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Gaming hardware is impossible to afford

Strictly in response to Original Post / "

Gaming hardware is impossible to afford"​


I remember back in 2002 my first non mac computer was a dell. Don't remember specs but it was like 1200 USD

2004 ish first build, AMD athlon 3200+ 4 GB DDR1 and ati 9600 xt = 1500 ish

a few PC's in between and last build was like 3rd best i7, 16 GB DDR3 and Nvidia 9800 ( i think) 2000 with all other stuff.

So its just inflation, artificial or otherwise. And also people in general especially americans just need to learn how to save their money harder, ignore as much marketing and advertising as possible and do a WHOLE LOT of multi vector research before buying things.
 
spine said:
And the blatant false scarcity made up by the dram makers who are holding the entire world to mercy. Almost literally.
Click to expand...

Ram scarcity is real. If you had a bunch of ram, you would sell it at these prices.

Now, the ram makers are very deliberate about increasing production capacity. They've over built production many times, so they're cautious about doing it again. Otoh, I think wafers are scarce right now too, so more ram production capacity might then be limited by wafer supply... that's another reason they might be reluctant to rapidly build capacity.

All that said, I think there's two? Chinese fabs ramping up ram production, which should eventually increase supply and lower prices... even if the chinese ram doesn't make it to US retail.

All this stuff takes time though, fab projects have a long time from the decision to build a fab until volume production: at least 3-5 years, we're maybe 2ish years into the ram price ramp and the beginning looked mostly like the end of a bust, not really a new boom.
 
StevenJamesBorchard said:
Strictly in response to Original Post / "

Gaming hardware is impossible to afford"​


I remember back in 2002 my first non mac computer was a dell. Don't remember specs but it was like 1200 USD

2004 ish first build, AMD athlon 3200+ 4 GB DDR1 and ati 9600 xt = 1500 ish

a few PC's in between and last build was like 3rd best i7, 16 GB DDR3 and Nvidia 9800 ( i think) 2000 with all other stuff.

So its just inflation, artificial or otherwise. And also people in general especially americans just need to learn how to save their money harder, ignore as much marketing and advertising as possible and do a WHOLE LOT of multi vector research before buying things.
Click to expand...
The 64GB DDR5-6000 kit that cost me $210 in November 2024 now costing $1300 is not just inflation. If it was, our entire economy would be in shambles and we'd not be very worried about gaming PCs.
 
toast0 said:
. Otoh, I think wafers are scarce right now too, so more ram production capacity might then be limited by wafer supply... that's another reason they might be reluctant to rapidly build capacity.
Click to expand...
I am not sure the nuance made between ram production capacity and ram wafer production capacity... but what it take to make wafer supply is giant, the limit is the turning wafer into usuable ram capacity.

They are not that reluctant to rapidbly build capacity, they are building capacity the fastest it ever was, it is really hard to build capacit as there is a giant anti building fabs (as they use giant amount of prestine water and energy, way more than datacenter by an full order of magnitude) movement, but 2025-2026-2027-2028 will still be by far the most money to build up memory capacity ever.
 
Armenius said:
Ja, my signature PC was $3,000-something in 2023 minus the migrated parts. That included the video card. That won't even buy a 4090 or 5090 now.
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I always have gone bleeding edge. But I've started noticing hardware problems with my current computer and this has me freaked out (as half the stuff is out of warranty). Because just to rebuild my current PC, I'm looking at over $15000.
 
I was initially thinking of building another PC in 2027, but at this rate I'm gonna ride this thing until the wheels fall off. Luckily, it's still pretty top tier since I'm GPU-bound and the 4090's still the 2nd best card on the market.
 
My box with 270k plus was way over priced. Needed it still and it has been very helpful with work.
Wasn't pleased with the expense and I can cry about if I fuckin want to. Right to free speech and all that. Don't want to listen to people complain, shift your ass out of the thread. Low post count havin' prick.

I can afford it, doesn't mean I should pay it if I don't want to.
 
