AI RAM Shortage Triggers SSD Price Surge: WD Black SN850X Quadruples to $649, Samsung 990 Pro Hits $1,000

The AI-driven memory chip shortage is now cascading into the consumer storage market, causing SSD prices to skyrocket to unprecedented levels. A WD Black SN850X 2TB SSD, which cost $173 in 2024, now carries a staggering price tag of $649—more than the cost of most gaming PC components combined. This near-quadrupling since November 2025 is not an isolated case; it reflects a broad market shock where consumer SSDs across all major brands are experiencing similar, severe inflation.

The price surge mirrors the earlier crisis in RAM and has hit flagship products hard. The 4TB version of the popular Samsung 990 Pro SSD, once priced at $320, now approaches $1,000. External SanDisk SSDs saw a 200 percent price hike at the Apple Store in March, while Sony has announced it is suspending orders for its professional-grade SD and CFexpress cards. This indicates the supply chain pressure is affecting both internal components and removable media, impacting gamers, content creators, and general PC builders.

The situation signals a critical supply-demand imbalance where high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production for AI accelerators is diverting manufacturing capacity from mainstream NAND flash. This creates intense competition for fab output, leaving consumer-grade storage as a lower-priority casualty. The rapid price escalation and order suspensions raise the risk of prolonged scarcity and inflated build costs for the entire PC ecosystem, from custom rigs to pre-built systems, with no immediate relief in sight.