Current prices for SSDs are erratic, with a notable increase in costs across various models. A 1TB NVMe SSD, which was priced around $60 in summer 2025, now exceeds $110, reflecting the impact of NAND flash shortages and rising demand, particularly from the AI sector.
While newer PCIe Gen 4 drives remain popular, the relevance of older PCIe Gen 3 SSDs is diminishing rapidly. Modern motherboards and CPUs typically support PCIe 4.0, leaving little incentive to purchase the outdated Gen 3 models. Despite their declining utility, the prices of these Gen 3 drives are unexpectedly high, making them a poor choice for consumers.
For instance, a Silicon Power SSD offers a read speed of 2,200MB/s and a write speed of 1,600MB/s, currently priced at $143. Even lesser-known brands like Kootion are pricing their products in a similar range, raising questions about the rationale behind these costs.