DogsofJune said:
My box with 270k plus was way over priced. Needed it still and it has been very helpful with work.
Click to expand...
That's pretty much where I'm at with upgrades. I can afford it if I need it. Not buying if I don't. Thankfully I'm in a far better position than a lot of people. Built a rig during Covid in late 2020. In early 2025 I decided I was due for some upgrades. New full build with the DDR5, plenty of M.2 storage, 5090, etc. so I'm good for a while. I can afford to replace stuff if something breaks, but other than that I don't expect to be buying hardware for a while. Well, maybe some speakers, a gaming monitor or some network gear.
 
Domingo said:
I was initially thinking of building another PC in 2027, but at this rate I'm gonna ride this thing until the wheels fall off. Luckily, it's still pretty top tier since I'm GPU-bound and the 4090's still the 2nd best card on the market.
Click to expand...
4090 is better IMO because of limited 32-bit PhysX support on the 5090.
 
Armenius said:
Does it support all games now? Because last I checked it was only for a limited number of games.
Click to expand...
The initial list was only 9 titles, but easily the most important ones that are likely still being played by a lot of people. I'm also not sure how many have been added back in since then in subsequent driver versions. Personally, I'll take the performance increase over taking a performance hit on some older titles I probably won't play again anyway. Basically everything on that list is ten plus years old. There are very few older games I'd go back and play that are that old anyway.
 
It is mainly components that contain RAM or NAND that have gone way up (GPU, SSD and RAM), most other stuff is still close to as affordable as it was 5 years ago. A 5900x is still OK until at least a year after the PS6 launches, that is more a "want" issue than "need". It is not like it was 20 years ago where your CPU was below minimum specs after 3 years.

Not so sure I would get a 5800x3D now, unless used and cheap, as it is a dead platform and even my 5070 ti was slightly held back by AM4+5800x3D in 4k. Staying with the 5900x for 1-2 more years or going with a low end, current socket setup, with low amounts of RAM (32GB) probably makes more sense.

AMD is generally much nicer priced than Nvidia, at least where I live. E.g. the 9070 XT cards have been available for close to MSRP, sometimes below, for most of the year, while stuff like the 5070 ti is generally 30-50% above MSRP when VAT is excluded. I would look at AMD at least, both used and new, if money is tight. Even something like a 7900XT, 7900 GRE etc. will be a solid upgrade over something like a 3070, even if you miss out on DLSS.
 
i bought a PC in 1995 or 1996. Computer shopper prices had JUST dropped. I don't remember being able to get a pentium system for $3K... but you could get a Cyrix one and I know because that's what I did. ....you had to REALLY want (or need) a PC back then, at least if you were a working slob in your early 20s. I took out a small loan from my then local bank in order to afford it. Guess we've come full circle lol....
 
Dan_D said:
The initial list was only 9 titles, but easily the most important ones that are likely still being played by a lot of people. I'm also not sure how many have been added back in since then in subsequent driver versions. Personally, I'll take the performance increase over taking a performance hit on some older titles I probably won't play again anyway. Basically everything on that list is ten plus years old. There are very few older games I'd go back and play that are that old anyway.
Click to expand...

That's me, too. I like some of those games, but there's almost no chance I'll go back any play any of them these days. If someone gave me a chance to trade my 4090 for a 5090, I'd take 'em up on it 100 out of 100 times :p
 
toddw said:
i bought a PC in 1995 or 1996. Computer shopper prices had JUST dropped. I don't remember being able to get a pentium system for $3K... but you could get a Cyrix one and I know because that's what I did. ....you had to REALLY want (or need) a PC back then, at least if you were a working slob in your early 20s. I took out a small loan from my then local bank in order to afford it. Guess we've come full circle lol....
Click to expand...
Circuit City, 1994. Dad purchases a Packard Bell Pentium Multimedia PC with a 60 MHz Pentium processor, 8MB RAM, CD drive and 15" monitor for $2,000.
 
Armenius said:
Circuit City, 1994. Dad purchases a Packard Bell Pentium Multimedia PC with a 60 MHz Pentium processor, 8MB RAM, CD drive and 15" monitor for $2,000.
Click to expand...
1787910802215.png

From reddit, stating this was a 1995 ad. And about the prices I remember as well.

