Cnet says an SSD price war is imminent as the major makers try to squeeze some competition out of the market.
This could cause SSD prices to deflate a little faster than expected.
A year ago, we were at $2 per GB. Today, we’re around $1.25-$1.50 per GB, depending on capacity. A year ago, I expected us to reach $1 per GB late this year, based on the historical pricing of conventional hard drives. Aggression could cause prices to reach that level ahead of schedule. I still expect 50 cents/GB to happen in 2014 and 25 cents/GB in 2015 or 2016.
Of course, it’s possible that SSD pricing might begin to outpace HDDs. I noticed a correlation prior to this year, but flash memory is more profitable than DRAM, so memory makers have an incentive to ramp up flash memory in order to get more profitable. Plus, flash memory is used in more than just computers, so a greater economy of scale could eventually kick in.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.