



Western Digital 1TB WD Green SN350 NVMe SSD Review: A Budget-Friendly Speed Boost
If you're looking to upgrade your storage without breaking the bank, the Western Digital 1TB WD Green SN350 NVMe Internal SSD is a compelling option. With read speeds of up to 3,200 MB/s, this SSD offers a significant performance boost over traditional SATA drives, making it ideal for everyday tasks, gaming, and even light media editing.
The M.2 2280 form factor ensures easy installation in most modern laptops and desktops, while the shock-resistant design adds durability. With 1TB of storage and a 3-year limited warranty, this SSD is a reliable choice for users seeking a balance of speed, capacity, and affordability.
Pros and Cons: What Customers Are Saying
Performance and Speed
One of the standout features of the WD Green SN350 is its impressive speed. Customers have praised its ability to deliver near-advertised read speeds of 3,200 MB/s, with some even reporting speeds of 2,700-2,900 MB/s in benchmarks. This makes it a significant upgrade from older SATA SSDs or HDDs, with noticeable improvements in boot times, file transfers, and overall system responsiveness.
However, it’s worth noting that this is a QLC (Quad-Level Cell) SSD, which means it may not be the best choice for write-intensive tasks. While it performs well for general use and gaming, heavy workloads like video editing or large file transfers might push its limits.
Ease of Installation and Compatibility
The M.2 2280 form factor makes the WD Green SN350 easy to install in most systems. Customers have reported seamless installation on both laptops and desktops, with no need for additional cables or adapters.
Compatibility is another strong point. While the product box lists Windows 7/8/10, some users have successfully used it with Windows 11 without issues. However, if you’re planning to use it as your primary OS drive, it’s worth double-checking compatibility with your specific setup.
Durability and Heat Management
The shock-resistant design ensures that your data stays safe from accidental bumps and drops. Additionally, the drive’s heat management has been praised by users. Even under moderate loads, temperatures typically stay in the 40-60°C range, which is well within safe limits.
That said, some users have noted that the drive can get warmer when placed near a GPU or in a poorly ventilated case. If you’re concerned about heat, a low-profile heatsink can help keep temperatures in check.
Value for Money
The WD Green SN350 is often described as a budget-friendly NVMe SSD that delivers excellent value. At its price point, it’s hard to find a drive that offers similar performance and capacity.
However, its QLC NAND technology and 3-year warranty have raised some concerns about long-term reliability. While it’s perfect for secondary storage or gaming, users looking for a primary drive for heavy workloads might want to consider more robust options.
Conclusion: Is the WD Green SN350 Worth It?
The Western Digital 1TB WD Green SN350 NVMe SSD is a fantastic choice for users seeking a budget-friendly storage upgrade. Its blazing-fast speeds, easy installation, and shock-resistant design make it a reliable option for everyday tasks, gaming, and light workloads.
However, its QLC NAND technology and limited warranty mean it may not be the best choice for write-intensive tasks or users who prioritize long-term durability. If you’re looking for a secondary drive or a cost-effective upgrade, the WD Green SN350 is an excellent pick.
Final Verdict:
- Pros: Affordable, fast, easy to install, good heat management.
- Cons: Not ideal for heavy workloads, limited warranty.
For the price, the WD Green SN350 is a solid performer that delivers on its promises. If you’re upgrading from a traditional HDD or SATA SSD, this drive will feel like a breath of fresh air.
Specification Western Digital 1TB WD Green SN350 NVMe Internal SSD Solid State Drive - Gen3 PCIe, QLC, M.2 2280, Up to 3,200 MB/s - WDS100T3G0C:
Comments from Amazon:
We were looking for a low-cost NVMe drive with good performance and reliability. We have no complaints about the performance, and it is running without any issues. It is a significant upgrade from a rotating rust drive of the same capacity with only a modest increase in cost.
This is my secondary/game drive, and has been rock solid. No complaints!