Not saying it was cheap by any means, because my family bought an original IBM PC back in the early 1980s, and that was $5000, and prices were continually dropping, but by the mid 1990s, $4000 was a loaded computer.
 
A $2,000.00 PC in 1995 was a lot of money then, it's still a lot of money today, but in 1995 money that was a big time serious purchase.

LOL show them in 1995 what video cards cost in 2026.
 
Zorachus said:
A $2,000.00 PC in 1995 was a lot of money then, it's still a lot of money today, but in 1995 money that was a big time serious purchase.

LOL show them in 1995 what video cards cost in 2026.
Click to expand...
Inflation is flawed if that's the only metric you go by. I like to compare to income at the time. Median income in 1995 was $34k/year. My dad was making $50-something-k/year at the time. The PC was a business expense.
 
I dare not go back and calculate how much a:
Amiga GVP Jaws II:
68030 @ 50 MHz
68882 @ 50 MHz
8(2x4MB) MB FastMem
And a
240 MB IDE 2.5 HDD

Cost me back in 1994 adjusted for inflation 🤔

Again, you have NEVER been able to get this much compute for your $ as today.

But the whiney generations cry over everything.
 
narsbars said:
I feel due to the age of my rig I have to upgrade just to prevent catastrophic failure and so I can have a functional backup.
Click to expand...

I realize that a 5900X and DDR4 are not bleeding edge anymore but you are about a decade or two away from having to worry about "catastrophic failure" "due to the age of my rig". I still have a LOT of Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, and Haswell systems from 2011-2015 that are still doing great, including the Haswell-E (i7-5960X Extreme Edition equivalent) in my backup rig which still plays games great. Going back even further, the only reason I finally retired some of my Core2Quad rigs was because they can't run Windows 11 24H2+ or Windows Server 2025 due to not having SSE4.2. My oldschool 1985 NES still works great, and my stereo still includes components from the 1970s. But you are worried about computer components that were released a handful of years ago?
 
Zorachus said:
A $2,000.00 PC in 1995 was a lot of money then, it's still a lot of money today, but in 1995 money that was a big time serious purchase.

LOL show them in 1995 what video cards cost in 2026.
Click to expand...
If we went to 96, then most would only balk at the 5090 and maybe the 5080. A good 2d accelerator with a 3dfx Voodoo 3d accelerator card combo was in the $400 to $500 range, depending on what you bought in 1996.
 
evhvis said:
a 3dfx Voodoo 3d accelerator card combo was in the $400 to $500 range
Click to expand...

Those 3DFX cards were single-slot cards that didn't have external power connectors, and didn't even have heatsinks. They have more in common with modern-day soundcards than modern-day GPUs.
 
GotNoRice said:
Those 3DFX cards were single-slot cards that didn't have external power connectors, and didn't even have heatsinks. They have more in common with modern-day soundcards than modern-day GPUs.
Click to expand...
Does that change the price of a 2d+3d accelerator setup?
 
littlegreenmenfromhome said:
I dare not go back and calculate how much a:
Amiga GVP Jaws II:
68030 @ 50 MHz
68882 @ 50 MHz
8(2x4MB) MB FastMem
And a
240 MB IDE 2.5 HDD

Cost me back in 1994 adjusted for inflation 🤔

Again, you have NEVER been able to get this much compute for your $ as today.

But the whiney generations cry over everything.
Click to expand...
The problem with this argument is, that while it is true you have never been able to get as much compute for the money, the overall structure of where your money goes has changed. You get the people stating that a person coming out of college today is better off than a person coming out of college in 1990. And yes, that is true for the first year.

The necessities back then cost little while the luxuries cost a lot. Today, the necessities cost a lot while the luxuries are vastly cheaper. The thing is, you don't buy a new car every year, or a new computer every year, or a new house every year, or new furniture every year, etc. You pay once, and now you can save money for the luxuries. But now, most of your money goes towards necessities, so even though the luxuries are cheaper, they're still just as out of touch as they always have been, even though they are cheaper.

