Is something going on with hard drives right now?

B0bbyEwing

I remember not all that long ago there was a big hoo-ha about struggling to get graphics cards. Maybe that's still the case.

I'm trying to buy a couple hard drives at the moment & it's not as I remember it.

A couple years ago I could hop on Amazon, stick an order on & they were here with me tomorrow no problem. Now I'm waiting for most of them. Some of the dearer ones could be here tomorrow or the next day but many are end of week in to next week.

Going on Western Digital's own website, I can order a Blue 6TB right now at £150 but many/all of the other sizing there's no pricing, no option to buy. Or you need to faff about contacting for quotes. I don't want a quote, just give me your price on your website!!!! Same with Scan, many of the higher capacity ones it's a case of getting in touch for a price. Why can't you just say your price?

And that's another thing, I'd need to dig back to see but I'm sure drives were cheaper a couple years or so ago. Maybe I'm imagining that one though & it's just my tight side showing.

PRAISETHESUN

Theres an industry-wide supply shortage of chips at the moment, which has been developing over the last several months and predicted to last for the foreseeable future. As such there is limited supply of pretty much everything that uses memory chips (DDR/VRAM, SSDs, etc) which is starting to have flow on effects to HDDs.

Some suppliers are using the opportunity to maximise profits, whilst others have genuine supply issues. Its very hit and miss. If you need something in a hurry you will definitely need to pay a premium.

Exodi

As @PRAISETHESUN said, this isn't just a minor issue with scalpers buying up graphics cards that we've had to contend with in the past (the example you cite), this is a massive shortage of chips affecting the whole market.

Shortage is probably unfair, as what's actually happening is manufacturers are focusing supply on much more lucrative components for AI companies. This has reduced supply for consumer parts, causing them to surge. Initially it was mainly DDR5 ram, now it's spilling across into storage. Due to rampant cost/price inflation, some retailers have moved to a 'ask for price' model to cost them in real time.

To give an idea of how bad, DDR5 RAM on average has tripled in price in less than 6 months. Many are delaying or reducing their expectations. Consumer electronic manufacturers are said to be doing similar (e.g. expecting their newest devices to have the same RAM as past generations, and looking at potential ways software can use less RAM), while simultaneously warning consumers should expect their prices to increase 10-20% on last year.

There's no shortage of coverage about this if you google things like 'ram crisis AI', but to give you an idea:

https://www.morningbrew.com/stories/2026/02/16/the-tech-industry-plunges-into-a-crisis-of-memory

https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/memory/many-consumer-electronics-manufacturers-will-go-bankrupt-or-exit-product-lines-by-the-end-of-2026-due-to-the-ai-memory-crisis-phison-ceo-reportedly-says/

It's also expected to last for quite a while, likely years at the least.

outtatune

But you can get AI to generate a podcast on what life would be like on Mars, so the huge price increases on consumer electronics, the enormous energy consumption, the diversion of billions of litres of fresh water for cooling the servers, and all the other minor inconveniences associated with AI are totally worth it, right?

https://www.facebook.com/61556212888637/videos/your-interest-your-podcast/749962947876432/

Ayr_Rage

Just spoken to my wife in Thailand, the price of a 64 GB memory card has jumped from 300 to 350 THB in a week.

Outrageous.

Exodi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81887956#Comment_81887956

And perhaps even more incredulously, all that and you still can't rely on it to be correct or accurate.

Nonetheless, considering the significant investments being made by the tech companies, it will be forced down our throats whether we like it or not. I bought a new laptop several months ago (in fear or what was about to happen, for once my premonition was correct!) and I noted it had a bespoke Copilot key (replacing the context menu key) on it! Were users really asking for a key to open an AI chatbot?

But I fear I am sounding like an old person moaning about new technology - it is evidently popular among the youngsters who use it to do their homework assignments or consume its slop content 😅

B0bbyEwing

Shortage? OK this is dumb question time but why not just.... Make more?

Sounds like a nightmare for NAS setups then when you want to add or switch out numerous drives.

I was buying in hard drives to start having copies of important stuff across different drives, especially as I think one is failing. I was then moving to de duplicate & once everything is sorted look at a NAS.

By the time I do that it'll probably be an absolute fortune.

JSmithy45AD

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888854#Comment_81888854

3.5" HDs aren't too bad, you can get a 8TB drive for around £200, it's SSDs that have gone potty since you'll pay a minimum of 5x that for the same size. If you do need (say) a 2TB 3.5" drive I'd pick up some cheap Sky boxes off ebay and strip the drives out of them (presuming you can still grab them).

B0bbyEwing

CrystalDiskInfo gives a warning for my 8TB Seagate drive. Bought in '24, allegedly a 5yr warranty yet the Seagate website states not under warranty.

Weird.

Checked in with my Amazon orders & I bought this in '24 at £130. Same drive now is £200. Ouch!

I'd been toying with a PC build for a good few years now. Should've done it before things got daft.

mta999

all sold out ...

https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/20/ai_blamed_again_as_hard_drives_sell_out/

finbaar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888854#Comment_81888854

Two reasons not to "make more". Firstly, where would they be made? It's not like there's loads of spare capacity in the supply chains. And secondly, making more will depress the price and means lower profits for the manufacturers make, and they wouldn't like that.