Why SSD Prices May Be Poised To Skyrocket
Graphics card prices are at an all-time high, and now SSD prices could also start climbing as well. Solid state drives (SSDs) are one of the critical components in modern PCs, with the technology on the verge of fully replacing legacy mechanical hard drives. While HDDs still remain in the market due to being significantly more affordable, they are expected to go the way of the floppy drive in the coming years.
The past couple of years have been difficult for PC gamers and enthusiasts, with graphics cards remaining almost impossible to buy. The supply crunch has also led to stratospheric prices, making it even more difficult for end-users to buy graphics cards for their rigs. Just when one might have thought that there was some light at the end of the GPU crisis tunnel, it is possible that SSD prices could be about to take a sharp upward turn.
Related: This Is The Next Evolution Of SSDs, And They're Crazy Fast
Western Digital, the largest SSD manufacturer in the world, revealed that contamination of materials used in the production of SSDs resulted in the loss of «at least 6.5 exabytes» (nearly 7 billion gigabytes) of NAND Flash storage. In a press release earlier this week, the company said the loss has affected production at both its Yokkaichi and Kitakami flash fabrication facilities, but is working with manufacturing partner Kioxia (formerly Toshiba) to resume normal operations as soon as possible. The press release didn't reveal the cause of the contamination, nor did it provide an estimate on how long it might take for production to stabilize again.
The global ongoing chip shortage has badly affected the pricing and availability of CPUs and graphics cards, but the flash memory industry had largely been spared until
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