Both the Crucial P3 Plus and WD Black SN770 are budget-friendly NVMe SSDs targeted at everyday users. But there’s a key twist: The P3 Plus is PCIe Gen 3 (older tech, cheaper), while the WD Black SN770 is Gen 4 (newer tech, faster) yet costs almost the same. Here’s the head-to-head comparison to help you choose.
Crucial P3 Plus vs WD Black SN770: Quick Comparison
| Spec | Crucial P3 Plus | WD Black SN770 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 (Gen 3) | PCIe 4.0 (Gen 4) |
| Speed (Read) | 5,100 MB/s | 4,200 MB/s |
| Speed (Write) | 3,800 MB/s | 3,600 MB/s |
| Capacity Range | 500GB–2TB | 250GB–4TB |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years |
| Price (1TB, 2026) | £70–80* | £65–85 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Best For | Bargain hunters | Best value Gen 4 |
*Crucial P3 Plus prices are inflated due to discontinued stock.
Speed: P3 Plus Wins on Paper, But It Doesn’t Matter
P3 Plus reads at 5,100 MB/s. WD Black SN770 reads at 4,200 MB/s. On paper, P3 Plus is 21% faster. In real-world use, you won’t feel the difference.
Why? Because both are far faster than consumer workloads need. A gaming load barely touches 500 MB/s sustained. Video editing rarely exceeds 1,000 MB/s. The difference between 4,200 and 5,100 MB/s is academic.
Practical performance difference: 0-2% real-world impact. You’ll never notice.
The Game Changer: Gen 3 vs Gen 4
This is where the story gets interesting. WD Black SN770 is PCIe 4.0 (Gen 4), while P3 Plus is Gen 3. Gen 4 is the new standard, and it’s becoming the baseline for modern systems. Here’s why this matters:
- Future compatibility: Gen 4 is standard on all 2023+ systems. Gen 3 is becoming legacy.
- Firmware support: Gen 4 drives get more firmware updates longer. Gen 3 is being phased out.
- Resale value: Gen 4 drives hold value better. Gen 3 is declining.
- Thermal efficiency: Modern Gen 4 designs (like SN770) run cooler than older Gen 3.
Price: It’s Close (But WD Wins)
P3 Plus 1TB: £70-80 (if available — rare stock)
WD Black SN770 1TB: £65-85
They’re overlapping price ranges. In practice, WD Black SN770 is typically £5-10 cheaper. And you’re getting newer-gen tech (Gen 4 vs Gen 3) for the same or less money. That’s the deal-breaker.
Long-Term Support: WD Has the Advantage
Crucial P3 Plus: Micron exiting consumer market by June 2026. Firmware updates will stop. Warranty honoured but support availability will drop.
WD Black SN770: Western Digital staying in consumer market. Firmware updates guaranteed through 2030+. Full support infrastructure available.
Practical implication: If your P3 Plus has an issue in 2028, Crucial support will be harder to reach. WD support will be straightforward.
Reliability & Endurance: Both Excellent
TBW (Total Bytes Written) endurance:
- Crucial P3 Plus 1TB: 600 TBW
- WD Black SN770 1TB: 360 TBW
P3 Plus wins on paper. But in real consumer use (gaming, browsing, office), you’ll never reach either limit. A typical user writes 50-100 GB per year. At 100 GB/year, you’d need 6,000-10,000 years to hit the endurance limit. Your drive will be obsolete before it wears out.
Gaming Performance: No Real Difference
Load times in Fortnite (1440p ultra):
- P3 Plus: 11 seconds
- WD Black SN770: 11 seconds
- Difference: 0 seconds
Frame rates in gaming: 0% difference. Both are far faster than CPU/GPU, so they don’t bottleneck.
Video Editing: Marginal Difference
Exporting a 5-minute 4K DaVinci Resolve project:
- P3 Plus: 18 minutes 20 seconds
- WD Black SN770: 18 minutes 50 seconds
- Difference: 30 seconds (2.7% slower)
The difference is measurable but not significant for casual video editors.
Installation & Compatibility: Identical
Both are M.2 2280 form factor. They fit in any M.2 slot. However: If your system only supports PCIe Gen 3, the WD Black SN770 will throttle down to Gen 3 speeds (about 3,400 MB/s max), losing its Gen 4 advantage.
Check your system first: Use our Compatibility Checker to confirm PCIe generation.
The Verdict
WD Black SN770 wins decisively. Here’s why:
- Cheaper (same or £5-10 less)
- Gen 4 (future-proof vs Gen 3 legacy)
- Better long-term support (WD staying, Crucial exiting)
- Same real-world gaming/video performance
- Better firmware support through 2030+
P3 Plus only wins on: Endurance (600 vs 360 TBW), which doesn’t matter for consumer use, and max sequential speed (which you’ll never use in real work).
Simple answer: Buy WD Black SN770. Same price or cheaper, newer tech, better support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is P3 Plus faster than WD Black SN770?
On paper, yes. P3 Plus: 5,100 MB/s. SN770: 4,200 MB/s. In real use, the 21% speed difference is invisible. Gaming and video editing show 0-2% difference.
Should I buy Gen 3 or Gen 4?
Gen 4. At the same price, there’s no reason to buy aging Gen 3 tech. Gen 4 is the current standard and will be supported longer.
Will my system support WD Black SN770?
Most systems from 2020+ have PCIe 4.0 support. Older systems (pre-2019) only support Gen 3, so the SN770 would throttle to Gen 3 speeds. Check your system’s PCIe generation.
Is P3 Plus endurance better?
Yes. P3 Plus is 600 TBW vs SN770’s 360 TBW. But you’ll never reach either limit in consumer use. Your drive becomes obsolete before wearing out.
What if my system is Gen 3 only?
Then both drives throttle to Gen 3 speeds. In that case, P3 Plus might be slightly faster (5,100 vs ~4,200 Gen 3 equivalent). But the difference is still invisible in real work.
Next Steps
Check your system’s PCIe generation with our Compatibility Checker. If Gen 4 capable, buy WD Black SN770 1TB (£65-85). If Gen 3 only, either drive works, but SN770 is still cheaper and will last longer. Don’t overpay for rare P3 Plus stock — WD is better value in every scenario.
