Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus and WD Black SN850 both come in the high-end Gen4 NVMe SSD category. These both directly compete with each other and can beat some of the top high-end NVMe SSDs such as Samsung 980 Pro. So, it is worth testing these both and seeing which one has got better things to offer.
The theoretical specifications look similar. Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus promises 7GB/s and 5GB/s read/to write speed while the WD Black SN850 can reach up to 7GB/s and 6.80GB/s read/write speed. But, this doesn’t make any sense. So, let’s dig deeper into the topic and reveal everything you are required to see before making the purchase.
Without any further delay, let’s first compare the official specs and then proceed with the benchmarks.
Theoretical Specifications (Comparison)
| Specification | Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus | WD Black SN850 |
|---|---|---|
| Storage Variants | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Theoretical Read Speed (Max.) | 7,000 MB/s | 7,000 MB/s |
| Theoretical Write Speed (Max.) | 6,850 MB/s | 5,300 MB/s |
| Random Read (4K, QD32) (Max.) | Up to 6,50,000 IOPS | Up to 1,000,000 IOPS |
| Random Write (4K, QD32) (Max.) | Up to 7,00,000 IOPS | Up to 1,000,000 IOPS |
| Form Factor/Interface | M.2 (2280)/PCIe® Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe™ 1.3c | M.2 (2280)/PCIe Gen 4.0 x 4, NVMe 1.3 |
| MTBF (Reliability) | 1.50 Million Hours | 1.75 Million Hours |
| Warranty | 5 Years | 5 Years |
| T.R.I.M. | Supported | Supported |
| S.M.A.R.T. | Supported | Supported |
| Encryption | No hardware encryption | No hardware encryption |
| Heatsink Option | Available | Available |
| Image |  |  |
| Availability | Check Price | Check Price |
Synthetic Benchmark Scores
For these tests, we have selected both 1TB and 2TB variants of both SSDs. The test bench is running on an Intel i5 12700K with a 16GB DDR5 RAM kit. The motherboard is MSI Pro Z690.
Passmark Scores Comparison
AS SSD Benchmark Scores
AS SSD is another very popular storage benchmarking software. It again runs some random tests to test sequential and random performance. You can set the test size from 1GB to 10GB. It will give you a score that can be helpful to compare the performance of two different SSDs.
PCMark10 Scores
PCMark 10 is one of the most popular benchmark software especially used by professionals. The quick system drive benchmark test is a smaller test utilizing smaller tests with softer real-world traces. This test is actually made for the drives which can’t handle the heavy load of Full System Drive Benchmark. The Full System Drive Benchmark, on the other hand, is full of heavy real-world traces from various popular applications. I have done both these tests and the comparison is as follows.
CrystalDiskMark Scores Comparison
CrystalDismMark is another simple-to-use storage benchmark software. It is generally used to run sequential and random system tests using different file sizes. The default sequential read/write test is 1M at Q8T1 and Q1T1. The default random read/write test is 4KB at Q32T1 and Q1T1. You can easily change these test types along with the total test file size.
Anvil Storage Utilities
Anvil’s Storage Utilities is our next benchmark software with a pretty simple interface. It runs all the tests automatically and give you a final score. A higher number means better performance. It runs a wide array of tests including Seq 4MB, 4K, 4K QD4, 4K QD16, 32K, and 128K, in both read and write formats
Benchmark Results Analysis: Both of these SSDs are pretty powerful and are suitable for high-end builds. However, WD Black SN850 is beating the Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus at most places. But, Rocket 4 Plus is the winner mostly when it comes to writing files. Overall, I think WD Black SN850 is a clear winner here.
Endurance and TBW
| Parameter | Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus | WD Black SN850 |
|---|---|---|
| TBW | 500GB: 350 TBW 1TB: 700 TBW 2TB: 1,400 TBW 4TB: 3,000 TBW 8TB: 5,600 TBW | 500GB: 300 TBW 1TB: 600 TBW 2TB: 1,200 TBW |
| Warranty | 5-Years Limited Warranty | 5-Years Limited Warranty |
| MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) | 1.50 Million Hours | 1.75 Million Hours |
Impressively, Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus has got better TBW ratings which means it has the potential to last longer than SN850 inside your computer. However, MTBF is longer with the SN850. Whatever the limits are, they are pretty hard to achieve by any normal user.
Technical Specifications
| Technical Specification | Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus | WD Black SN850 |
|---|---|---|
| NAND Flash Type | Micron’s TLC NAND | Sandisk’s TLC 3D |
| NAND Flash Layers | 96 | – |
| Controller | Phison E18 | WD Proprietary Controller |
| Controller Configurations | Triple R5, 8-Channels | Not Specified |
| Cache | DDR4 SDRAM | DDR4 DRAM |
| Heatsink Option | Available | Available |
| T.R.I.M. | Available | Available |
| S.M.A.R.T. | Available | Available |
| Encryption | Not Available | Not Available |
Both SSDs are using the same TLC NAND. All other specifications are similar. It would have been impressive to see these both come with encryption. But that’s a topic for another day.
Price
WD Black SN850 is a little more expensive than Rocket 4.0 Plus. But, the prices keep changing. So, I would recommend you check them before you make your final decision.
Final Verdict: Which one should you buy?
By looking at the benchmarks, you can say that WD Black SN850 won the tests by some numbers. I have observed that the SN850 is a much more powerful and faster SSD between the both. So, if you are looking for the best performance, I would recommend WD Black SN850 for sure.
However, Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus is around 30 bucks cheaper than SN850. So, it is definitely going to give you a better price-to-performance ratio without compromising on the necessary features.
So, my final decision will be Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus. Let me know what you think in the comment section.
Thanks for reading!