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Gatekeeping is a topic that frequently arises, isn’t it? It’s generally perceived negatively, as irritating, unwelcoming, and typically unwarranted – whether discussing gaming, music, films, literature, or anything else. New enthusiasts aren’t going to ruin Metallica for you simply because they are, well, newcomers, and they enjoy St Anger. I’m not here to discuss that awful snare drum, however – no. I’m here to address PC gaming and how exceedingly exorbitant it has become to even join this ecosystem.
This is just foolish. Extremely foolish. I purchased my first gaming PC back in 2011. It was a pretty decent setup back then: Intel Core-i5 2500K, 8GB of DDR3, a lovely BitFenix Shinobi case, the whole package. The star component in that machine, nonetheless, was the graphics card, an MSI Twin Frozr GTX 460, featuring 1GB of VRAM, based on Nvidia’s Fermi architecture at 40nm. Ideal for a little World of Warcraft: Cataclysm raiding with my guild Fracture at that period. It was a card that sold for $250, but I only spent about half that for the GPU (£130 in the UK to be specific). In January 2013, I upgraded to a GTX 660, Asus DirectCU II, boasting 2GB of VRAM. That card was priced at £155 (retailing at $229), delivering significantly better performance and double the memory (for a lower cost in the US).
Fast forward to 2024, and it’s an entirely different scenario. To come even close to a comparable model, you’re looking at a baseline price of approximately $320, and that’s on the lower end. That’s a 40% increase over the span of 11 years. Consider mid-range and high-end graphics cards, packed with even more features, and that price skyrockets even more. RTX 4090s launched at, what, $1,800? Even the finest Titans used to hover around the $800 to $1,000 range back then. That’s nearly double the price for the preferred flagship GPU.
The reality, however, is that the deeper you delve into the details – into how everything is aligning – the more you realize that much of this price inflation correlates strikingly well with inflation metrics. Particularly regarding the more budget-friendly GPUs, anyway. $229 in 2013 translates to around $310 in today’s economy – which aligns quite well with the lower-end pricing I mentioned.
I would be less resentful if economies of scale were not a factor, and the expected advancements and production enhancements should ideally lead to an overall decrease in expenses, similar to what we have witnessed with televisions, for instance.
Yes, naturally, there’s the perspective that these enterprises need to generate profits, and there are research & development expenditures involved, but nevertheless, graphics cards and their associated products simply haven’t decreased in price as they have in prior generations. And the fact of the matter is, these companies evidently possess the profit margins to facilitate such reductions. Amid the ongoing global inflationary trends, Nvidia, AMD, and Intel all introduced fresh product lines over the past 12 months, all of which either match or are more affordable than their similarly titled predecessors. A commendable PR strategy – and an astute sales approach.
Purchasing power, build complexity, and influencers
I believe there are significantly more intricate challenges at play here. From my perspective, there are three main reasons why acquiring a mid-range gaming PC today inflicts more pain on the wallet than it used to.
First on the agenda, localized purchasing power has not kept pace with inflation. Particularly in the United States. If you analyze the real median household income in the US from 2013 to 2023, it grew by merely 18.2%, which is considerably less than the cumulative inflation of 35.4% over the same timespan. Simply put, salaries haven’t matched the escalating expenses. The cause of this disparity is better suited for debate among those in politics than for me, but the statistics speak for themselves, and their effects are apparent.
The second, and more urgent element, is the drastic rise in manufacturers creating increasingly elaborate components across every aspect of a contemporary gaming PC build.
Although entry-level and mid-range graphic cards (which continue to account for the vast majority of sales, I might add) are remarkably aligned in terms of affordability relative to inflation, the remainder of the PC ecosystem does not follow suit. High-end GPUs, as well as CPUs, motherboards, RAM, and SSDs have all experienced significant increases in overall prices.
Of course, if you compare product ranges, Asus ROG Hero motherboards previously came in at just below or above the $200 threshold – and now one of the latest models will cost you nearly $700. And then there’s the rest of the setup. Cooling systems, lighting, fans, custom keyboards, monitors, the entire setup. Everything has evolved into a specialty item now, and all of that contributes to the overall expense of constructing a PC.
