The replacement from traditional hard drives to solid state drives (SSDs) will not take off in 2009, as the ratio of SSDs used in PCs remains low due to higher per GB costs, according to memory module makers. The makers expect chipmakers' stepping into 30nm production to be a catalyst for the adoption of SSDs.

Because of uncertain demand, makers also expressed doubts whether SSDs would go mainstream replacing hard disk drives (HDDs) in 2010. Though the flash-based drives can improve PC performance and reduce power consumption, HDDs are still competitive in terms of pricing, the makers said.

SSDs may be featured in more PCs when chip suppliers transition to 30nm-class or below nodes and are able to push NAND flash prices down, the makers commented. Some makers have also pinned their hopes on the availability of Windows 7 which is optimized to use SSDs, according to previous reports.

The penetration of SSDs will only reach 1-1.5% in the regular notebook sector in 2009, and less than 10% in the low-cost PC segment, according to a recent survey by DRAMeXchange. Despite optimism, SSDs are still finding it hard to gain broader appeal due to higher NAND flash prices.

Latest quotes gathered by inSpectrum show that the average contract price of 16Gb and 32Gb multi-level cell (MLC) chips stood at US$4.04 and US$7.12, respectively, in the second half of May, compared to around US$2 and US$4 earlier in the year.

By: DocMemory
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