WD_Black C50 Xbox Expansion Card 1TB Review
design
The beauty of the WD_Black C50 is it’s designed to slot into the expansion port on the back of the Xbox Series X, so realistically, what it looks like doesn’t matter in the slightest. The first and last time you’re likely to see it is when you slide it out of the box. That said, Western Digital has taken the free hit and delivered a smart looking little unit.
There’s a distinct PlayStation 2 memory card vibe about the WD C50. The compact black casing offers a little more visual interest than the original Seagate expansion card but still plays it safe in the grand scheme. It’s a familiar outfit, the ribbed sides mirror other WD_Black devices and it carries the same high build quality and finish you’d expect too.
You’ve got the choice of three capacities for the WD C50; 512GB, 1TB and 2TB. I’ve been testing the 512GB variant but specs remain the same across the range so performance shouldn’t vary. It’s the same collection of sizes as the Seagate version but with noticeably lower price points, Seagate’s range starts at £109.99 while Western Digital kicks off at £94.99. The gap widens dramatically for the 2TB version with the WD_Black C50 coming in more than £100 cheaper, £213.99 playing £339.99.
performance
As irritating and limiting as Microsoft’s decision to go proprietary for the Xbox Series S/X was (and still is if we’re being honest), it does come with some benefits. Not all SSDs are created equal, specs and performance levels of standard drives will vary across devices, but with Xbox expansion cards it’s a level playing field. The Superspeed NVMe Core inside the WD C50 is optimised for the Xbox Velocity Architecture, meaning not only does it offer the same performance level as the more expensive Seagate cards, but you’ll see the same speeds as the Series X’s internal storage. This is crucial on the newest generation of Xbox which will only play Series X optimised games from this level of drive.
Getting started with the WD_Black C50 expansion card was effortless, like the old school PS2 memory card it resembles it’s simply a case of plugging it into the port on the back and you’re away. I was surprised I didn’t even need to format or mount the C50 as a storage device, it all just happened and happened so quickly I had to double check it was actually set up correctly. From there, I often forgot I was even running two separate storage devices, the WD C50 just felt like an extension of my original storage.
Downloading and installing games directly to the WD_Black C50 expansion card all happened at the same rate as the primary drive, and moving installs back and forth between the C50 and internal storage flew at nearly 6Gbps. The only curiosity I encountered was Call of Duty insisting on claiming a small slice of internal storage space, even though it was installed on the C50 with plenty of room to spare. Why? I’m not sure. It didn’t ask for much space and this might be a CoD thing rather than a WD thing, but it was the first time the expansion card felt like foreign territory.
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There’s not much more to say about the WD C50 Xbox expansion card, it goes quietly about its business and does a good job in the process. It’s even hot-swappable, so if you find yourself with multiple expansion cards you can freely pop them in and out of your console, or even take them to someone else’s and take your installs with you.
summed up
In an ideal world the Xbox Series X and S would come with enough internal storage out of the box to satisfy most gamers. The reality is it doesn’t and it’s left to options like the WD_Black C50 to pick up the storage slack. Thankfully not only has WD answered the call, they’ve answered it well with an expansion card that seamlessly matches the performance of the Xbox’s internal drive.
While the WD_Black C50 Xbox expansion card is cheaper than the Seagate, it’s still far more expensive than a standard NVMe SSD and it’s a sore point as a result. It’s understandable to a degree that an adapted, proprietary option would carry a small markup, but at nearly triple the price of a normal drive it’s getting a little carried away. An expansion card is a good pickup for an Xbox gamer and the WD_Black C50 is a good card to go for, I’d just keep an eye on sales and try to find a deal before diving in.
