Over the past few months, SSD prices have dropped not by a few, but by a dozen or so percent. Today, a 1 TB model can be purchased for less than PLN 200. If you want to increase the disk space on your computer, now is a great opportunity to do so.
SSD prices have plunged
The cyclical nature of the semiconductor market is making itself felt again. During the pandemic, prices of SSDs and RAM broke records, and manufacturers recorded the best financial results in history. Demand significantly exceeded supply, which resulted in high prices. In this segment, it is impossible to increase production overnight. Large and time-consuming investments are necessary, which many companies have undertaken in anticipation of a further increase in demand for their products. Unfortunately, market behavior is difficult to predict, the effects of which we can currently observe. The surplus production of NAND memory has caused a huge drop in SSD prices in recent months.
It turns out that a price reduction of 40-50% in the last 3 months is nothing extraordinary. Practically every medium has had such a reduction and currently buying a disk smaller than 1 TB is practically not worth it. If you have to pay less than PLN 200 for a 1 TB medium, then no one will buy a disk half the size for PLN 150, and this is the current reality. Models with a capacity of 2 TB are also very attractively priced. This may not yet be the price level of HDD disks, but it seems to me that today only a few will decide on a platter disk. The only question left is which disk to buy? Today we will focus on disks with the M.2 (NVMe) interface.
Which SSD should I buy for up to PLN 200?
Lexar NM620 1TB
When it comes to price to performance, the Lexar NM620 is definitely the best. For a 1 TB drive, you have to pay only about 180 PLN. In return, we get quite good performance, although limited by the PCIe 3.0 interface, which means that maximum transfers do not exceed 3500 MB/s. This is therefore a great option for older computers. For a 2 TB model, you have to pay about 350 PLN.
Lexar NM710 1TB
Slightly more expensive, for about PLN 200, you can buy a slightly better Lexar NM710 model, which is already equipped with a controller compatible with the PCIe 4.0 interface and allows you to achieve transfers of around 5000 MB/s in the case of reading and 4500 MB/s in the case of writing. At this price, it is practically an unbeatable offer for newer computers. For a model with a capacity of 2 TB, you have to pay about PLN 400.
Which SSD should I buy for up to PLN 300?
ADATA XPG Gammix S70 Blade 1TB
ADATA will certainly not win the competition for the friendliest name for an SSD drive, but the XPG Gammix S70 Blade model with a capacity of 1 TB is a very interesting proposition. Its prices start at PLN 250, which is a ridiculous value considering that it is a full-fledged PCIe 4.0 drive offering transfers of around 7400 MB/s when reading and 5500 MB/s when writing data. In addition, we have an SLC buffer and DRAM memory, which improves performance in the case of operations on small files. The 2 TB version costs around PLN 440.
Which SSD drive should I buy for under 400 PLN?
Lexar NM800 Pro 1TB
Another very well-priced Lexar model is the NM800 Pro, which costs significantly more, around PLN 360 for the 1 TB version, but in return offers top transfers of around 7500 MB/s when reading and 6500 MB/s when writing, and is also equipped with a large radiator that takes care of its appropriate temperature. Thanks to this, it can maintain the highest performance for longer, but this makes it more suitable for desktop computers than for notebooks.
Samsung 980 Pro 1TB
Samsung 980 Pro is simply the highest performance and price range. Its prices oscillate around PLN 380 for the 1 TB model, which is quite a lot, but for that we get practically the best currently on the market. The disk is of course compatible with the PCIe 4.0 interface and offers transfers of 7000 MB/s when reading and 5000 MB/s when writing. Samsung also focused heavily on managing the temperature and other disk parameters using the Samsung Magician application, which takes care of the good condition of our disk and software updates.
And that’s basically where we can end. If your budget is bigger, then taking into account your own expectations, you can decide on a medium with a larger capacity. I wouldn’t wait for a further significant drop in prices either, it looks like we’ve reached the profitability limit for media manufacturers and it won’t get any cheaper.
