SSD Prices Continue to Fall
Prices of solid state drives (SSDs) have been falling since the start of the year, and NVMe cards with PCI Express 3.0 connection and 1 TB capacity are now available from as low as 40 euros. Models in a 2.5-inch case are similarly priced, making them excellent value for money. SSDs are measured by their ability to read and write data quickly, and SSDs in the current range of 42 to 45 euros are among the fastest on offer, surpassing the cheapest options. Crucial’s P3 and Lexar’s NM620 are examples of SSDs delivering transfer rates of more than 3 GB/s.
Price Reductions Expected to Continue
Trendforce, a market research team, expects NAND flash devices to continue to decline in cost until the end of the quarter, leading to a time when SSDs will be cheaper. Meanwhile, industry insiders predict server SSDs to undergo price reductions of 8 to 13 percent. Although the overall market will fall by 5 to 10 percent, PC SSD discounts are expected to remain lower. Trendforce expects SSD pricing to stabilize the second half of the year as server operators move to new processor platforms.
An Unchanged Ram Prices Forecast
Taiwanese news service Digitimes quotes Adata, which does not expect any improvement until the fourth quarter of 2023 when the busy Christmas season begins. Until then, DDR4 and DDR5 bar prices should also continue to decline. Trendforce expects price reductions of 8 to 15 percent in the current quarter, including bars for desktop and notebook computers (UDIMMs and SO-DIMMs).
Possible Consequences For Manufacturers
NAND flash producers could face bankruptcy due to accumulating losses, warns Phison boss KS Pua. Phison is one of the biggest manufacturers of SSD controllers, and other companies adapt complete Phison SSD designs. The first quarter of 2023 saw Samsung’s semiconductor divisions and storage giants SK Hynix and Micron combined lose around 8 billion US dollars, while Western Digital recently reported a net loss of $572 million. Uncertainty remains over the future of Kioxia’s figures.