No issues so far
For my new PC I wanted two drives. The WD Blue is for the OS and applications, and for gaming I've chosen this WD Green. It's unashamedly on the low-end of NVME drives, but is reasonably priced and still FAR exceeds anything you can do with SATA. Putting it through benchmarks, it meets and even exceeds the advertised 2400MB/s speeds. I've personally seen ~2700-2900MB/s. In most cases, I can't imagine you would need a heatsink for this drive, but on my motherboard, the second NVME slot is right underneath the graphics card, so I actually did install a low-profile heatsink on mine, since anything is still better than nothing here. Highest temps I've seen were in the mid-60s (which is fine, as most drives are good up to 72-75C before they'll throttle down), but usually during gaming it sits around 55-58C, and at idle/light loads it's in the 40s. The box mine came in only listed Windows 7/8/10 as being compatible (whereas the box for the WD Blue lists Windows 11 as well). This could just be due to the fact that this particular drive was manufactured two months before Windows 11's official release, or maybe not, I don't know how far in advance Microsoft started handing around "Window's 11-Ready" certificates or whatever. As I planned on going with Windows 10 anyways, this didn't matter to me. It may not matter at ALL if you aren't going to use it as your OS drive, but I haven't tested that of course, so wanted to bring it up at least. The WD Green lineup has never had the best reputation when it comes to long-term reliability. It was a commonly-held view back when the lineup consisted of just HDDs, and it's still the case today with the NVMEs. That said, this thing is 60 bucks. It has a 3 year warranty. It's only been a month for me, but if it lasts me 3 years, I still think it'll have been worth it, and NVMEs as a whole should be cheaper overall by that point. Still, that reputation is what has relegated it to a "games only" use-case for me, and I think it's perfect for that.
This review is for the 2TB WD SN350. Sometimes Amazon consolidates reviews for different models together and I want to make sure that if you're reading this review, it corresponds to the product that you are considering. I paid $139.99 for it on sale which is a great price for a 2TB M.2 SSD. In addition, for a PCIE Gen3 SSD, it performs near the peak of that gen's capability. I think the fastest possible read speed for gen3 is 3,500mb/s and this drive achieves 3,150mb/s read and 3000mb/s write as shown in the attached pic from my test yesterday. Given its affordable price, this is an excellent result. One thing to keep in mind is that this is a PCIE Gen3 SSD. There are PCIE Gen4 and Gen5 motherboards that can handle faster m.2 drives capable of 5,000, 6,000 and even 7,000 plus megabytes per second read speeds. Since my laptop's motherboard is PCIE Gen3, I can't take advantage of the faster read/writes of Gen4 SSDs. This is about the fastest I can take advantage of until I upgrade my laptop in a few years. That said, I don't plan on upgrading for a few years and therefore I am not concerned about future proofing my SSD with a faster drive. If you plan on upgrading to a PCIE Gen4 or PCIE Gen5 motherboard soon, or if you currently have one, consider a faster drive, but expect to pay considerably more for it. That said, 3,000 plus read/write is plenty fast and at its current sale price, this is still an excellent deal for any motherboard.
I got this SSD for storing files. I don't use it for games, but it's important for me to have fast access to lots of files because of what I do. It works incredibly well and incredibly fast, and was a good purchase.
The WD Green SN350 1TB NVMe SSD is an excellent choice if you're looking for a solid, budget-friendly storage upgrade. With speeds of up to 3,200 MB/s, it significantly boosts system performance compared to a traditional SATA SSD or HDD. Boot times, file transfers, and overall system responsiveness have improved noticeably since I installed it. The Gen3 PCIe compatibility makes it a great fit for most mid-range systems, and the M.2 2280 form factor was easy to install on my motherboard without taking up extra space. Although it's a QLC SSD, the performance has been smooth for regular tasks like gaming, media editing, and day-to-day use, though it may not be the best for extremely heavy write-intensive tasks. For the price, it's hard to beat the value of this drive. It’s perfect for anyone looking to upgrade to NVMe speeds without spending too much. If you're after solid performance for general use and gaming, the WD Green SN350 is a fantastic choice