Memorable information: there is a shortage of computer storage devices in the Russian Federation

In Russia, there is a shortage of PC storage devices (SDD drives and hard drives) - without them it is impossible to assemble computers and servers. Manufacturers and sellers of electronics told Izvestia about this. In six months, drives have increased in price 1.5–2 times, which has already led to an increase in prices for ready-made computers. Manufacturers of these parts are not keeping up with the demand associated with the development of AI services around the world, experts say. Izvestia investigated why, according to forecasts, the shortage of such components will continue in 2026.

Where do hard drives and SSDs disappear to

Their manufacturers, distributors and sellers told Izvestia that there is a shortage of storage devices for PCs, SSD drives and hard drives (HDD) in the Russian market.

"The shortage of these components, without which computers and servers cannot work, is felt both in Russia and on the global market — even the largest manufacturers of such equipment are now forced to install SSD and HDD with the minimum capacity required for their operation in their devices," says the manager of one of the vendors.

According to him, since the middle of 2025, fast and capacious drives have increased in price by 1.5–2 times.

Due to the explosive growth in demand for equipment for AI services, components for assembling home PCs and servers are actually being "washed out" of the global market. In addition to RAM and processors, these are also SSD drives and hard drives, said Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group. PC assemblers are now actually "on starvation rations," and the SSD and HDD remaining on the market are rapidly becoming more expensive, he said.

"For example, Samsung's high—performance 4 TB drive, which cost about 35,000 rubles in the summer of 2025, rose in price to about 45,000 by the end of the year, and to 65,000 rubles by the end of the New Year holidays," the expert noted.

According to him, the shortage and surge in prices for drives and other components is leading to higher prices for PCs and laptops: since the end of 2025, some gadget models have already risen in price by 10%.

First of all, the shortage affects high-performance server SSDs used in data centers, as well as DRAM and HBM memory modules for AI infrastructure, the press service of M.Video-El Dorado". It is these segments that are now actively "pulling" volumes from the global market. Following the corporate sector, the effect is gradually spreading to consumer SSDs, primarily models in the middle and senior price range, the press service of the united retailer reported.

— In the NAND segment (chips used in computer storage devices. Contract prices have already increased by about 50-80%, which directly affects the cost of SSD. At the end of sales, this manifests itself stepwise: each new batch of memory, drives and video cards arrives at higher purchase prices, while there are still remnants on the market purchased under old contracts," his representative claims.

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According to manufacturers, this trend will continue in the coming months, he added.

Prices for storage devices in Russia doubled in the second half of 2025 compared to the first half of the year, according to representatives of the electronics manufacturer Fplus. The cost of SSD has increased more noticeably. So, a Kingston SSD for 1000 GB in July 2025 cost just over 6 thousand rubles, and by the end of the year the price jumped to 15.8 thousand, the company cites an example. The shortage was explained by the boom in AI: data centers are buying SSDs for quick access and HDDs for data storage, outstripping production volumes. At the same time, HDD manufacturers are focusing on profitable segments, reducing the production of consumer HDDs.

—A shortage of storage devices may slow down the production of PCs and servers in Russia, where the IT market has already faced problems caused by rising prices and a shortage of RAM," Fplus warned.

They suggest that an increase in the cost of storage devices may lead to an increase in the cost of final products.

How critical is the shortage of storage devices

Silicon wafers serve as the basis for the production of any chips: they are used to manufacture both processors and all types of memory chips, including components for SSD solid-state drives used in laptops and desktops as data storage devices, explained Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research.

"The volume of silicon wafer production in the world is relatively stable, so when vendors rushed to produce high—bandwidth memory chips, there was a sharp shortage of wafers for creating SSD drives," he said.

The increase in SSD prices in the global market has already exceeded 50%, and there will be no rollback, Leonid Konik is sure. In his opinion, large investments and time are needed to increase the volume of production of silicon wafers.

The very high demand for components in global markets, including those related to the development of AI, with insufficient supply growth led to a noticeable increase in prices, said Alexey Zaitsev, head of Electronics at Wildberries & Russ.

— But despite this, there is no shortage, and all the goods are present in the Wildberries showcase. We expect that demand is likely to flow into a higher price segment, and the most sensitive increase in prices will affect the budget segment of electronics," he predicts.

As long as old batches of components remain in warehouses, the price increase for PCs and servers will be unnoticeable, according to representatives of the OCS IT distributor. However, as inventory is updated, the cost of retail and enterprise solutions will start to rise, they predict.

— The consumer segment, especially the niche of budget devices, is likely to suffer the most. All major chipmakers are now focused on manufacturing equipment that covers the super—needs for working with AI, the company explains.

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What awaits their sellers and electronics users in 2026

Some Russian users are trying to acquire the necessary components by buying them on the secondary market. SSD sales in retail in the second half of 2025 increased by almost 31% compared to the same period in 2024, and by 23% compared to the first half of the year, Avito estimated.

— The average price of such a drive was 3 thousand rubles. At the same time, SSD prices "off the shelf" remained relatively stable year—on-year and increased by only 6%, they added.

Interest in artificial intelligence technologies will continue to grow in 2026 — there is no other trend in the market, which means that demand for AI equipment and components will increase, says Vladimir Zykov, director of the Association of Professional Users of Social Networks and Messengers. At the same time, production facilities, in his estimation, are unlikely to expand at a faster pace. As a result, prices for components and gadgets will continue to rise, which may lead not only to an increase in the cost of personal computers, but also to products from entire industries where high-tech production directly depends on the use of computing equipment, the expert did not rule out.

The situation will be able to stabilize only after the needs of AI service providers are generally met, or if new manufacturers of storage devices appear on the market, the expert concluded.