The arrival of PCIe Gen 5 drives has sent the cost of Gen 4 and 3 drives tumbling downwards in recent months, but we may soon see SSD prices rise in the near future. Sadly, this likely won’t be a minor rise.
This pricing shift will likely affect both the best SSDs and more budget offerings. Likewise, we can expect manufacturers across the board, including Samsung and Western Digital, to raise the cost of their drives.
This price hike is predicted to stem from the desire for increased profitability from NAND Flash manufacturers, with NAND Flash being the key component solid state drives. According to Economic Daily News (via TrendForce), these companies will need to raise prices by at least 40% to break even, with increases of 50% needed for profitability.
NAND Flash is just one part of solid-state drives, with heatsinks and other components making up the whole package. As such, it’s possible we won’t see a 1:1 increase in the price of SSDs, in line with how much more expensive NAND Flash becomes.
All this said, tempting as the likes of the Corsair MP700 Pro and other expensive PCIe Gen 5 drives may be, you’ll be just fine with a Gen 4 or 3 SSD for gaming. So, be sure to check out our best SSD guide if you’re in need of more storage.