With game sizes ballooning, storage space on consoles has become a premium. SanDisk has just launched its Optimus GX Pro 850P line, an officially licensed NVMe SSD for PS5 and PS5 Pro, with capacities up to 8TB. However, the price tag is staggering: the top-tier model costs $2,960, more than three times the price of a PS5 Pro, which already includes a 2TB SSD. According to SanDisk's website, this is actually a discounted price from the original $3,700.
To put it in perspective, the 2TB model starts at $760 (down from $950), which is more than a standard PS5 with a disc drive. The Optimus GX Pro 850P is a PCIe 4.0 drive with read/write speeds of 7,300 and 6,300 MB/s respectively, featuring a heatsink. Its specs are nearly identical to the previous WD_Black SN850X, whose 8TB version was available for under $600 just last year. This comparison highlights the massive price surge driven by the global memory crisis, often called the "RAMpocalypse."
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The Component Crisis Context
SanDisk is not alone in raising prices. In recent months, Sony increased the prices of the PS5, PS5 Pro, and PS Portal, while Microsoft raised Xbox console prices twice in 2025. Nintendo held out longer but hiked the Switch 2 by $50 in May 2026, bringing it to $500 effective September. The most dramatic increase came from Valve with the Steam Deck lineup, seeing up to $300 hikes for the 1TB OLED model. The AI-driven scarcity of components is the primary culprit behind these increases.
Considering that the predecessor, the WD_Black SN850X 8TB, was on sale for about $600, the new $2,960 price represents a 393% increase. Digital Foundry noted that to bring the new SSD back to that price, an 84% discount would be needed, a nearly absurd figure. Many gamers are now considering alternatives like periodically deleting less-used games or opting for lower-capacity models.
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Meanwhile, other tech sectors are also seeing price hikes. For example, Snap's new AR glasses cost $2,195, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Reality Elite chip promises to revolutionize augmented reality but at a high cost. PS5 owners might be tempted to wait, hoping SSD prices will drop as they have in the past. To explore trends in tech accessories, check out our article on Apple Launches Summer Accessory Line. For more on the underlying technology, refer to the Wikipedia page on NVMe.
