Backside line: The time to drag the set off on that new SSD buy is not right here but, nevertheless it’s coming. Important strikes within the NAND flash market will lastly finish this yr’s falling solid-state storage costs, so clients ready to economize ought to plan to make the soar near the vacation season.
Samsung will reduce NAND flash manufacturing in half beginning in September, a drastic response to oversupply and falling demand, which have dragged storage drive costs downward all through 2023. The choice primarily impacts processes under 128 layers. TrendForce believes different producers will comply with Samsung’s lead, inflicting costs to tick barely upward within the fourth quarter.
Market traits precipitated SSD costs to plummet by over 30 % because the starting of the yr. With out clear indicators indicating how lengthy the downward slide would final, many purchasers have doubtless spent 2023 in a recreation of hen with retailers and producers.
The worth-per-gigabyte for a lot of 2TB and 1TB fashions has fallen under eight cents, with some merchandise reaching as little as 4 cents. Some 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs can be found for round $100, whereas 1TB fashions are floating across the $50 mark. The subsequent few weeks might decrease these costs, if solely barely.
The scenario has made 2023 a perfect time to improve storage for a PC or PlayStation 5, particularly as blockbuster video games like Starfield, Name of Obligation, and Baldur’s Gate 3 chomp over 100GB of space for storing. Moreover, the emergence of Microsoft’s DirectStroage API in titles like Forza Motorsport and (finally) Diablo IV will quickly make NVMe drives extra essential.
Prior TrendForce experiences confirmed NAND flash value drops of 10 to fifteen % for every of the primary two quarters of this yr, whereas Q3’s declines began to stage off at between 5 and 10 %. The group says manufacturing cuts might trigger This autumn costs to stay static or rise by as much as 5 %.
It is too quickly to venture value adjustments into 2024, however sustained motion from Samsung and different producers and a restoration in enterprise SSD gross sales might see them transfer upward. These available in the market for a brand new SSD would possibly need to take motion earlier than costs rise once more.
