WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD Review

Looking for a portable solution to your storage needs on consoles? Well, we had the pleasure of reviewing the WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD from Western Digital, which boasts some robust speeds at a competitive price point. In our WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD review, we put this beast to the test.

From unboxing the WD_BLACK D30 to the fast and easy setup, a speed test and what the design looks like, our reviewer, Joe Hickson from The Yogscast,  has you covered.

WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD review

The WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD is an external, portable solution for your console storage needs, intended to stand alongside your gaming console. 

As you can see from the image above, it isn't over-the-top in terms of looks but it is definitely sleek. 

In terms of storage size, the WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD comes in three mobiles, the 500 GB version, 1 TB version and 2 TB version. These all have the same dimensions and won't take up a lot of space.

If you are tired of reading our WD_BLACK D30 review, then watch our video below to see the unboxing, our tests, exactly what this portable storage solution looks like and more.

According to Western Digital, the WD_BLACK D30 should hit transfer speeds of 900 MB/S making it a blistering-fast solution.

We connected this drive to our Xbox Series X to test it out. Setup only took seconds, as you merely need to connect one single cable.

In our review, we selected Halo Infinite weighing in at 48.7 GB to transfer from our Xbox Series X to the WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD.

The transfer took us 11 minutes and 56 seconds. However, this wasn't due to the speed of the WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD, as the Xbox Series X's USB ports have a speed cap, which the WD_BLACK D30 hit without any issues.

With the way next-gen consoles are set up, you can’t play their games straight from an external SSD, but PS4 and Xbox One games will work fine. Next-gen games can be archived on the WD_BLACK D30  but there will be a few extra steps if you want to play them.

We’re opting to get this set up on the Xbox simply down to the fact that we see this as the
perfect accompaniment for an Xbox Gamepass Ultimate subscription.

There’s just a ludicrous amount of games that are ready at our disposal - and now we’ve got somewhere to store them all. It’s like being a kid in a candy shop, isn’t it?

All in all, it's a very solid external SSD It’s quick, sleek, quiet, and most importantly, it does what it says on the box.

From our WD_BLACK D30 review period experience, we will definitely put this one in the "recommended" pile. 

WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD - How to buy

You can buy the WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD straight from Western Digital's store. There are three capacity options available.

Gamers who want to purchase a WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD can do so by following one of the links below depending on their storage needs.

• WD_BLACK D30 500 GB
• WD_BLACK D30 1 TB
• WD_Black D30 2 TB

In terms of price point, it’s more or less in line with other market leaders' SSDs storage-wise, but it pulls ahead of them in terms of raw transfer speed. It also comes with a 3-year warranty, which is always just nice to have.

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Featured image courtesy of Western Digital.