Western Digital Debuts New SanDisk PRO-BLADE Modular SSD Ecosystem

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Under its SanDisk brand, Western Digital today introduced a new SanDisk Professional PRO-BLADE Modular SSD Ecosystem, which is aimed at creators who need fast portable storage devices that are capable of holding terabytes of data.

sandisk pro blade
The system includes the PRO-BLADE SSD mag, the PRO-BLADE Portable SSD enclosure, and the PRO-BLADE Desktop SSD enclosure. The PRO-BLADE SSD mag is an NVMe SSD mag that comes in sizes that include 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, with prices ranging from $180 to $600. The PRO-BLADE SSD mags offer three meter drop protection and 4,000 lbs crush resistance.

SanDisk's Pro-BLADE Transport Portable USB-C SSD enclosure holds one of the PRO-BLADE mags for on-the-go usage. It supports read/write speeds of up to 2000MB/s over USB-C, and it's simple to swap between mags when using the enclosure with a USB-C compatible camera. The SSD enclosure is priced at $70, and there are also bundles that include one of the PRO-BLADE mags priced starting at $240.

For desktop workstations, SanDisk is also introducing the Thunderbolt 3 PRO-BLADE Station Desktop SSD enclosure, which is able to accommodate four PRO-BLADE SSD mags. As it has a 40Gb/s Thunderbolt interface, the PRO-BLADE Station supports faster transfer speeds than the portable SSD enclosure. According to SanDisk, the PRO-BLADE Station and PRO-BLADE SSDs allow for real-time 4K/8K/12K editing and super fast copying.

The PRO-BLADE SSDs and portable SSD enclosure will be available in June 2022, while the desktop enclosure is set to be introduced in the fall.

Western Digital also introduced faster speeds for the SanDisk Extreme Pro memory card lineup, with support for up to 200MB/s. Western Digital says that these are the fastest UHS-I SD and microSD memory cards in the world, with the updated cards set to ship in June, with pricing that starts at $20.

Tags: SanDisk, Western Digital

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Top Rated Comments

BootsWalking Avatar
BootsWalking
45 months ago
The PRO-BLADE SSD mags offer three meter drop protection and 4,000 lbs crush resistance.

Obviously to withstand a Mac Pro falling onto it.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HappyDude20 Avatar
HappyDude20
45 months ago
Call me crazy but $600 for 4TB is a great deal no?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeepIn2U Avatar
DeepIn2U
45 months ago

Depends on specifically WHICH are used. WD 4TB m.2 are retailing for less that on Amazon & B&H right now and probably can be found by shopping around for even less.

If one is willing to go with PNY brand, I see 4TB m.2 for south of $500 on a few sites.

But again, there's more to it than just 4TB and "lowest price": speed for example which varies pricing from < $500 to up into the $1000 level for 4TB.
Looks like keeping the drives cool to maintain long sustainable speed is the key goal



THe Rig for the Transport unit looks nice to showcase it potentially being used in real world. Seems like SanDisk sort of wants to compete with RED here? Just not sure how either compres I don’t work in that industry still learning.

On the desktop version, why not thunderbolt 4 instead of 3? It would be the “go to” in video editing. No thunderbolt 4 enclosures out there at all.

Update: sorry, it is thunderbolt 4. Will definitely look at it when released.
Rep from SanDisk Professional in above video stated TB3. ISNT THE SPEES EXACLTY THE SAME BETWEEN TB3&4, which the only difference is licensing costs and longer cables available on TB4?


My only worry is they call this an ecosystem so wondering if the Mags have proprietary connectivity on them snd how long will SanDisk support this product or how long will it scale or quickly be abandoned when and if TB5 debuts with double thr speeds? Would TB5 theoretically have but another new connector other than USB-C (maybe a micro USB-C?)

Oh bummer RAID isn’t possible due to the nature of hotswapping?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
HobeSoundDarryl
45 months ago

Call me crazy but $600 for 4TB is a great deal no?
Depends on specifically WHICH are used. WD 4TB m.2 are retailing for less that on Amazon & B&H right now and probably can be found by shopping around for even less.

If one is willing to go with PNY brand, I see 4TB m.2 for south of $500 on a few sites.

But again, there's more to it than just 4TB and "lowest price": speed for example which varies pricing from < $500 to up into the $1000 level for 4TB.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
loby Avatar
loby
45 months ago
On the desktop version, why not thunderbolt 4 instead of 3? It would be the “go to” in video editing. No thunderbolt 4 enclosures out there at all.

Update: sorry, it is thunderbolt 4. Will definitely look at it when released.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RedTomato Avatar
RedTomato
45 months ago

Software RAID only and usually only if you keep the config. Switching drive locations often messes with the RAID. I’d imagine the G-TECH line (also owned by them) will be reborn with an NVMe RAID eventually.
I’ve had bad experience with any RAID that relies on software. RAID1, mirroring, is probably the only level I would trust this with, and only if the data on each drive is acessible when put into a different machine. And I’d run a check to verify after purchasing.

If any brave soul was to run RAID0, striping, or any other raid level on this equipment, I don’t think there’s much improvement to be gained. Perhaps between -20% and +30% depending on the type of access.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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