Two new, innovative, high-performance SSD storage solutions purpose-built to equip gamers with the tools they need to optimize their gaming setup
Bangkok, Thailand, 20 October 2020 – Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) is helping gamers enhance their setups and adapt to the evolving gaming landscape heralded by the next generation of games with today’s introduction of two new and upcoming products for its WD_BLACK portfolio of storage solutions. These include a fully bootable Gen3 x8 add-in-card and a Thunderbolt 3-powered NVMe SSD gaming dock, each offering eye-catching RGB lighting options.
“As game developers move towards creating immersive titles that require higher performance, consumers need to equip themselves with the best tools to stay up-to-speed,” said Jim Welsh, senior vice president, Consumer Solutions, Western Digital. “Innovative, high-performance storage solutions are essential to keep up with this ever-changing landscape. Our latest WD_BLACK products have been purpose-built to allow gamers to meet the increasingly high standards of future games and gaming platforms. We’ve optimized these products to not only provide more storage for gamers but to elevate the gaming experience as a whole.”
The latest and upcoming WD_BLACK gaming portfolio includes:
WD_BLACK AN1500 NVMe SSD Add-in-Card – For gamers looking to achieve next-gen performance in a current-gen setup, this fully bootable plug and play add-in card is one of the fastest PCIe Gen3 x8 solutions on the market. Powered by two internal SSDs in RAID 0 and PCIe Gen3 x8 technology, gamers can experience read speeds up to 6500 MB/s1 and write speeds up to 4100MB/s1 (2TB and 4TB models), giving them lightning fast gameplay so they can spend less time waiting and more time playing. Customizable RGB lighting (Windows® only) complements your current rig while an integrated heatsink combats thermal throttling to help maintain peak performance. The WD_BLACK AN1500 NVMe SSD Add-in-Card is available in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities2 starting at MSRP THB 9,990.
WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock NVMe SSD – This compact, high-performance gaming dock SSD, with heatsink design, transforms a Thunderbolt 3-compatible laptop into an integrated and immersive gaming station. An optimal solution for gamers looking to streamline their setup, the dock offers superfast speeds with NVMe technology, more capacity for games, and multiple ports for accessories – all powered by a single Thunderbolt 3 cord. The WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock NVMe SSD is complete with customizable RGB lighting controlled through the WD_BLACK Dashboard (Windows® only). The WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock NVMe SSD is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities2 starting at MSRP THB14,900. A non-SSD option, the WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock, will also be available for MSRP THB10,900.
Availability
- The WD_BLACK AN1500 NVMe SSD Add-in-Card is now available for purchase at select Western Digital retailers, e-tailers, resellers and system integrators.
- The WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock and WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock NVMe SSD will be available starting early November 2020 at select e-tailers.
Exclusive Launch Promotion
As part of this exciting WD_BLACK launch in Thailand, Western Digital has teamed up with four branded partners including Intel, Asus, NVIDIA and Thermaltake to introduce four custom-built PCs designed for different target audiences.
These custom-built PC models include iWork, iPLAY, iGAME and iSTREAM.
In particular, the iSTREAM model has been designed with professional and hardcore gamers and live streamers in mind. Sporting extreme and ultra-high performance, this model will feature top of the line products including
- CPU: Intel Core i9-10850K 3.60GHz, 10/20, 20MB
- Motherboard: Asus ROG-Strix-Z490-H Gaming
- RAM: ToughRAM Z1 RGB DDR4 3200MHz 32GB (8GBx4)
- SSD: WD_BLACK AN1500 NVMe SSD 1TB (Add-in-Card)
- HDD: WD_BLACK Gaming HDD 2TB (7200RPM)
- VGA: Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX3080-010G Gaming 10GB
- CASE: Thermaltake View 51 TG ARGB ATX
The iSTREAM PC is now available at participating retail and online stores for MSRP THB79,900 and will come bundled with a variety of premiums (limited quantity, while stocks last), on-site service (1-year warranty) and double protection insurance. More information can be found at iwantpc.com
For more information on the WD_BLACK portfolio, visit www.WDBLACK.com.
About Western Digital
Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. As a leader in data infrastructure, the company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities of data. Our data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk®, and WD® brands.
1 As used for transfer rate, 1 MB/s = 1 million bytes per second. IOPS = Input/Output Operations Per Second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending upon host device, usage conditions, drive capacity, and other factors.
2 As used for storage capacity, 1GB = 1 billion bytes and 1TB = 1 trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment.
© 2020 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Western Digital, the Western Digital logo, G-Technology, SanDisk, WD, WD_BLACK and the WD_BLACK logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. NVMe™ is a trademark of NVM Express, Inc. PCIe® is a registered trademark and/or service mark of PCI-SIG in the United States and/or other countries. Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. Windows is a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
Product specifications subject to change without notice. Pictures shown may vary from actual products. Not all products are available in all regions of the world.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including the expected availability, benefits, capabilities, capacity, performance and/or other features of the WD_BLACK AN1500 Add-in-Card and WD_BLACK D50 Game Dock products. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate including, among others: changes to specifications from standards organizations, future responses to and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, volatility in global economic conditions; business conditions and growth in the storage ecosystem; impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance and cost of commodity materials and specialized product components; actions by competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; our development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with acquisitions, divestitures, mergers and joint ventures; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company’s most recently filed periodic report, to which your attention is directed. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.