SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 8100 - SSD - encrypted - 4 TB - internal - M.2 2280 S3-M - PCI Express 5.0 x4 (NVMe) - TCG Opal Encryption 2.02

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

At £1,631 ex‑VAT for a 4TB NVMe, the SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 8100 is priced like a “serious” drive, not something you buy on spec. The big reason it makes sense is the encryption stack (TCG Opal) plus the PRO positioning—this is the kind of SSD you spec when you want data-at-rest protection without bolting on extra tooling, and you’re deploying it across servers/desktops where compliance and manageability matter. If you’re a reseller/IT team that supports finance, healthcare, legal, or any environment where endpoint or storage encryption is a must-have, this is a sensible fit—especially if you want consistent behavior across machines and not just “drive supports encryption” as a vague checkbox.

That said, I wouldn’t buy it “just because it’s PCIe 5.0” or for general office work. For typical workstation caching, VDI, or file servers where absolute throughput isn’t the bottleneck, you’ll often get better value with less premium models. Also, you should sanity-check your platform: if your hosts don’t actually benefit from the performance tier (or you don’t use hardware features that justify the cost), you’re paying for headroom you won’t notice. In short: buy it if you truly need TCG Opal encryption and want a dependable pro-grade SSD for secure deployments. Pass if you just need a high-capacity fast NVMe and encryption isn’t a requirement.