Cucurbita wrote on 2011-12-12 03:37
With drive space becoming larger each passing year, and efficiency improving, you would imagine that the correlation between space and price would be better as time goes.
This does seem to be a fact when we look at smaller memory storage devices such as SD cards or small USB drives, where something like 16 or 32GB is actually feasible, affordable, and doesn't break as easily anymore.
But as for actually hard drives and external hard drives, they seem to be skyrocketing in price.
Last year, I bought an external 500GB 2.0USB seagate for only 60 dollars. My friend picked up a 500GB 3.0 toshiba for 70.
I really feel the need for another external, whether it be for space issues, or to back up more important files, but even during black friday, the best deal seems to have only been comparable to last year's regular prices.
Right now, looking around, even with holiday sales, the price have increased by a shocking 50%. The exact same product I bought last year is now 100 dollars.
I figured its something in the external hard drive business so I looked for a regular hard drive to attach to my pc, but found them to be ridiculously expensive as well.
I must've missed something. Why are the prices booming on these things so much?
Science wrote on 2011-12-12 03:41
I've noticed that too, but I have no clue why they would be so expensive. I could find a good internal drive for around $60~100 a while back, but now NewEgg has drives at prices above $150.
Sapphireoath wrote on 2011-12-12 03:51
I could get a 1TB external for about $100AUD o-o, 2TB for not much more as well...[S]now 500GB is about $100, 750GB around $200...well sh*t.
[/S]***
Apparently External/Internal HDD prices are increasing cause of the flooding in Thailand. Guess a few factories/warehouses were affected :P
***Edit: Oops, those prices are for USB 3.0 ones
Random wrote on 2011-12-12 04:09
Yep, it's because of the floods in Thailand.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/15916553
Important part of the article:
Output of hard disk drives fell 52.4% in October, while production of electronics fell 45.5%.
And from another article:
About 45% of the world's computer hard-drives are produced in Thailand, but manufacturers like Toshiba and Western Digital have shut down operations at waterlogged plants.
chaolin wrote on 2011-12-12 04:18
Supply of the rare earth metals used in making them. Newer technologies demand quite a bit of these nifty elements and they sure as hell aren't getting any cheaper (except Neodymium lol).
http://www.metalprices.com/FreeSite/metals/co/co.asp
http://www.metal-pages.com/metals/neodymium/metal-prices-news-information/
http://www.metal-pages.com/metalprices/dysprosium/
Edit: Oh, I guess the flood in Thailand has more immediate bearing.