Why are Gaming PCs so Expensive? | Several Reasons Explained

The staggering difference between a regular and a gaming PC can leave you wondering, why are gaming PCs so expensive. It’s a fair question after all. because gaming PCs, while extremely capable of handling anything you throw at them, still use the same concept as a regular PC.

Gaming on a PC keeps getting more expensive each year and inflation is not the only thing to blame here. It’s also the parts they use. but why do they use those parts if they are so expensive? These are the questions that you should be seeking answers to.

Reasons Why Gaming PCs are so Expensive

Spoiler, it’s the same old story of supply and demand. The recent chip shortage, crypto mining, and the motive to make more profit, all play a big role in driving up the price of gaming PCs.

1. Big Profit Margin

While gaming consoles are sold at very slim profit margins or even at a loss, gaming PCs make a huge profit right from the bat. This is because they don’t have the opportunity to sell you those expensive year-long services later.

Also, when you buy any game from the app store in any gaming console, the console makers make a cut of the sales. For example, Sony and Microsoft make money on licensing fees for each game that is played on their consoles.

However, what you will lose in buying a gaming PC, you’ll more than makeup for when buying games. Because PC versions of games are way cheaper than their console counterparts. For the price of a triple-A title for consoles, you can easily get a pack of hundreds of games for PCs.

2. Inclusion of Components

With a gaming PC bundle, everything comes pre-included, including a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. The same is not true for consoles or regular prebuilt PCs. For example, after buying a gaming console, you will have to spend hundreds of dollars on a quality gaming monitor or smart TV. You’ll also have to invest in getting additional controllers if you want to play multiplayer games. However, PCs offer almost a plug-and-play-like experience.

Traditional PC games require no additional controllers other than mice and keyboards.

3. More Functionality

Although the latest gaming consoles offer some functionalities other than gaming like video streaming, PCs offer way more functionality. More importantly, because of their sheer horsepower, gaming PCs can be used for resource-intensive tasks like video editing or heavy multitasking, something that’s not even imaginable in consoles.

Even if you don’t want to do anything but gaming, you or any of your family members can certainly use the flexibility in the future.

4. Expensive and Extensive Cooling

Gaming PCs, on average, dissipate heat upwards to 300 percent more than gaming consoles or regular PC. It’s only natural that they consume so much more power and heats up more often, for the amazing graphics and processing power they offer. So normal cooling is not nearly enough for gaming PCs. Also, cutting down on those expensive liquid coolers would seriously hamper sustained performance and thus hamper the overall longevity of your computer in the long run. So if you factor in the cost of extensive coolers, which can cost you hundreds of dollars, 1000 dollars isn’t a lot for a gaming PC.

5. Top-Notch Performance

Comparing top-tier gaming PCs to consoles is like comparing apples to oranges because gaming PCs are so much superior. From graphics quality to frames per second, they offer everything way better. Aside from looking better, they perform faster as well.

This next-level performance alone is enough to justify the expensive pricing of gaming PCs. If you are into competitive gaming or game streaming, there’s nothing superior to a gaming PC.

Another thing to remember is that gaming PCs have to keep up with the rapid evolution of the graphics and processor industry, which consoles don’t, because newer consoles don’t come out every year.

So, consoles and regular PC have lower upfront hardware expenses than gaming PCs. And because of the superior hardware they provide, an expensive gaming PC is worth it.

6. The Global Chip Shortage

The ongoing chip shortage due to the global pandemic has crippled almost every computer industry. This shortage in supply has skyrocketed the demand, leading to higher chip prices. This particularly hit PCs more as they have a much higher demand than gaming consoles, as PCs are widely used in homes, offices, educational institutions, and industries.

7. Mining Cryptocurrencies and Video Editing

The growing market for multimedia content has led to a higher demand for powerful CPUs and GPUs than ever before. Some might argue that video editors need much more computing power than gamers.

Although in the fall now, mining for crypto saw its biggest rise in this decade. This was the biggest reason that single-handedly bumped up the prices for graphics cards.

This is one of the reasons why gaming PCs are so expensive right now.

8. Minimum System Requirement for Games

It’s no secret that you need powerful specs to play PC games. Even the least demanding games these days require you to have more than 8 gigs of RAM and a decent graphics adapter. To qualify as a gaming PC, unlike regular PCs, it has to have at least 16 gigs of RAM and a processor of the latest or at most one generation behind. Also, they need to make sure you get sustained performance for at least a few years.

This is substantially more than what a regular PC needs to have. More specs equal more price, of course.

9. LEDs & RGBs

This isn’t something that’s necessary but adds up to the overall aesthetics of a traditional gaming machine. Prebuilt gaming PCs offer LED strips on almost all components and RGB lighting on every cooling fan. While these aren’t necessarily very expensive, they certainly add up to the price. Even regular components like the mouse and keyboard, are heavily decorated with LED lighting.

Frequently Asked Questions And Answers

Is $500 good for a gaming PC?

A 500$ gaming PC will give you enough for your money’s worth. For gaming in 1080p 60fps, a 500$ PC is good enough.

How much should you pay for a good gaming PC?

From novice to pretty advanced gamers, we recommend spending 500 – 800 dollars for a gaming PC. For professional or competitive gaming, you should look into 1000 – 1500$ PCs.

Is PC gaming worth the money?

Absolutely. Gaming PCs offer so much more than just gaming. From customizations to using mods and playing so many games for free online, they are absolutely worth the money.

Conclusion

To keep up with the latest gaming technology, gaming PCs have to bump up their specs, leading to jacked-up prices. This has been the trend from the beginning and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

Even so, we can all agree that they offer a lot in functionality and most of the time justify their respective price tags. For budget-conscious gamers, you can get a lot more from a budget gaming PC than a gaming console for a lot less money. And you always have the flexibility of upgrading things later on. Thanks for reading.