
| DRAM | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| NAND | SanDisk BiCS FLASH64-Layer TLC | SanDisk BiCS FLASH64-Layer TLC | SanDisk BiCS FLASH64-Layer TLC | SanDisk BiCS FLASH64-Layer TLC |
| Sequential Read | 550 MB/s | 560 MB/s | 560 MB/s | 560 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 525 MB/s | 530 MB/s | 530 MB/s | 530 MB/s |
| Random Read | 95,000 IOPS | 95,000 IOPS | 95,000 IOPS | 95,000 IOPS |
| Random Write | 81,000 IOPS | 84,000 IOPS | 84,000 IOPS | 84,000 IOPS |
| Encryption | No | No | No | No |
| Endurance | 100 TBW | 200 TBW | 400 TBW | 500 TBW |
| Product Number | 2.5-Inch: WDS250G2B0AM.2 2280: WDS250G2B0B | 2.5-Inch: WDS500G2B0AM.2 2280: WDS500G2B0B | 2.5-Inch: WDS100T2B0AM.2 2280: WDS100T2B0A | 2.5-Inch: WDS200T2B0AM.2 2280: WDS200T2B0A |
| Warranty | 3-Year Limited | 3-Year Limited | 3-Year Limited | 3-Year Limited |
SanDisk Ultra 3D SSD Technical Specifications
| Product | Ultra 3D 250GB | Ultra 3D 500GB | Ultra 3D 1TB | Ultra 3D 2TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $99.99 | $164.99 | $279.99 | $549.99 (Unavailable) |
| CapacityUser / Raw | 250GB / 256GB | 500GB / 512GB | 1000GB / 1024GB | 2000GB / 2048GB |
| Form Factor | 2.5-Inch | 2.5-Inch | 2.5-Inch | 2.5-Inch |
| Interface / Protocol | SATA 6Gbps / AHCI | SATA 6Gbps / AHCI | SATA 6Gbps / AHCI | SATA 6Gbps / AHCI |
| Controller | Marvell 88SS1074 | Marvell 88SS1074 | Marvell 88SS1074 | Marvell 88SS1074 |
| DRAM | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| NAND | SanDisk BiCS FLASH64-Layer TLC | SanDisk BiCS FLASH64-Layer TLC | SanDisk BiCS FLASH64-Layer TLC | SanDisk BiCS FLASH64-Layer TLC |
| Sequential Read | 550 MB/s | 560 MB/s | 560 MB/s | 560 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 525 MB/s | 530 MB/s | 530 MB/s | 530 MB/s |
| Random Read | 95,000 IOPS | 95,000 IOPS | 95,000 IOPS | 95,000 IOPS |
| Random Write | 81,000 IOPS | 84,000 IOPS | 84,000 IOPS | 84,000 IOPS |
| Encryption | No | No | No | No |
| Endurance | 100 TBW | 200 TBW | 400 TBW | 500 TBW |
| Part Number | SDSSDH3-250G-G25 | SDSSDH3-500G-G25 | SDSSDH3-1T00-G25 | SDSSDH3-2T00-G25 |
| Warranty | 3-Year Limited | 3-Year Limited | 3-Year Limited | 3-Year Limited |
Both drives use identical hardware but target different markets. Given the performance we achieved with Toshiba's XG5 OEM-focused NVMe SSD using the same 256Gbit BiCS FLASH, these two products could very well match the real-world performance of Samsung's 850 EVO.
When we first found the listing at B&H, the pricing was much higher for the four SanDisk Ultra 3D products. In the last 24 hours, though, B&H reduced pricing for all four Ultra products. The 2TB drive went from $709.99 to $549.99, which was the largest change, and the 250GB went from $109.99 to $99.99. Even though both drives use the same hardware, at this time it looks like shoppers will pay a little more for the Ultra over the Blue in 250GB and 500GB capacity sizes. That may change over the coming week as more news emerges.
