An unexpected price hike has affected the consumer SSDs from Western Digital and Samsung in Korea, which makes it unfeasible to build budget PC builds.
WD SN850X Series Prices Skyrocket to $3000; Samsung 990 PRO and 9100 PRO SSD Prices Spike As Well
The PC hardware market is seeing some serious volatility these days. On some days, we hear that the RAM and SSD prices have dropped noticeably, but on other days, this trend goes completely in the opposite direction. Looks like South Korea is facing some trouble as the SSD prices have reportedly skyrocketed in recent days. The current SSD prices are already 3-4X higher than their usual listing prices, but a new report suggests that the prices have doubled once again
As reported by @harukaze5719, the prices for WD SN850X have risen sharply, and now the cheapest SSD one can buy is available for 600K Won or US$400. This SSD was reportedly selling at $200 or 300K Won previously, but with the prices doubling, every SN850X has now reached an unimaginable price tag. Currently, the SN850X 1 TB edition is selling for $200-$250 in the NA market, which clearly shows that the SSD has become unaffordable in South Korea.
Similarly, we are seeing significantly higher prices for the 2 TB, 4 TB, and 8 TB editions, which are now selling at up to 4.5M Won or US$3000. For $3000, one can buy a GeForce RTX 5090, the flagship NVIDIA GPU, but for Koreans, things have become challenging due to the SSD price hike, as if the previous hardware prices weren't challenging already. The WD Black SN8100 has been affected greatly as well, reaching as high as 2.5M for the 4 TB edition. The SN8100 1 TB SSD now costs a whopping 628K Won or US$419, and the 2 TB version is currently at 1.25M Won or US$834.
The same happened with the Samsung NVMe SSDs, and now we are seeing the 990 PRO and 9100 PRO SSDs reaching new heights. As per the reporter, tracking the prices of Samsung SSDs is difficult in the country, as the company sells the SSDs through distributors. However, seeing Samsung 990 PRO 1 TB SSD reaching 470K Won or US$313, one can easily see that the prices have doubled, as the SSD used to sell for around 200-250K previously. The Samsung 9100 PRO 8 TB has reached 4M Won or US$2670, which, although it is lower than the SN850X, is still too overpriced for the masses.
SSDs from different vendors might likely have been affected greatly as well, but the question is, at what point will it stop?
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
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