Skip to main content
Western Digital 500GB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, M.2 2280, Up to 560 MB/s - WDS500G2B0B
Western Digital

Western Digital 500GB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD (WDS500G2B0B)

Bottom line: The Western Digital 500GB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD ($150.00 on Amazon as of 2026-10-06): Hits the SATA III ceiling: 560 MB/s read, 530 MB/s write; main trade-off: SATA III caps it far below NVMe drives in the same M.2 form factor.

$150.00

As an Amazon Associate, SpecPicks earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure →

Buy on Amazon — $150.00 Compare to similar ssds & storage

By , Founder & Editor-in-Chief · Listing data updated

Mike Perry — Hardware researcher since 2014. For SSDs and PC storage upgrades, synthesises manufacturer specs and independent reviews rather than first-hand lab testing. Core beat: GPU performance across gaming, rendering, and local-LLM inference.

*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-06. Price and availability subject to change.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • ✓ Hits the SATA III ceiling: 560 MB/s read, 530 MB/s write
  • ✓ 1.75M-hour MTTF rating, an industry-leading figure
  • ✓ Up to 500 TBW endurance per JEDEC JESD219 client workload
  • ✓ Up to 25% lower active power than prior WD Blue SSDs

Cons

  • ✗ SATA III caps it far below NVMe drives in the same M.2 form factor
  • ✗ M.2 2280 SATA keying won't work in NVMe-only slots
  • ✗ 500GB fills fast if you install modern 100GB+ game installs
  • ✗ No heatsink or cloning hardware in the box

Manufacturer description

The WD Blue 3D NAND 500GB SSD is Western Digital's M.2 2280 SATA drive for people upgrading a laptop or desktop that has an M.2 slot wired for SATA rather than NVMe. It delivers sequential reads up to 560 MB/s and sequential writes up to 530 MB/s, which saturates the SATA III 6 Gb/s interface and turns a mechanical-hard-drive boot into a near-instant one. The move to 3D NAND is the reason this generation stretches to 2TB across the family while raising endurance: Western Digital rates the line at 1.75 million hours mean time to failure and up to 500 TB written, with the 3D NAND tier also…

Related Products

Other products in this category you may like:

SpecPicks Verdict

SpecPicks scored Western Digital 500GB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD using a rating × review-volume × price-fit model applied to published specs and reviews across the ssds & storage category. Western Digital's ssds & storage lineup sits within the broader category mid-tier; price and specs are the deciding factors over brand loyalty here. Judge it on the specification table and the price rather than on sentiment: check the figures that decide your use case, then put it side-by-side with two or three close alternatives in the Compare tool before clicking through.

Common buyer scenarios for ssds & storage of this kind: matching it to an existing build, replacing a failing part, or upgrading from a previous-generation equivalent. Check the spec table below against your current setup — particularly socket / form-factor / power-rating fields — and confirm compatibility on the retailer's listing before purchase. Prices and stock are set by the retailer and may have moved since this page was last updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this an NVMe drive or a SATA drive?

It is a SATA III 6 Gb/s drive in the M.2 2280 form factor, not NVMe. Your motherboard's M.2 slot must support SATA mode for it to be detected.

How fast is the WD Blue 3D NAND 500GB SSD?

Western Digital rates it at sequential reads up to 560 MB/s and sequential writes up to 530 MB/s, which is the practical ceiling of the SATA III interface.

How long will this SSD last?

Western Digital rates the drive at 1.75 million hours mean time to failure and up to 500 TB written, calculated using the JEDEC JESD219 client workload.

Will it fit my laptop or motherboard?

It uses the M.2 2280 form factor and carries WD F.I.T. Lab certification for compatibility across a wide range of computers. Confirm your M.2 slot is 2280-length and SATA-capable.

Is 500GB enough capacity?

It suits a Windows install plus everyday apps and a handful of games. The WD Blue 3D NAND line scales to 2TB if you need more; note usable capacity is less than 500GB after formatting.

Key Features

  • 3D NAND SATA SSD for capacities up to 2TB with enhanced reliability; As used for storage capacity, 1 terabyte (TB) = 1 trillion bytes; Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment
  • Sequential read speeds up to 560MB/s and sequential write speeds up to 530MB/s; As used for transfer rate or interface, megabyte per second (MB/s) = 1 million bytes per second and gigabit per second (Gb/s) = 1 billion bits per second
  • An industry leading 1.75M hrs mean time to failure (MTTF) and up to 500 TBs written (TBW) for enhanced reliability; MTTF based on internal testing using Telcordia stress part testing; TBW calculated using JEDEC client workload (JESD219)
  • WD F.I.T. Lab certification for compatibility with a wide range of computers

Full Specifications

BrandWestern Digital
Colorblue
Model NameBlue
Read Speed560 megabytes_per_second
Unit Count1 Count
Form FactorM.2 2280
Media Speed530 megabits_per_second
Model NumberWDS500G2B0B
CompatibilityPC
Built-In MediaSSD
Item Type NameWD Blue 3D NAND 500GB PC SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s M.2 2280 Solid State Drive - WDS500G2B0B
Hard-Drive Size500 GB
Mfr Part NumberWDS500G2B0B
Number of Items1
Special FeatureSATA III
Hardware PlatformPC
Installation TypeInternal Hard Drive
Compatible DevicesComputers
Data Transfer Rate750 megabits_per_second
Enclosure MaterialPolyimide
Full listing titleWestern Digital 500GB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, M.2 2280, Up to 560 MB/s - WDS500G2B0B

Ready to buy?

Western Digital 500GB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, M.2 2280, Up to 560 MB/s - WDS500G2B0B is listed on Amazon. Price, availability, shipping and returns are set by Amazon and its sellers — check the listing for current terms. SpecPicks earns a small commission on qualifying purchases — thank you for supporting independent review work.

Buy on Amazon — $150.00

*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-06. Price and availability subject to change.

Related SSDs & Storage

Keep exploring SpecPicks

Other buying guides

Browse the catalog

Editorial

More guides & deep dives from the SpecPicks archive

Browse all articles & guides →

More reviews from the SpecPicks archive

Browse all reviews →

Earliest SpecPicks reviews

Browse full archive →
Western Digital 500GB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, M.2 2280, Up to 560 MB/s - WDS500G2B0B
$150.00
View on Amazon →