Storage M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 into PCIe 3.0

[BaK]

Hi guys,

How do you think an M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 drive, like the Western Digital Black SN850 1TB, will behave if installed into a PCIE 3.0 slot?

Will it max out the PCIe 3.0 available speed while staying cold as running at half its speed only?

I am looking for the best 1TB option that will not add too much heat into a case with low airflow.
It will be put into the PCIe 3.0 16x slot thanks to an adapter.
Actually hesitating between the Adata SX8200 Pro ($120), the Samsung 970 Evo ($130), the WD SN750 ($125) or the SN850 ($140).

 

[Lbibass]

Hi guys,

How do you think an M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 drive, like the Western Digital Black SN850 1TB, will behave if installed into a PCIE 3.0 slot?

Will it max out the PCIe 3.0 available speed while staying cold as running at half its speed only?

I am looking for the best 1TB option that will not add too much heat into a case with low airflow.
It will be put into the PCIe 3.0 16x slot thanks to an adapter.
Actually hesitating between the Adata SX8200 Pro ($120), the Samsung 970 Evo ($130), the WD SN750 ($125) or the SN850 ($140).

It’ll work. It’ll probably run cooler as well. Good luck with the build.

 

[K2e2vin]

It would be nice to see tests but looking at what they decide to throw heatsinks on, I'm assuming the SN850@PCIe3.0 will run just as hot(or cold) as any other PCIe 3.0 device(PCIe 4.0 increases clock speed which means more heat; I don't think there was much change in efficiency between 3.0 and 4.0). For the price, it wouldn't hurt to run it though.

 

[BaK]

Thanks guys!

Unfortunately I missed the low pricing window, the SN850 1TB is now back at $200.

I nonetheless asked WD about how hot it will get when running in a PCIe 3.0 slot.
Not that I expect a tremendous answer, but I will report it back here when I get it.

 

[BaK]

As always, or at least very often, nothing interesting coming from the technical support:

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Technical Support.
We have not test the drive in such situations nor we are able to provide such information.

You can find the normal operating temperatures of the drive in the data sheet below.
https://documents.westerndigital.co...ck-ssd/data-sheet-wd-black-sn850-nvme-ssd.pdf

Also if you are worried of the heat, we can suggest to buy the model with the heatsink.
We do remain at your disposal