How the Memory Squeeze on RAM Is Dragging SSD Prices Up — What You Need to Know

In yesterday’s post, we explained how RAM prices have exploded (yes — that 64 GB DDR5 kit at PS5 prices). Sadly, the pain doesn’t stop there. The same forces are now pushing SSD prices upward too.

Why SSDs are feeling the heat

• The memory crunch isn’t limited to DRAM. NAND flash (the storage chips used in SSDs) shares many of the same production facilities and supply-chain constraints. As DRAM get diverted to server/AI demand, NAND supply gets squeezed too.
• As suppliers prioritise enterprise and data-centre SSD orders, those of us selling consumer-grade NVMe drives find that fewer chips are being allocated for us leading to shortages and price hikes.

What’s happening now

• Some SSD prices have already started to inch upward, especially larger or high-performance models.
• Retailers and builders are having to increase prices or ration stock to customers; small retailers are being squeezed hardest, as they cannot compete with big enterprise buyers in securing bulk NAND supply.

What to expect next

If you were planning to upgrade storage (or build a new system), the “normal” SSD deal you expected may no longer be there — or may cost significantly more. It’s becoming just as risky to assume “storage stays cheap.”

We’ll connect the dots.. show how the memory and storage crunch is also destabilising GPU (graphics card) pricing and availability.