SANDISK - 2TB Optimus GX PRO 850X PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD

This Sandisk Optimus GX PRO storage is the perfect solution for the PC owner who needs a fast, reliable, and easy to install storage upgrade for their gaming needs. This 2TB SSD arrived neatly packaged, and was well protected during transit. Before ordering, I made sure the device I would be upgrading used this particular type of storage drive. Once I carefully removed it from the package, I was ready to start my install. I have a ROG Xbox Ally handheld, which has a stock storage capacity of 512gb. By utilizing some online guides and resources, I was able to removed the stock storage, and install this upgrade from Sandisk, with very little trouble. After a multi-step set up process to reinstall Windows on the ROG, it appeared that the Sandisk install was a success. I then downloaded most of my Steam and Xbox game library to my ROG, and I noticed that the download speeds did seem to be faster with this storage. After spending some time playing some games, including some demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077, I can confidently say that this upgrade from Sandisk has been awesome for my needs. Load times are quick, and I absolutely love having the extra storage in my device. Before this, I was utilizing a 1TB SD card; I found that some games do not do well being loaded from an SD card, basically ensuring that you need to install these demanding titles on the internal SSD. Because of this upgrade, I've installed all of my regular go-games, and still have a huge amount of space left on the SSD. Just to note, after install, the total size of this SSD was 1.81 TB. While not the full 2 TB, there is always some variation of actual size, and this is still a MASSIVE upgrade from the stock 512gb. Overall, I am thrilled with the performance of this SSD from Sandisk, and it is pretty easy to install, which will also depend on what device you choose to use it is. Just be sure to check the specs to ensure you are ordering the right type of device. If you're looking for a high performance SSD for your gaming PC or handheld, look no further than the Sandisk Optimus GX PRO. 5 stars all the way!

The Sandisk Optimus GX Pro 850X NVM2 SSD is fast. Faster than my other M.2 drives. Installation is standard, you need a 2280 size slot, slip it in and secure it to your motherboard. I used windows, it was recognized right away and formatting it for use was easy. 2TB is large enough to hold an OS and games or large media files with ease. I used my Asus gaming laptop and ran the 3D Mark SSD benchmark against 3 drives. The picture attached shows the results. Overall the Sandisk did better than a Samsung 980 Pro and a WD PC SN740. For gaming it came out on top for access and bandwidth speed. This is just one test, but in the same M.2 slot, the Sandisk was consistent. No issues with overheating in the laptop either. It also comes with a 5 year warranty. The drive boasts a 7,300MB/s Sequential Read Performance per Sandisk. The size and speed of the stick is impressive and great for gaming. This is my first Sandisk M.2, and it so far it’s great and at least on par with any other similar drives out there.

The 2TB Optimus GX PRO 850X (without heatsink) is another quality NVMe SSD from Sandisk. I own several WD 850X-based NVMe SSDs and all of them have been stellar performers. None have let me down. They run fast, run cool and do their jobs without a hitch. I was eager to get my hands on one of these 850X 'sticks' to add to my newly acquired Lenovo Legion 7i Pro and installation was a breeze. I'm sticking with the OEM drive that came with the laptop - which is 1TB in size - as my boot-drive and will use this Optimus GX Pro as a Steam & content repository. The Optimus GX Pro is a proper configuration for laptops, with 2TB NAND chips all located on the top-side of the PCBA. This allows wider physical fitment compatibility, across many more laptops - some that don't place so nice with double-sided NVMe devices. Speeds for both sustained writes & reads exceed 6 GB/sec on my particular machine - which is great! Temperatures average in the mid-40 C to high-50C range, under heavy load. YMMV I ignore synthetic benchmark scoring for rating NVMe SSD performance but I am certain others will chime-in with those metrics - for anyone interested. The Dashboard software available from Sandisk is a great tool for maintenance & firmware update checks/loading. Summary: The Optimus GX PRO 850X is another strong performer in a long lineage of 850X products, no matter if they are of previous WD heritage or Sandisk. I see no sacrifices inherent to this new Optimus branding... Sandisk is a name I trust!

