A $400 SSD that was previously as low as $79.99 shows just how bleak PC
gaming is in 2026 are the days of good deals over?

Date:
Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Description:
Prices for PC gaming components have skyrocketed in recent months is there now no hope for good deals for PC builders, or are there ways to mitigate the damage?

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter My day usually starts with a scan around major retailers, specialist sites, and deals aggregators to get a snapshot of the best tech offers that are available - and then I share the very best with you. Results can be mixed, depending on the time of year and whether theres a major sale on, but theres been one consistent theme lately: the deals on most PC components are atrocious.

If youre a regular in this space, then youre probably already well aware of the situation with RAM and storage prices over the past few months. Its got
to the point where Ive all but given up on finding any good deals in this space, especially when there are no signs that it's improving. Where did all the deals go? Theres no clearer evidence of just how dire the situation is with this Samsung SSD deal thats currently live on Amazon . This Samsung 870 EVO is advertised as a whopping 62% off. But thats from the current list
price of, um, $1,039.99. With that price cut, its now down to $399.99. Almost $400 for a 2TB SATA SSD? One that has been as low as $79.99 in the past? And this counts as a deal? Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

Thats just a snapshot of how bleak it is shopping for PC gaming components in 2026. Worst of all, there doesnt seem to be any positive news on the horizon. You have SSD controller manufacturers saying that the retail SSD market has almost disappeared , RAM prices have increased by at least 400% in some regions, and now one chip maker says its production costs are set to increase by 10% next year - so CPUs are potentially next up for price hikes.

It puts into perspective just how lucky I was when I chose to upgrade my PC towards the end of 2025. There were rumblings of price increases and stock shortages in those few months towards the end of the year, but it hadnt reached the disastrous depths we find ourselves in now for wannabe PC builders. You may like SSD retail market has 'almost disappeared' and DDR5
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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang 5 things to buy now before the RAM crisis worsens from SSDs to MacBooks Image 1 of 2 Here's the price history for the Samsung 870 EVO SSD at Amazon in the US (Image credit: Future / Keepa) And this is
how the price of a 32GB kit of Corsair Vengeance DDR5 (CL36) RAM has changed over 12 months. (Image credit: Future / Keepa) Image 1 of 2 View Original Image 2 of 2 View Original I did have to wait a few months for my RAM to arrive, after the manufacturer I was about to buy RAM from completely shut down, but the cost didnt make up nearly 50% of my entire budget like it would in todays prices.

And my PC is very much a mid-range device with a Ryzen 9600x, a 9060XT, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB NVMe SSD, which is about all I wanted given I mostly use it for work. I do like to play the occasional game on PC that I cant get on the PS5, or if theres one I would prefer to play on that platform, or when prices make the PC version a more sensible choice. Those specs cover my needs nicely at a reasonable budget. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your
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Calculating what the spend would be these days for the same spec is a terrifying exercise. Its over 1,600 now, when I was comfortably under 1,000
at the end of last year. What does the future hold? With everything pointing to similar or increasing prices for a long time ahead, anyone looking for a
PC upgrade has no choice but to put up with these prices for the foreseeable future. Yes, there will be a chance for some savings during Black Friday in November, but we are still looking at a significant markup compared to the savings of old.

In fact, and I usually wouldn't recommend this, but with the way component prices are lately, I'd actually lean more towards buying a pre-built PC if you're shopping around now. Sure, these companies are still suffering from
the same price increases, but you can actually find some good value rigs. (Image credit: Future / iBuyPower / Edited by Gemini) Most recently, for example, the Presidents' Day and 4th of July sales at iBuyPower had some strong discounts on high-end gaming PC, with extra savings of up to $350 available on PCs with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, an RX 9070 XT, and 32GB of RAM.

That would be my advice based on the poor quality of deals that are available on many PC components. Yes, there are still a few genuinely good offers out there that I've seen on the likes of CPUs and GPUs, but storage and RAM are certainly beyond saving right now and I'd move quickly if there's anything good on the former, as those deals may be disappearing before long as well.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/computing-components/a-usd400-ssd-that-was -previously-as-low-as-usd79-99-shows-just-how-bleak-pc-gaming-is-in-2026-are-t he-days-of-good-deals-over


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