According to Duann, PC makers have to buy from SSD module makers because NAND vendors reduced allocation to the client/consumer PC market and redirected most NAND supply to data center products.
As a result, PC OEMs like Acer, Asus, Dell, and HP cannot get enough NAND or SSD supply directly from NAND manufacturers and have to turn to module makers for solid-state drives. The latter traditionally served end-users and had plenty of aftermarket products with enhanced performance and cooling, but now they increasingly serve PC makers instead.
It hasn’t ‘dissapeared’, the demand is still there but we’ve been priced out.
One good thing about it is we’re more inclined to recycle and buy secondhand. Or just make-do if its not essential.
Not even a good thing globally because we’re not replacing production by recycling and secondhand buying. Production is going stronger and more wasteful than ever, it’s just all absorbed in the AI war.
I’ve replaced a decent sized SSD with gigabit internet. Don’t need to store a bunch of huge games locally if it only takes 10 minutes to download them.