Which is faster for gaming?

The SN580. Its PCIe 4.0 link runs up to 4,150 MB/s versus a SATA ceiling near 560 MB/s, so game loads and level streaming are quicker.

Can I put the SN580 in a SATA M.2 slot?

No. The SN580 is NVMe over PCIe and needs an M.2 slot wired for PCIe. If your slot is SATA-only, the Red SA500 is the one that fits.

The SN580 2TB is rated at 450 TBW. The Red SA500 is built for 24/7 NAS use, so it suits always-on systems better, but no endurance figure is given here for it.

Is the SN580 worth it over the Red SA500?

Yes for a laptop or desktop. At $159 at Distritech as of November 3 for 2TB, it is much faster, and the Red's NAS tuning buys you nothing in a normal PC.

Which should I use in a NAS?

The Red SA500. It is designed for constant writes and caching in always-on systems, where the SN580's DRAM-less design and consumer tuning are a weaker fit.

Does either drive encrypt data in hardware?

The SN580 does not; it offers TCG Pyrite 2.01 and ATA security only. No encryption spec is given for the Red SA500.

WD Blue SN580 2TB NVMe SSD vs WD Red SA500 NAS SSD

Buy the WD Blue SN580 if you want speed: PCIe 4.0 runs up to 4,150 MB/s and it fits any M.2 slot, at $159 at Distritech as of November 3. Buy the WD Red SA500 only if your board has no free NVMe slot or you need a SATA M.2 drive for a NAS or always-on box. The SN580 is the faster drive for the same 2TB capacity, so most shoppers should take it.

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