Computer Disk Storage Prices Continue to Decline

 

If you want to keep it, back it up. Computers and the associated devices are consumables. They are not investments. That means that any electronic device will have a life span and ultimately fail. The common lifespan rule of thumb for all devices, including computers, hard disk drives, smartphones, tablets or pads, and all the rest, is five years with a possible maximum of eight years. Even if a computer is physically sound, it can become "obsolete" as software and operating systems become more demanding, and older hardware struggles to keep up.

What this means is that the older the devices get, the more likely they are to fail but there are many ways electronics can fail long before the life span. So, what does this mean in plain English? You need to be aware of the age of each of your devices that you depend on for memory storage. The good news is that the cost of both hard drives and SSDs (Solid State Devices) continues to come down. Although, external pressures that affect availabilty and manufacture may temporarily drive up prices. In addition, the storage capacity of hard drives continues to increase and therefore drive down prices on smaller capacity hand drives. 

Currently, (at the date of this post), the newest, readily available, large capacity hard drives are up to 22 Terabytes in storage capacity. This is more than most people could fill during most of their lives. Depending on the resolution of the average one to two hour movie, a 20 TB hard drive could store about 13,333 movies. If the movies were higher quality 4K , that number may drop to 5,000. But for the average genealogist anything over a 10 TB hard drive would probably never entirely fill up.

But let's look at current prices. A Seagate Expansion 10TB External Hard Drive HDD - USB 3.0, with Rescue Data Recovery Services (STKP10000402) on Amazon is selling for $284 but there may be other prices for similar drives. If you want to see the statistics on hard drive failure rates, see Backblaze Drive Stats for Q1 2025. But, the price of a Seagate Expansion 22TB External Hard Drive HDD - USB 3.0, with Rescue Data Recovery Services (STKP22000400) is $299. For about $15 more, you can get double the capacity. 

So let's say you look at the size of your current computer's internal memory and it is much smaller than 22 TBs. You think well, all I need is a 1 or 2 TB hard drive to back up everything on my computer, (See one of my old posts: Struggling to Stay Online -- Back it up or lose it), Right now, a Seagate Portable 1TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PlayStation, & Xbox, 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX1000400) , Black is $59 and a Seagate Portable 2TB External Hard Drive HDD — USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PlayStation, & Xbox -1-Year Rescue Service (STGX2000400) is $69. 

By the way, you can purchase a Seagate Expansion 28TB External Hard Drive HDD - USB 3.0, with Rescue Data Recovery Services (STKP28000400) for $389. 

The question is how much is all the time and effort you have put into the contents of your computer's hard drive are you willing to all over again?

Back it up or lose it.