cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/42750767
The death of affordable computing in America.
this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2025
159 points (91.6% liked)
PC Gaming
10879 readers
699 users here now
For PC gaming news and discussion. PCGamingWiki
Rules:
- Be Respectful.
- No Spam or Porn.
- No Advertising.
- No Memes.
- No Tech Support.
- No questions about buying/building computers.
- No game suggestions, friend requests, surveys, or begging.
- No Let's Plays, streams, highlight reels/montages, random videos or shorts.
- No off-topic posts/comments, within reason.
- Use the original source, no clickbait titles, no duplicates. (Submissions should be from the original source if possible, unless from paywalled or non-english sources. If the title is clickbait or lacks context you may lightly edit the title.)
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
The death of affordable computing in the US of A.
Not sure if this fits here as while the tariffs situation are primarily causing chaos and price inflations in the US, the redirection of goods might also cause companies to increase costs globally in order to cover the cash flow burdens and payments caused by real time tariff fluctations.
I hope Canada can get some better prices out of this.
PlayStation punished the world by increasing their console prices to match the adjusted tariff price in the US. I forsee all manufacturers doing the same thing, just like COVID.
The entire world can soon blame every American for their crazy price increases.
If only someone made an example out of them corpos
Narrator:
We won't.....
Sounds like an American problem tbh. But this is what they wanted, they voted for this.
And many of the ones who didn't want this didn't vote against it because they couldn't be bothered.
PS5 digital edition prices have increased across Europe too. Not even restricted to the Americans.
We're talking about affordable computing tho, not gaming.
Fair point
except when the american prices become the baseline because capitalism doesn't like to lose money
My takeaway is start planning trips to Taiwan so you can go buy comp hardware bit by bit at a reasonable price
You still have to declare things in customs. If you don't and get caught, you could end up far worse than high prices.
"No officer, this fully assembled PC with no boxes or receipts was definitely brought from America, the country I am now returning to."
You can take a phone and laptop through customs without paying import tax.
50 high end RTX cards might not be so easy.
I don't know if kid saving lunch money to build a computer is a viable route anymore
Console while cheaper entry, they fuck you on the game price. Plus fucking annual sub cost.
They are acting like this because median gamer is now a middle aged cuck with a higher income, why shoildnt they be fleecing us as that is what the market can bare. Nowever, they priced out kids and young folks. Nvidia lost its fucking mind with that pricing
Tariffs are just an icing on the cake, they will try to justify even more price gouging
I see your point, however I bought a $150 GPU in spring 2020 that is still serving me fine today to play games at 1080P. At least until the tariffs it was still pretty doable if you didn’t go for top of the line brand new equipment.
Like I said in a different comment.
My last build ran me just over $500 Canadian, the gfx card was the most expensive piece, and I reused my case, cooling system, storage and power supply......but last gen gfx, mobo and a gratuitous amount of RAM was to be had for cheap enough to not have to save at all to buy it.
Yep, I’m still reusing a lot of components from my last build. Some people automatically assume building a PC means you need to buy brand new everything, but if you were smart about it you could get it down to the same price as a brand new console.
Some people automatically assume building a PC means you need to buy brand new everything, but if you were smart about it you ~~could~~ used to be able to get it down to the same price as a brand new console.
I've not upgraded my desktop since spring 2020, my mobo, gratuitous amount of RAM, everything is still ticking away taking everything I tell it to. Only thing I even want to upgrade is my gfx card. And that's already more than an entry level console. Even the used market is completely tits up. Just a quick look at eBay, 4060/70/80/90, starting average £650ish for a 60 and a used 90 FE is £1700....free shipping though! I've decided to let Intel cook on their gfx cards a bit longer, and I'll probably getting one off them when I eventually upgrade...I can grab a used a770 or b570 for under £250 today.
Ohh I deff agree, I am riding my shit until it no longer works.
Fuck these parasites, I can do this long time if it keeps working.
That's easiest way people can fight back right now... Use what you have!
On with my Intel Celeron! Long live game optimization!
You prolly hitting some limits on that one mate haha
Anything is an upgrade, check out the used market
Pre-Nintendo-price-jump, console games were as cheap as they've ever been... if you ignore all the DLC/micro-transaction stuff. But its still a lot more expensive than PC gaming. If you need a computer for other purposes anyways, upgrading from a decent office computer to a cheap gaming computer is still gonna be cheaper upfront than buying the office computer and new console, plus cheaper long-term.
I don't know if kid saving lunch money to build a computer is a viable route anymore
for sure. It's gonna suck ass for a lot of Americans.
For the rest of your comment I'm gonna add that the tariff situation benefits retailers the most while manufactures and OEMs are taking the brunt of the tariff financial damage and ultimately the tariffs are then passed onto the customers unfortunately.
Some companies might implode or move out of the US it looks like.
oh wait I think I misunderstood when I made my other comment.
Sorry about that! Although I'm having some difficulty in interpreting your points.🤔
I just ordered a cheap mini PC from AliExpress for 82€
What would that cost in the US? Double? More?