Bottom line: The time to drag the set off on that new SSD buy is not right here but, nevertheless it’s coming. Significant strikes within the NAND flash market will lastly finish this 12 months’s falling solid-state storage costs, so clients ready to economize ought to plan to make the soar near the vacation season.
Samsung will minimize 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 determination primarily impacts processes beneath 128 layers. TrendForce believes different producers will observe Samsung’s lead, inflicting costs to tick barely upward within the fourth quarter.
Market developments induced SSD costs to plummet by over 30 p.c because the starting of the 12 months. Without clear indicators indicating how lengthy the downward slide would final, many shoppers have doubtless spent 2023 in a sport of rooster with retailers and producers.
The price-per-gigabyte for a lot of 2TB and 1TB fashions has fallen beneath 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 really perfect time to improve storage for a PC or PlayStation 5, particularly as blockbuster video games like Starfield, Call of Duty, and Baldur’s Gate 3 chomp over 100GB of cupboard space. Furthermore, the emergence of Microsoft’s DirectStroage API in titles like Forza Motorsport and (ultimately) Diablo IV will quickly make NVMe drives extra essential.
Prior TrendForce studies confirmed NAND flash worth drops of 10 to fifteen p.c for every of the primary two quarters of this 12 months, whereas Q3’s declines began to degree off at between 5 and 10 p.c. The group says manufacturing cuts might trigger This fall costs to stay static or rise by as much as 5 p.c.
It’s too quickly to undertaking worth modifications into 2024, however sustained motion from Samsung and different producers and a restoration in enterprise SSD gross sales might see them transfer upward. Those available in the market for a brand new SSD would possibly need to take motion earlier than costs rise once more.
