- 4TB external SSDs now undercut the price of slower internal SATA storage
- Changes in Memory Production Are Reshaping NAND Supply and Storage Pricing Dynamics
- SATA SSDs See Diminishing Relevance as NVMe and External Drives Converge
High-capacity external SSDs now sell for less than 4TB internal SATA drives, a situation driven by ongoing changes in NAND flash production and pricing.
The gap has narrowed to the point where slower internal SATA SSDs become harder to justify, even as demand for high-capacity storage continues to grow.
Current supply pressures mean that memory makers such as Micron and Samsung are prioritizing DRAM over NAND. This allocation change reduced downward pressure on NAND prices and limited incentives to continue producing slower, lower-margin SATA SSDs with higher capacities.
SATA SSDs threatened with extinction
This is most noticeable at the 4TB level – where a Crucial X9 Pro 4TB external SSD is currently priced at $279.58. It connects via USB 3.2, offers read and write speeds of up to 1,050 MB/s, and targets creators who need fast, portable storage across multiple devices.
In comparison, a Silicon Power 4TB SATA internal SSD is priced at $299.99. Despite using a standard 2.5-inch form factor and SATA III interface, it costs more while offering much lower performance than modern external SSDs.
The situation becomes more striking in relation to PCIe storage. A 4TB PCIe Gen4-based Crucial P310 NVMe SSD currently sells for around $341. This puts high-speed internal NVMe barely above the price of external SSDs, while SATA remains stuck in between.
Price tracking data from PCPartPicker shows that over the past 18 months, 4TB SATA SSDs have not benefited from the aggressive price drops that NVMe and external SSDs have seen.
As memory supply tightens and prices rise (quite significantly in many cases), SATA drive prices are now rising alongside faster storage, leaving them stuck without a significant cost advantage.
For system builders and upgraders, this creates an unusual situation. External SSDs are no longer just a convenient option, but a cost-effective way to add large amounts of fast storage without opening up a system or committing to aging interfaces.
At the same time, motherboard support for SATA continues to decline, especially in smaller form factor systems and newer platforms. This reduces the long-term interest in investing in high-capacity SATA drives.
Taken together, the pricing, performance, and platform trends suggest that 4TB SATA SSDs are nearing the end of their practical relevance.
External SSDs and NVMe drives are increasingly offering more value and with fewer compromises.
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