The question of space in all digital consoles of the current generation has always been at the center of great discussions. To this is added the ever-increasing thirst for Gigabytes from video games, more and more demanding every day. Having a title always in the archive is undoubtedly a great convenience and a great saving of dust for video game cases, but for the most indecisive gamers, constantly installing and uninstalling can be a nuisance. This introduction to the teleshopping of the 90s served us to describe the scenario in which WD_BLACK has decided to present the new 1 Terabyte C50 expansion memory for Xbox Series S and Series X and this is its review.
There are so many expansion memories like this, but what makes it special? How is its performance once connected to the Xbox? But most of all, is it worth spending 170€ (approximately) to have 1 Terabyte of extra space?
Let’s find out!
Our review of the WD_BLACK C50 expansion card
The WD_BLACK C50 expansion card is specifically designed to work best on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S and allows you to add one storage space of 500GB or 1TB. We are facing an officially licensed storage card that takes advantage of the technology Xbox Velocity Architecture to offer console-like speed and reading performance.
Give her small size (55.6 mm x 31.6 mm x 7.7 mm) e dal industrial style design now iconic of the WD_BLACK, the C50 storage card can be installed by anyone and easily by inserting it into the external memory slot on the back of the console. A real one Plug e Play devoted to ease of use. Once inserted, the console will automatically identify the card by reporting two distinct storage spaces in the device settings. From here you will be able to better manage your content and download even the most demanding ones without worry.
Our test of the WD_BLACK C50
For this review we put the WD_BLACK C50 through its paces on our XBox Series S, among the Actual Gen consoles with the least amount of available memory. Let’s start right away by saying that the “Plug & Play” feature has never been so true; not only is there absolutely no need to disassemble any part of the console, but it is not even necessary to fiddle in the menus to select or activate the memory card.
Being designed specifically for the Xbox system, this instantly recognizes the card which is immediately operational to host all the necessary games. Moving games between memories is just as easy as well the speed of movement reaches peaks of (approximately) 6-7 GB per second. We transferred very large games, including Conan Exiles which is over 100GB, in minutes. Conan Exiles is also a great example of “why” such a card is more than necessary for Series S owners like us. Having practically the space of three Series S at your disposal turned out to be surprisingly comfortable! Obviously, like all storage memories, you have to take into account the processes that the card needs to function and that will occupy a minimal part of the 1TB of available memory.
What surprised us further is the full compatibility with Xbox. It will be impossible to tell if you are playing a game saved in the internal memory of the console or in the WD_BLACK C50 because reading performance is exactly the same. In this regard we also point out the much appreciated Quick Resume support of each game, to pick up exactly where we left off.
WD_BLACK C50 Storage Card Review in a Few Bytes: Is It Worth It?
Obviously, there is no single answer to this question. The needs of every gamer are different and all very valid. If you’re tired of having to choose which games to uninstall to make room for new ones all too often, this card is an absolute must have. Likewise if you share the console with roommates or family members, to have the games that everyone likes on the same console, without arguing.
If, on the other hand, you are a more patient gamer or perhaps have multiple consoles or a PC with which to distribute the weight of video games, then 1TB could be superfluous for you and you could settle for the 500GB version.
Whichever you choose, know that you’ll be in the hands of WD_BLACK’s ease of use and performance
Price and availability
The WD_BLACK C50 expansion card is available in a 500GB version for €104.99 or a 1TB version for €169.99. We also remind you that the purchase of one of the version Includes one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate!