As prices continue to plummet, there's never been a better time to buy a solid state drive

[Shawn Knight]

Solid state drives offer a number of benefits over their traditional counterparts – they’re faster, lighter, silent, generate less heat, are more energy efficient and are more robust – but the one knock against them has been price. Mechanical drives have always been cheaper to own and while that will remain true for a little while longer, SSDs are rapidly becoming much more affordable.

In 2012, SSDs sold for an average of $0.99 per gigabyte. Since that time, the price per gigabyte has plummeted to $0.39 and is showing no signs of slowing down. Research firm DRAMeXchange expects SSD prices to slide to $0.24 per gigabyte by next year and just $0.17 come 2017.

Also read: Best in Storage 2015: Solid State, HDD, Home NAS & more

At that rate, a 1TB SSD would set you back just $170.

The cost to own a spinning hard drives, meanwhile, has very little room to improve. In 2012, hard drives sold for $0.09 per gigabyte on average. Today, you can get them for just $0.06 per gigabyte – a figure forecasted to remain flat through 2017.

The forward-looking figures presented by DRAMeXchange are just that – estimates of what the market is likely to do. As such, they don’t take into account risk (remember the floods in Thailand in late 2011 that sent hard drive prices through the roof?) and other factors such as hard drive capacities increasing on the top-end.

Either way, as an advocate of SSDs since mid-2009 (and someone who just purchased another SSD a couple of days ago to replace a dying drive), it’s certainly good news to see prices continue to drop.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/62997-prices-continue-plummet-there-never-better-time-buy.html

 

[VitalyT]

there's never been a better time to buy a solid state drive

and then

Research firm DRAMeXchange expects SSD prices to slide to $0.24 per gigabyte by next year

sounds like next year is a better time to buy an SSD

 

[cliffordcooley]

and then

sounds like next year is a better time to buy an SSD

Yes but currently, there has never been a better time to buy. I'm not sure why you are trying to discredit the quote.

 

[RustyTech]

there's never been a better time to buy a solid state drive

and then

Research firm DRAMeXchange expects SSD prices to slide to $0.24 per gigabyte by next year

sounds like next year is a better time to buy an SSD

Hey! no critical thinking allowed!!

 

[RustyTech]

"remember the floods in Thailand in late 2011 that sent hard drive prices through the roof?"

I do remember that I just didn't buy anything for quite a few months after that until the prices came back down...and then I purchased a 4TB drive for like $190

 

[davislane1]

and then

sounds like next year is a better time to buy an SSD

Yes but currently, there has never been a better time to buy. I'm not sure why you are trying to discredit the quote.

The best time to buy SSDs was in the 60s when aliens were selling them to the USG at a galactic discount. Alex Jones said so.

 

[Uncle Al]

Can't believe he quoted every single car salesman in the WORLD! Of course, when I buy a car I take out my checkbook and tell them "I got it, you want it, and don't forget it!"

 

[VitalyT]

Yes but currently, there has never been a better time to buy. I'm not sure why you are trying to discredit the quote.

Don't take it personally, but a day is lived well on the account of all discredited quotes

 

[cliffordcooley]

I'm not taking it personally. I'm saying you can't discredit the quote, yet you seem to have tried. I pointed out that the quote was about the past and current condition of purchasing. Then you tried comparing them to the future.

 

[NightAntilli]

there's never been a better time to buy a solid state drive

and then

Research firm DRAMeXchange expects SSD prices to slide to $0.24 per gigabyte by next year

sounds like next year is a better time to buy an SSD

Sure. But next year hasn't happened yet That it's going to be better next year doesn't mean that today isn't still the best time ever, that is, compared to how it has been in the past. There will likely be a better time.

Having said that, I know I'll be waiting until 2017 to get a 1TB one xD

 

[yRaz]

I just picked up 3, 120gb Intel SSD'S for $50 each. One for linux, one for Windows and the third is going in the household computer.

 

[hahahanoobs]

They've come a long way. My first SSD was the Crucial C300 64GB... ~$2/GB. I'm saying goodbye to sata ssd's when I upgrade next year.

 

[RustyTech]

They've come a long way. My first SSD was the Crucial C300 64GB... ~$2/GB. I'm saying goodbye to sata ssd's when I upgrade next year.

So you're not getting sata ssd...what are you getting? M.2??

 

[cliffordcooley]

Anything supporting NVMe, whatever specification that may be, would be my guess.

 

[hahahanoobs]

So you're not getting sata ssd...what are you getting? M.2??

M.2 NVMe drive. Probably a 512GB. No higher. Saves space and a sata data and power cable.

 

[3volv3d]

Well yay they are falling in price, but I built a PC in Jan. £130 ish for a 256gb Sam Evo Pro. 512gb was that on Amazon sale tho 11 months later. I need a 2tb for my Steam folder. And I ain't paying £630. When that hits £100 ish. Then it is the right time to get an SSD.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

If they cost $0.39 p/gb now and are expected to cost $0.17 p/gb in 2017, I would've thought 2017 would be a better time to buy then.
Anyway I concur that no one should be using a HDD as their primary drive thesedays.

 

[cliffordcooley]

I'll say this one last time. Looking at it from a "never been" perspective, 2017 is not an option for comparison.

 

[BrianMontanye]

Cliff, as humorous as it is to see you fighting this and you are right, it might be time (probably not the best time) to just let it die

 

[cliffordcooley]

Ahh, it's all good. That's the thing about trolling. Sometimes you have to take turns riding sides.

 

[EClyde]

and then

sounds like next year is a better time to buy an SSD

Yes but currently, there has never been a better time to buy. I'm not sure why you are trying to discredit the quote.

made me laugh

 

[treetops]

Id recommend getting one at least for your OS. I bought 120gb drive on black friday last year for 60$, the difference is amazing. Windows loads like lightning.

But that's not all... You know when your screen freezes black sometimes and you have to wait 1-10 minutes instead hold down the power button? That does not happen on my ssd. Now I can take a sip of water and everything has cleared up.

If I had to go back I would have bought a 240 GB drive. 120GB gets used quite fast. I have 25 gb left with only one game installed.

 

[Robby-san]

If they cost $0.39 p/gb now and are expected to cost $0.17 p/gb in 2017, I would've thought 2017 would be a better time to buy then.
Anyway I concur that no one should be using a HDD as their primary drive thesedays.

"As prices continue to plummet, there's never been a better time to buy a solid state drive" is past tense. Never been, not never will be.

 

[captaincranky]

There's never been a better time to buy a solid state drive

sounds like next year is a better time to buy an SSD

Well Vitaly, why don't you crank up the Delorean, hit the "fast forward button" and grab yourself a couple?

Hey! no critical thinking allowed!!

Actually there should be. But first it all gets cleared by the grammar Nazi, me

"As prices continue to plummet, there's never been a better time to buy a solid state drive" is past tense. Never been, not never will be.

Actually Junior, it's not past tense at all, It's present perfect. "Never" is an adverb which in this case excludes all of the past. If the answer to "when" is "never", what you're left with is "now". And yes, that is a bit counter-intuitive.

Cliff, as humorous as it is to see you fighting this and you are right, it might be time (probably not the best time) to just let it die

A quick heads up here Brian, don't try to come between Cliff and his principles.....

As far as that goes, I have my principles too, and I 'd like to continue splitting hairs also, with respect to conjugation of English verbs. Accordingly, "next year is a better time", is a monumental fail, since "is" is the present tense of the verb "to be". So, "will be", (future), or "could be", (future conditional), or "will have possibly been", which is most likely the future subjunctive pluperfect..

 

[captaincranky]

All of that notwithstanding, I just purchased an SSD for my web box. It was long overdue for a reformat. Consequently, I seized on a Black Friday deal, a Sandisk 120GB "400Z" for $39.95 from Newegg. (So .30 cents per gigabyte).

The "Windows Experience Index" for the machine has taken a bizarre turn...It's an G41 Intel based board, with 800Mhz DDR2, and SATA 300 buss.

Anyway, the drive pulls a 7.5, and the "business and gaming graphics" score is 3.5. I briefly considered stuffing a graphics card ion it, but then I realized its one (1) PCI-E lane has a tuner stuffed in it....