The bottom line is, that while a person who graduated in 1990 vs 2026 was worse off in 1990, 5 years later they'd be better off financially, even with more expensive luxuries.
 
evhvis said:
Does that change the price of a 2d+3d accelerator setup?
Click to expand...

It's like trying to compare the price of an old bicycle vs a new car. Let's also not forget that in 1996, software acceleration that did not require a 3D accelerator at all was still available in every game.
 
Nytegard said:
The problem with this argument is, that while it is true you have never been able to get as much compute for the money, the overall structure of where your money goes has changed. You get the people stating that a person coming out of college today is better off than a person coming out of college in 1990. And yes, that is true for the first year.

The necessities back then cost little while the luxuries cost a lot. Today, the necessities cost a lot while the luxuries are vastly cheaper. The thing is, you don't buy a new car every year, or a new computer every year, or a new house every year, or new furniture every year, etc. You pay once, and now you can save money for the luxuries. But now, most of your money goes towards necessities, so even though the luxuries are cheaper, they're still just as out of touch as they always have been, even though they are cheaper.

The bottom line is, that while a person who graduated in 1990 vs 2026 was worse off in 1990, 5 years later they'd be better off financially, even with more expensive luxuries.
Click to expand...
My salary has increased way more than the cost of hardware since 1995 so for me hardware is cheaper today than in 1995 looking at my total budget.
 
System in sig does everything I need it to do including gaming at 1440p with mostly high > ultra settings, sometimes with a touch of RT and even PB RT with a touch of DLSS and FG. Be modest, be happy - you don't 'need' the latest 9800x3d and RTX 5090 to play games.
 
littlegreenmenfromhome said:
My salary has increased way more than the cost of hardware since 1995 so for me hardware is cheaper today than in 1995 looking at my total budget.
Click to expand...
Great, yours had, but there's still the rest of the population.

In 1995, the median house was $114,600, or if adjusted for inflation, $250k today. Today, the median house is $430k. The median rent in 1995 was $655, or $1350 if adjusted for inflation. Today, the median rent is $1700.

You readjust housing/rent to 1995 dollars and that covers your brand new 1995 computer, in 1995 dollars, in slightly over a year.

The basics have just gone up so much that most people have less money for discretionary spending.
 
Nytegard said:
The necessities back then cost little while the luxuries cost a lot. Today, the necessities cost a lot while the luxuries are vastly cheaper. The thing is, you don't buy a new car every year, or a new computer every year, or a new house every year, or new furniture every year, etc. You pay once, and now you can save money for the luxuries. But now, most of your money goes towards necessities, so even though the luxuries are cheaper, they're still just as out of touch as they always have been, even though they are cheaper.

The bottom line is, that while a person who graduated in 1990 vs 2026 was worse off in 1990, 5 years later they'd be better off financially, even with more expensive luxuries.
Click to expand...
Many necessities are cheaper versus median salary, like food (under 10% of disposable income now versus 11-12% in 1990), and specially once you consider cost of money, house or new car are not really more expensive now.

Yes the median priced 124k house of 1990 was cheaper relative to inflation, but with a 10% 30 years mortgage of the time, that was big mortgage payment, at 10% now vs say even a bad deal 6.5% now, monthly payment were 36% of the median household income versus 31% now.

For cars it is different they cost less to start, lower interest rate just make it even easier...

You can see this reflected in people buying much bigger cars and house now than before, fancier food.

Nytegard said:
In 1995, the median house was $114,600, or if adjusted for inflation, $250k today. Today, the median house is $430k. The median rent in 1995 was $655, or $1350 if adjusted for inflation. Today, the median rent is $1700.
Click to expand...
in 1995 the median new mortgage had a 7.9-8% interest rate versus 6.3-6.5% today, which helped, unlike 1990 that was still in the high inflation-interest crisis, house were actually cheaper than now. But square feet went from 1800-1850 to 2185 during that span, per feet once you consider mortgage interest it is close versus today in household income.
 

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