- Instead of focusing on high-speed NVMe, SanDisk is launching the 320 and 520 series – new SATA III drives aimed at budget-conscious buyers.
- While SATA is slower than modern PCIe standards, it remains the most viable financial alternative in a market where 1 TB SATA drives currently sit around €120-€130.
- This entry-level model offers capacities up to 2 TB, with performance capped at near 545 MB/s to fit standard 2.5-inch laptop and desktop bays.
For more than a decade, SATA SSDs have been a common part of PC storage, long before M.2 and NVMe drives became the industry standard. While SATA-based drives are slower because they are constrained by the wired standard rather than PCIe, at present costs, they are practically the best alternative.
SanDisk understands this, so rather than introducing NVMe, they’ve chosen to introduce their new SATA III SSDs, the SanDisk 320 and SanDisk 520, which will be available soon.
When it comes to purchasing a new SSD, most consumers would choose an NVMe M.2 PCIe 3.0 or higher, which costs roughly the same as SATA drives but is far faster. At least that was the case last year, but by 2026, everything had changed.
NVMe SSDs are significantly more expensive, and we’re not talking about high-end PCIe 5.0; even mid-range PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 3.0 drives cost €150-€200 for 1 TB. SATA SSDs aren’t much cheaper either, though you can buy 1 TB models for €120-€130, and there are noteworthy discounts, such as the Crucial BX500 SATA for €210.
SanDisk hopes to capitalize on the growing interest in this SSD format, which we had assumed would die out. They’ve released two new models, which are the SanDisk 320 SATA and SanDisk 520 SATA SSDs, both in the conventional 2.5″/7mm form factor and compatible with laptops that have hard drives. Starting with the 320, it will be available in capacities ranging from 250GB to 2GB, with read and write speeds of 545MB/s and 525MB/s.
Regarding the SanDisk 520, this drive will be available in capacities ranging from 500 GB to 4 TB and is slightly speedier. It achieves a read performance of 560 MB/s, which is quicker than some high-end SSDs. The write speed remains at 525 MB/s. It has also been stated that the 4 TB version has a 1,000 TBW (Terabytes Written) rating, which is amazing.
About the release date, one store listed the SanDisk 520 as June 3rd, but SanDisk has not officially confirmed the release date or announced pricing yet. Price will be the key factor in determining whether this SanDisk alternative is a better choice than purchasing older SATA SSDs, since they all perform similarly.
Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋
How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔
[Editor-in-Chief]
Sajjad Hussain is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tech4Gamers.com. Apart from the Tech and Gaming scene, Sajjad is a Seasonal banker who has delivered multi-million dollar projects as an IT Project Manager and works as a freelancer to provide professional services to corporate giants and emerging startups in the IT space.
Majored in Computer Science
13+ years of Experience as a PC Hardware Reviewer.
8+ years of Experience as an IT Project Manager in the Corporate Sector.
Certified in Google IT Support Specialization.
Admin of PPG, the largest local Community of gamers with 130k+ members.
Sajjad is a passionate and knowledgeable individual with many skills and experience in the tech industry and the gaming community. He is committed to providing honest, in-depth product reviews and analysis and building and maintaining a strong gaming community.
Join Our Community
