Running out of storage seems like a never-ending problem. Unless you're super stingy with your data, your PC will need a new drive sooner or later. In a sane world, you could buy a secondary 2TB Gen4 SSD for around $100 and call it a day. The world we're living in right now, however, is far from that. SSD prices in 2026 have crossed all limits of sanity, reaching highs of around $500 for 2TB Gen5 drives. We saw a correction in recent weeks, but you're still forced to pay over $300 for a decent 2TB Gen4 or Gen5 model. With things showing no signs of improving until 2028, at least, it might be time to turn your sights to good ol' spinning drives. The AI-induced hardware crisis has affected HDDs, too, but to a much lesser extent. If you don't strictly need more blazing-fast storage for your PC, it's smarter to expand your storage with HDDs until the market returns to normal, whatever that might look like.

You probably have plenty of fast SSD storage already

Your 2TB SSD isn't "small" by any means

I know the first instinct when expanding your storage is going for an SSD. After all, hard drives became obsolete years ago. SSDs are better in performance, convenience, efficiency, and even mechanical reliability. However, I'm guessing you have around 2–4TB of SSD storage already, be it in the form of one or two drives. Even if it's all Gen4 drives, your PC has enough fast storage to last you for years. Unless you're a productivity user or professional, even a 2TB SSD is plenty for storing your OS, all the programs you need, multiple large games, some 4K movies and shows, and even a few backups. I know that because I'm describing my own system. So, if you're being honest, you probably don't even need extra storage. Using 2–4TB of SSD space judiciously isn't remotely a struggle. For most gamers and regular users, making a 2TB SSD last a few more years is not only easy but also necessary, considering what's happening in the market.

Expanding your HDD storage makes more sense in this market

Get double the storage for a third of the price

If you really can't do without some extra storage, it's worth buying a hard drive even in 2026. That might sound like a revolting proposition to some of you, but hear me out. Not everything on your PC needs to reside on flash storage. Your OS, games, and software benefit from SSD storage, but that's about it. And a 2TB SSD already covers all of that. The rest of your stuff, namely movies, photos, videos, data backups, and archival data, don't benefit from residing on an SSD. If tons of such data is hoarding space on your SSDs, then offloading it to a hard drive will not only free up precious SSD storage, but also slash your investment in a new drive.

Hard drive prices haven't been immune to the ongoing hardware crisis, but they have suffered relatively less compared to SSD prices. For instance, a 4TB Seagate hard drive that went for around $85 is now selling at $120, which is a 40% increase, but nothing compared to the tripling seen in SSD prices. Instead of spending over $300 on a new SSD, just get an HDD for a third of that and get double the storage capacity. Your rarely-accessed data can live safely on the hard drive while your SSD storage can be reserved for the stuff you use every day.

Save money for the next 2–3 years and reassess your needs later

The market will stabilize eventually

Nothing lasts forever, and SSD prices will eventually fall, although there's no telling what the new price floor will be. Analysts think this hardware crisis will last at least until 2028. Manufacturers like Western Digital have orders lined up till 2028, and have sold all their inventory for 2026 already. So, it will take another two years or so before things start looking hopeful in the PC hardware space. Until then, it's best to adapt your storage needs to the market, and save your money wherever possible. This means spending only as much as you need to, which, at the time, translates to buying HDDs instead of SSDs. Of course, individual workloads will dictate purchase decisions, but most of us have enough primary SSD storage that we can make do with HDDs for secondary storage.

After 2–3 years, your needs may evolve in a way that you may even prefer hard drives over SSDs. This can happen if you decide to build a NAS or home lab, which prioritizes capacity and cost over peak performance. Alternatively, you could be building a new PC by then, which would probably need a new SSD. Assuming prices would have settled down, you could buy a 2TB or even 4TB SSD, depending on your budget and market conditions. It's all about playing the waiting game, and considering most people have enough fast storage inside their PCs, they can afford to do that.

Forget about SSDs for the next two years — at least

The DRAM crisis snowballed into a larger PC hardware crisis in no time, and SSD prices tripled in a matter of months. Today, it doesn't make sense to waste money on overpriced SSDs. If your PC has at least 2TB of SSD storage, you can easily invest in relatively cheaper HDDs for secondary storage. Until the market stabilizes and prices return to normal, it's best to be wise with your PC upgrade spending.