Wd’s red sa500 is a sata 6gbps ssd that comes in both 2.5” 7mm and m.2 2280 form factors (for more on form factors and other considerations, check out our ssd buying guide). capacities range from 500gb up to 2tb in both form factors, but the 2.5” model ups the ante a bit with a 4tb model. pricing is a bit high for a sata ssd, $0.14 - $0.16 per gb, but the drive comes with relatively high endurance ratings up to 2,500tb and a five-year warranty. in many respects, the sa500 is spec’d similarly to the samsung 860 evo.
it supports trim, s.m.a.r.t. data reporting, and secure erase. the red sa500 line up is rated for 560/530 mbps of sequential read/write throughput and up to 95,000/85,000 random read/write iops. the 4tb model we are reviewing today comes with a slightly lower write iops rating, however, of 82,000 iops