AI data center demand sharply increases SSD and HDD prices
AI data center demand has pushed SSD and HDD prices sharply higher, with 2TB SSDs now approaching $400 and HDDs doubling in cost over the past year.
The report said smaller SSDs have also jumped in price; a 256GB model once costing $25 now fetches several times more. An Engadget editor found that a 1TB portable SSD purchased for $85 less than a year ago now carries a $160 sticker price.
HDDs do not use NAND flash, so they are not affected by the SSD supply crunch in the same way. But hyperscalers are buying high-capacity HDDs in huge numbers for data centers, which need enormous amounts of cheaper bulk storage. At the same time, consumers and businesses priced out of SSDs are turning to HDDs, further boosting demand. As a result, the average price of an 8TB 3.5-inch SATA HDD has risen from roughly $200 to about $400.
Because both SSD and HDD prices have roughly doubled, the absolute dollar difference between them has widened, making HDDs more financially attractive for tasks that do not require high speed. Engadget suggests using SSDs where they are practically a necessity — operating systems and applications — and relying on HDDs for backups, photo and video archives, and older games, where capacity matters more than speed.