SANDISK has been a household name for me for decades. As a photographer and videographer by trade, I prefer using their media and storage solutions both professionally and casually, in all of my cameras and devices. There are certain companies that can gain your trust by creating and offering products that perform consistently at peak levels and last a long time. SANDISK has been there for me over the years. They are a name I can trust, and their products have never let me down. While storage media hasn’t changed much physically over the years, particularly camera media, the read and write speed and internal performance is where the magic happens. As cameras and computers become faster and higher resolution, the need for faster media and more storage space is inevitable. The 2TB SANDISK Optimus GX PRO is the latest in a line of extremely small and fast M.2 NVMe SSDs. It is built for both speed and storage. Two things content creators can’t live without. The GX Pro is built for the modern day content creator who needs not only the most demanding sequential read/write speeds on the market today, but also the extra storage space. Whether you are installing this into a PC tower, a laptop, or even a gaming console, you can expect top performance and rock solid stability. In my years of experience, these two characteristics are synonymous with the SANDISK brand. Just keep in mind that you will need to determine what version you need based on your use case. For instance, if you install this into a gaming console, you will want to get the version that includes the heatsinc. As far as performance is concerned, the Optimus GX PRO is installed in my dedicated video editing computer as my direct project editing drive for DaVinci Resolve and it is performing flawlessly. I can load full 4K color-graded timelines packed with transitions and effects and still scrub back and forth quickly with no hiccups. Keep in mind that part of this has to do with your processor and GPU, but when you combine a fast and efficient SSD, like the Optimus, with a capable computer, you will be in editing heaven. As stated above, the sequential read/write speed of this drive is rated up to 7,300/6,600 MB/s (Megabytes per second), which is more than enough for today's current graphics standards. Adding those speeds to the fact that this drive is 2TB, would make the Optimus a welcome addition/upgrade to a compatible laptop as well, giving you a powerhouse mobile editing solution. I think I’ll need another one! The size of these M.2 drives and how much information can fit on them is truly astonishing. Not long ago, we needed huge slow spinning hard drives for massive amounts of storage space. Besides speed and efficiency, the storage space on such a small drive makes the Optimus even more impressive, a whole lot faster, more reliable, and more mobile. Lastly, the SANDISK software app (for Windows only) allows users to keep an eye on the performance of your SANDISK products, real time diagnostics, formatting options, as well as to upgrade firmware if needed. The app is quick and easy to use and displays all of the information needed to keep your SANDISK products running at peak performance. *** PROS *** Incredible speed and performance Extremely small and light Lots of storage space The trusted SANDISK name *** CONS *** Storage media is expensive No mounting screw included

This drive is a great addition to my HP Omen 35L gaming desktop. The Omen came with a 1TB M.2 drive and with the addition of the Optimus GX PRO, I now have 3TB worth of space. I use the Sandisk to store my games. This keeps them all together in the same place, and keeps the SSD with the operating system and normal additional programs separate. The 850X NVMe SSD is available in different capacities (1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 8TB). You can also get it with a heatsink or without. Mine does not have the heatsink but it's located above the GPU on the motherboard and has plenty of ventilation. If you're wondering how much capacity 2TB buys you, I currently have 13 games installed on this SSD. These are all large installs with titles like the last three DOOM games, the last three Tomb Raider games, several Star Wars games and four Resident Evil games. So, with 13 games like this installed, I've only used 816GB of space. For me, this size works well and gives me plenty of room to grow my collection. It was very easy to install, nothing tricky or unique about it. It's a standard M.2 2280 size, so it should fit in a wide variety of machines. Worked flawlessly from installation. Smooth and fast when loading games and levels. I never saw any loading issues. Sandisk includes a 5-year warranty with this drive. Another nice thing is that Sandisk also offers a free desktop app for download. Sandisk Dashboard shows info about the SSD like Drive Health, Capacity, Interface Speed and Temperature. It also shows a performance section that gives you some useful tools and optimizations, and has links to Windows drive settings along with a link to register a new Sandisk product. The specs on this drive are really good. PCIe Gen 4.0 is (at the time of this review) the standard for fast gaming machines. The Gen 4.0 version ensures things like 7000-7500 Mbps sequential read speeds over 4 lanes. This is important if you're installing this drive into a newer machine with a fast processor that can fully utilize all the fast features of this drive. If you're planning to use it in an older machine, make sure you look up the machines PCIe specs. While the SSD will fit and work in a standard 2280 slot on the motherboard, if your machine only has the PCIe 3.0 spec, you'll be leaving half the features on the table (so to speak). It will run, but only at PCIe 3.0 speeds. I suspect that most reasonably modern gaming machines will include the 4.0 standard, so this is just something to keep in mind. Anyway, my experience with this SSD has been 100% positive. The price of any NVMe SSD these days is ridiculously expensive, so for Sandisk to include a 5 year warranty is at least something for your peace of mind. Combined with being able to get it with or without a heatsink and at a bunch of different capacities is something that makes this drive series appeal to a wide audience. The Sandisk Dashboard is also a cool way to monitor the health of your drive.