Discussion What is up with Hard Drives?

[DQ]

My NAS for Plex is near 100% full. I am planning on buying 6 new drives for it and slapping the old 6 in a large USB enclosure for backup. I was going to go with Seagate exos drives but they all of a sudden seem few and far between. WD is better but only a little. Anyone know what might be going on or is this supply-chain shenanigans? I know the Panama Canal is having issues and of course all the Middle East stuff affects shipping as well.

Just curious if anyone has seen or heard anything as I have not beyond the reports SSD prices were going way up.

 

[tectpro]

My NAS for Plex is near 100% full. I am planning on buying 6 new drives for it and slapping the old 6 in a large USB enclosure for backup. I was going to go with Seagate exos drives but they all of a sudden seem few and far between. WD is better but only a little. Anyone know what might be going on or is this supply-chain shenanigans? I know the Panama Canal is having issues and of course all the Middle East stuff affects shipping as well.

Just curious if anyone has seen or heard anything as I have not beyond the reports SSD prices were going way up.

There are several reports and projections regarding the availability and market trends for HDDs and SSDs in 2024:

1. HDD Market: According to a Forbes article

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomcoughlin/2023/12/10/digital-storage-and-memory-projections-for-2024-part-1/

, HDD unit shipments are expected to decrease by about 26% with shipping capacity down about 29% in 2023, with expectations for the market in 2024.

2. SSD Market: An XDA Developers article

 https://www.xda-developers.com/ssd-vs-hdd-2024/

suggests that SSD prices are expected to increase in 2024, advising to purchase storage sooner rather than later due to anticipated price hikes.

3. General Trends: The demand for storage media is expected to be driven by AI in 2024, with both NAND and HDD makers experiencing sales declines throughout 2023. HDD shipments have seen declines each quarter, and the price of NAND has collapsed, as reported by TechTarget

 https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/feature/AI-to-drive-storage-media-demand-in-2024

4. Price Trends: There's a prediction of a significant price increase for SSDs throughout 2024, with a TrendForce report

https://www.trendforce.com/news/2024/01/05/news-affordable-ssds-disappearing-three-major-manufacturers-rumored-to-increase-prices-by-50/

suggesting that low-price SSDs may become a thing of the past, with major memory manufacturers reportedly pushing for a 50% price hike.

These reports indicate a challenging year ahead for both HDD and SSD markets, with declining shipments for HDDs and significant price increases for SSDs.

 

[cartman0208]

I was looking for a 8TB SSD yesterday and noticed a 25% price increase over the last quarter
But reading those comments I'd better buy now before the next 50% raise

 

[Watcher0363]

I have been buying MDD harddrives from Amazon at a very good price. One of the reviews on Amazon mentioned they were rebadged Seagate HDD, this I am not sure about. But they were selling them as renewed, which was suspect to me. Until I read some of the many 1 star reviews. Turns out the drives were not compatible with older drive bays. In fact my first round of MDD HDD came with adapter cables for older drive bays. Just made a second batch purchase of renewed drives, but they were listed as drives only no cables. Of the two drives that I have put into use, they both were listed as having less than 10 hours of use. Of course with renewed drives, I do not know if they are allowed to reset the power on time.

 

[DQ]

Yes, I too am noticing scarcity and raised prices which you do normally see together of course. Market forces and all. I am just wondering if it's reduced production or the supply chain issues. I did find a site selling true OEM drives for a good price but otherwise not so much. I have vendors I deal with at work I am querying them as well.

 

[George++]

"What is up with Hard Drives?"

Prices, obviously.

Seriously, the current global situation ain't making it easier to produce inexpensive hardware. We've become too used to hardware getting better and prices dropping.

 

[George++]

I was looking at HDs on Amazon the other day. Yes, prices have gone up, but not as much as I thought they would from less than 4 months ago when I bought a new 4TB HD.

I was checking out the prices for 6 & 8TB and higher. 4TB isn't as enough space as I originally thought now that I have an AnyStream license. I noticed 8TB is not so horribly expensive, 6TB was slightly more money, go higher with 10TB or larger and the price more than doubles. *Ouch!*

 

[Watcher0363]

4TB isn't as enough space as I originally thought now that I have an AnyStream license.

Sometime in the near future. 10TB isn't as enough space as I originally thought now that I have an AnyStream license.
Sometime in the far future. 18TB isn't as enough space as I originally thought now that I have an AnyStream license.
Sometime in the far far future. 22TB isn't as enough space as I originally thought now that I have an AnyStream license.
Sometime in the far far hopeful future. My NAS won't support these new 100TB drives, cheap piece of crap!

 

[George++]

My wallet and bank account do determine what I can get when it comes to PC upgrades. Not that I am a vacuum of streaming as some people are. I find 500 d/l tokens an inordinate and overly generous amount. There just isn't enough "stuff" that includes TV shows I want to keep and watch more than one time without buying the content on DVD/Bluray.

 

[coopervid]

Best bang for the buck seem to be 18TB drives.

 

[George++]

Best bang for the buck seem to be 18TB drives.

I'm in the situation of "No Bucks, No Buck Rogers."

But yeah, if I had the money that is likely the size I'd get.

Of course, prices are likely to change, sooner than later, and go up, up and away!