Finally, partially thanks to influencers, and the wider internet culture, it’s no longer sufficient to merely possess a non-windowed case packed with the essential hardware. The simple gaming PC has transformed into a decorative piece, cluttered with RGB lights and an array of accessories that could make even the most enthusiastic kleptomaniac blush. It’s challenging to scroll through social media for five minutes without encountering an Instagram Reel or YouTube Short featuring someone showcasing an amazing PC build, or gaming setup, complete with a $1,200 GPU and RGB lighting that costs nearly as much.
All of this culminates in pushing an average system build well beyond the grasp of an average budget. Consoles aren’t faring much better, either, with systems like the PS5 Pro appearing at nearly $700. Once upon a time, creating a custom gaming PC that was more powerful than a console for a similar (ish) cost was a compelling reason to join the PC community. Now, it’s a distant fantasy. A reminiscence from the depths of memory.
Intel takes the lead, strangely enough
This is why Intel’s recent move with its Arc B580 graphics card has generated so much buzz (in a positive light for once). Its latest generation of desktop processors (Core Ultra 200S) may not have been launched quite as flawlessly as Intel had wished, but Team Blue’s new Battlemage graphics card? Oh my, it’s exceptional, at least in terms of value.
Our own John Loeffler examined the Intel Arc B580 at the end of 2024, and it completely dominates 1440p gaming, which, let’s be honest, is gradually becoming the standard resolution for most modern PCs at this stage (apologies 4K, you’re still prohibitively expensive).
However, the major aspect, by far, isn’t merely that the B580 performs admirably in nearly every game you throw at it.at the GPU presently, outpacing the likes of the Nvidia RTX 4060 and AMD RX 7600 XT. No – it’s the reality that it achieves this while being 20% more affordable than the most economical of those cards, and it clearly surpasses the RTX 4060 Ti in terms of value proposition considering the comparative performance of the two GPUs. Well played, Intel. Well played.
Team Blue has made a significant declaration with this device. Intel has consistently stated its intention to cater to the entry-level gaming sector, and to be honest, I’m pleased. AMD previously held that position effectively, surpassing Nvidia in the lower-end price category while Team Green reigned supreme in the high-end – but those resilient Team Red GPUs have since lost their budget-friendly allure.
Intel, with its Arc GPU series, appears to be regaining some serious street credibility – well, at least for now. Hopefully, this will prompt both AMD and Nvidia to respond with their own price reductions, which will be a substantial benefit for everyone.
Where will all this lead?
Nevertheless, this is merely a single drop in the vast sea. One part among many. PCs continue to be excessively priced. The PS5 Pro debuted at nearly $700, and increasingly we observe this ecosystem that once appeared so inclusive, just pushing individuals out of the market. If you aspire to enter PC gaming, or even console gaming, navigating modern hardware has become incredibly challenging. This is simply a reality. Desire the finest experience? Might as well take out a loan or remortgage the home.
An “us and them” mindset has always existed in the realm of PC gaming. There has always been a Red versus Blue, Green versus Red, or PC versus console rivalry. The latter, in particular, is a timeless narrative, but not one that originated from cost – it emerged from concerns such as user-friendliness, graphical quality, or mouse and keyboard against controller dynamics. There wasn’t artificial financial gatekeeping as there is today.
The reality is, unless there is a dramatic transformation in the landscape of PC components and their manufacturing processes, it’s hard to envision any change. Prices are bound to continue rising, wages will likely stagnate even more, and the scenario can only intensify. Add into the mix the threat of Trump’s trade tariffs in the US increasing the cost of those imported components by an extra 20% to 60%, and, well, you’ve got a recipe for calamity.
The flicker of optimism, for GPUs at least, lies in the challenge thrown to the current duopoly by Intel’s Arc Battlemage and the fresh B580 – along with the hope that a rumored B770 model might trigger some additional price cuts (although the high-end is sadly set to remain Nvidia’s territory).
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