Western Digital 500GB WD Red SN700 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive SSD for NAS Devices
Bottom line: The Western Digital 500GB WD Red SN700 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive SSD ($179.99 on Amazon as of 2026-10-07): Up to 3,430 MB/s sequential reads on Gen3 PCIe; main trade-off: gen3 interface, so no PCIe 4.0 headroom on newer NAS units.
As an Amazon Associate, SpecPicks earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure →
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-07. Price and availability subject to change.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ Up to 3,430 MB/s sequential reads on Gen3 PCIe
- ✓ Tuned for sustained NAS workloads, not burst consumer use
- ✓ Standard M.2 2280 fits most NAS NVMe slots
- ✓ SN700 line scales to 4TB for later capacity upgrades
Cons
- ✗ Gen3 interface, so no PCIe 4.0 headroom on newer NAS units
- ✗ 500GB is small for a primary NAS volume
- ✗ M.2 2280 only, no 2242 or 2230 NAS bays
Manufacturer description
The Western Digital WD Red SN700 500GB NVMe SSD is purpose-built for NAS enclosures rather than desktop duty, and that focus shows in how it behaves under constant multi-user load. Sequential reads reach up to 3,430 MB/s over a Gen3 PCIe interface in the M.2 2280 form factor, so your NAS cache, app volume, or tiered storage pool stops being the bottleneck when several people hit it at once. Western Digital tuned the SN700 line for sustained NAS workloads, which means the drive is aimed at reliability and endurance during long write sessions instead of short consumer bursts. That makes it a…
SpecPicks Verdict
SpecPicks scored Western Digital 500GB WD Red SN700 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive 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 the WD Red SN700 500GB fast enough for a NAS cache drive?
It reaches up to 3,430 MB/s sequential reads over Gen3 PCIe, which is well beyond what a multi-gigabit NAS network link can saturate, so the drive is not the limiting factor in a cache tier.
Will this fit my NAS?
It is an M.2 2280 NVMe drive, the most common size for NAS NVMe slots. Confirm your enclosure has an M.2 2280 NVMe (not SATA) slot before ordering.
How is it different from a regular desktop NVMe SSD?
Western Digital builds the SN700 for NAS workloads specifically, emphasizing reliability and endurance under continuous multi-user I/O rather than the short bursty transfers desktop drives are tuned for.
Can I use it for virtualization or shared video editing?
Yes. Western Digital lists virtualization and collaborative editing as target workloads, and the drive is designed for multitasking with multiple users hitting it at once.
Can I add more capacity later?
The WD Red SN700 family scales up to 4TB, so you can start at 500GB and move to a larger drive in the same line without changing form factor or interface. Check the product listing for current warranty terms.
Key Features
- Robust system responsiveness and exceptional I/O performance
- Tackle NAS workloads with exceptional reliability and endurance
- Tame tough projects like virtualization and collaborative editing
- Perfect for multitasking applications with multiple users
- Scale your NAS device with huge capacities up to 4TB*
Full Specifications
| Brand | Western Digital |
|---|---|
| Color | Red |
| Model Name | WD Red SN700 |
| Read Speed | 3430 megabytes_per_second |
| Unit Count | 1 Count |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Media Speed | 2600 |
| Model Number | WDS500G1R0C |
| Built-In Media | Solid State Drive |
| Hard-Drive Size | 500 GB |
| Mfr Part Number | WDS500G1R0C |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Special Feature | SSD for NAS |
| Hardware Platform | Western Digital |
| Installation Type | Internal Hard Drive |
| Compatible Devices | NAS Devices |
| Data Transfer Rate | 3430 megabytes_per_second |
| Enclosure Material | Nand |
| Additional Features | SSD for NAS |
| Hard Disk Interface | NVMe |
| Full listing title | Western Digital 500GB WD Red SN700 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive SSD for NAS Devices - Gen3 PCIe, M.2 2280, Up to 3,430 MB/s - WDS500G1R0C |
Ready to buy?
Western Digital 500GB WD Red SN700 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive SSD for NAS Devices - Gen3 PCIe, M.2 2280, Up to 3,430 MB/s - WDS500G1R0C 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.
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-07. Price and availability subject to change.
Related SSDs & Storage
More guides & deep dives from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all articles & guides →- Best Retro Handhelds in 2026 — From $35 to $500
- The Complete Voodoo5 5500 AGP Driver Guide (2026 Edition)
- How to Build a Windows 98 Retro PC in 2026
- Emulation Hardware in 2026: FPGA, Software, and Cart-Reader Ecosystems
- RTX 4070 Super vs RX 7800 XT — Which to Buy in 2026
- Best 1440p Gaming GPUs in 2026
- Best Budget Gaming PC Build 2026 — ~$1,000 ($800 on Sale)
More reviews from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all reviews →- Ryzen AI Max vs RTX 40 Series: Which Wins for AI and Gaming?
- SNES Classic vs Sega Genesis Mini: Best Plug-and-Play Retro Console in 2026
- AI Bug-Hunting Surged: Running a Local Security-Scanner LLM on 12GB VRAM
- Best Mouse Pads for Competitive FPS Gaming in 2026
- Best CPU Cooler for a Ryzen 7 3700X: Air vs 240mm AIO in 2026
- Best Quiet PC Cooling Upgrades in 2026
- Best CPU Cooler for the Ryzen 7 5800X: Air vs AIO in 2026
- Backing Up Vintage IDE Drives to CompactFlash in 2026
- Qwen3.6-27B at 72 Tok/s on RTX 3090: What's Real
- Intel Arc Pro B60 Creator 24GB: Workstation GPU Guide
- Adding a Manual Shifter to Your Sim Rig: Is the Thrustmaster TH8A Worth It for the G29?
- Jan vs LM Studio: The Best No-Terminal Local LLM App for an RTX 3060 (2026)
- Best GPU for 1080p Esports in 2026: Why the RTX 3060 12GB Still Wins
- Pentium III Coppermine vs Tualatin: Which 2001 LAN Build CPU Aged Better
- CPU-Only LLM Inference on a Ryzen 7 5800X: When 32GB of RAM Beats a 12GB GPU
- Can the Ryzen 5 5600G Game at 1080p Without a Graphics Card in 2026?
- RTX 4080M Desktop Build: 100W Gaming vs. RX 9070 GRE
- Ex-Sega Engineer Builds a 'Super-Realistic' CRT Emulator
- llama.cpp on a 12GB RTX 3060: llama-bench Setup and Measured tok/s
- Best Gaming Controllers for PC in 2026: 5 Picks Tested Across Genres
- How to run Llama 3.1 70B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
- Using an LLM to Fix Win98 Voodoo & TNT Driver Installs
- 3dfx Voodoo2 SLI in 2026: Build Guide, Glide Setup, CF Storage
- Replace a Dying IDE Drive With CompactFlash in a Win98 Retro PC
Earliest SpecPicks reviews
Browse full archive →- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 8B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 14B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 70B (2026)
- Best GPU for DeepSeek-R1 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 405B (2026)
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 14B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 70B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run DeepSeek-R1 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090