PC Building NOW is Unaffordable.

Lance1 · Aug 14, 2026

My PC build is the last PC build for me. Who can you afford the costs of RAM Storage GPU PSU CPU and the list gos on. I built my PC in 2024 and the total coste for my build was $2,500.00. And I Most Likely overspent at that too. Look at my specs! Yesterday I looked up all my PC parts and to build my PC with all that I have now would coste me $4,500.00!!! OMG! Did I pick the right time to build my PC or not? So is anyone out there planning a new build??? I bet not...

XxXxX · Aug 14, 2026

Lance1 said:
My PC build is the last PC build for me. Who can afford the costs of RAM Storage GPU PSU CPU and the list gos on. I built my PC in 2024 and the total coste for my build was $2,500.00. And I Most Likely overspent at that too. Look at my specs! Yesterday I looked up all my PC parts and to build my PC with all that I have now would coste me $4,500.00!!! OMG! Did I pick the right time to build my PC or not? So is anyone out there planning a new build??? I bet not...

i think many people are going to make do and mend because of the price of components
or replace with used parts to save money. they seem to want to price themselves out of a market for build your own.

best of luck Steve ..

Lance1 · Aug 14, 2026

XxXxX said:
i think many people are going to make do and mend because of the price of components
or replace with used parts to save money. they seem to want to price themselves out of a market for build your own.

best of luck Steve ..

I must agree but even used parts can cost a finger or a toe.

SlicEnDicE · Aug 15, 2026

LOL, I've been looking at HDD (yes a spinner) and RAM upgrades for a while and the price is at least 3 times as high as it was a while ago. And the worst part is that even if you had the money, it would be hard to get any parts.

Sad times.

FreeBooter · Aug 15, 2026

A smart $800 to $900 budget gaming PC build delivers great 1080p and entry 1440p gaming. Focus your money on a modern CPU platform and a solid graphics card, using value parts for the case and power supply.

Recommended Parts List ($800–$950 Range)

- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (6 cores, great AM5 upgrade path)
- CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE
- Motherboard: ASRock B650 Pro RS or similar budget B650 AM5 board
- Memory (RAM): 16GB (2x8GB) or 32GB DDR5-5600/6000
- Graphics Card (GPU): AMD Radeon RX 7600 or RX 9060 XT / Nvidia RTX 5060 depending on local pricing
- Storage (SSD): 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (e.g., Silicon Power UD90)
- Case: Gamdias Aura GC2 or Montech TG3 (Mesh front with fans included)
- Power Supply (PSU): Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600W or 650W 80+ Gold/Bronze

Steve C · Aug 15, 2026

I'm glad I updated my rig in 2023 for £1000 - see list below. I kept my previous case, PSU and GPU so cost excludes these.

Kingston KC3000 2TB NVME SSD £123.29
Kingston FURY Beast 64GB RAM £193.78
Intel Core i7-13700K £409.98
Asus TUF Gaming Z790-Plus WiFi £257.92
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut £7.48
NM-i17xx-MP83 mounting kit £10.94

GRAND TOTAL £1,003.39

jimbo45 · Aug 15, 2026

I'm keeping my stuff now until it is absolutely unserviceable -- I'm even for external storage where I don't need really fast access bringing back into service old "Spinners" which can still be had relatively cheaply though --get those with a large cache of course and use a 2 / 4 bay external caddy.

Don't forget also you can often "Cannibalize stuff" that's junked by offices or even visit your local tip (or are they now called "community recycling centres" or some other weird wokey name !!! ) for things like PSU's , HDD,s even some RAM (unless you are an extreme gamer you don't need the fastest DDR RAM that exists. !!. You can still build a relatively cheap PC which is brilliant as a test bed or an emergency backup if your daily use computer stops working, is lost, stolen etc etc .

There's still plenty of people chucking out perfectly good serviceable stuff !!!!!!! and judging by pictures of zillions of people queuing inside (and outside !!!) for hours at airports in popular touristy parts of Europe many still have more money than sense.

Cheers
jimbo

Stigg · Aug 15, 2026

I guess it depends how rich you are on whether it's affordable. Elon Musk could probably afford two PCs.

abactuon · Aug 15, 2026

$1,549.99
Thermaltake LCGS NE u2570S-V170S Gaming Desktop (Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, ToughRam 16GB DDR5 6000MT/s RGB Memory, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, 1TB NVMe M.2, Wifi, Windows 11) N17S-B860-570-LCS

Thermaltake LCGS NE u2570S-V170S Gaming Desktop (Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, ToughRam 16GB DDR5 6000MT/s RGB Memory, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, 1TB NVMe M.2, Wifi, Windows 11) N17S-B860-570-LCS - Newegg.com

Buy Thermaltake LCGS NE u2570S-V170S Gaming Desktop (Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, ToughRam 16GB DDR5 6000MT/s RGB Memory, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, 1TB NVMe M.2, Wifi, Windows 11) N17S-B860-570-LCS with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

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TairikuOkami · Aug 15, 2026

Lance1 said:
So is anyone out there planning a new build??? I bet not...

This is most likely my last PC, I will keep upgrading it as much as possible, then back to a laptop.
But I guess that in a decade, a cloud PC will be a norm, just a monitor with the internet connection.

Stigg · Aug 15, 2026

TairikuOkami said:
This is most likely my last PC, I will keep upgrading it as much as possible, then back to a laptop.
But I guess that in a decade, a cloud PC will be a norm, just a monitor with the internet connection.

I've been thinking the same thing about desktop computers. I think I'll eventually transition to laptops. That's assuming I'm still alive by then.

TairikuOkami · Aug 15, 2026

Stigg said:
That's assuming I'm still alive by then.

Keep thinking positive, it literally pays off. :wink:

France: 122 yr old woman makes money over lifetime on house sale

Guinness World Record says that Jeanne from France has held the record of the oldest person ever for nearly three decades now.

www.siasat.com

SIW2 · Aug 15, 2026

She quit smoking when she was 117

swapmanager · Aug 15, 2026

Real question is, after building these useless datacenters or hyperscalars (idiotic name I know), what after that ?
People barely use AI outside drafting texts or doing funny memes. I am talking about general public. Not the vibe coders or whatever they want to call themselves.

Like we have our PCs which can be called as a fancy toy, the same analogy applies to datacenter which is fancy toy of Tech Bros.

The way things are going, I won't be surprised if Jenson Huang's Karma catches up with him and we see him getting jailed when the datacenter rush is over.

jimbo45 · Aug 15, 2026

TairikuOkami said:
This is most likely my last PC, I will keep upgrading it as much as possible, then back to a laptop.
But I guess that in a decade, a cloud PC will be a norm, just a monitor with the internet connection.

What happens if there's a power outage / internet is hacked etc etc. Also what about people who want stuff totally private so don't want to put it out on the Internet but will still need to process it locally.

Nothing wrong in theory about "Cloud PC" for some purposes -- but also remember then the "dreaded" subscription model will come in. I doubt if this service would be offered free. !!!

There's always a law of unintended consequence.s For example the UK is imposing a "Drive per mile --(although metric in most things they still use miles rather than km for motoring speeds and distance measurements) " but have no idea what to do if as many do use those cars for frequent long trips in mainland Europe !!!. No problem trying to recoup lost revenue in diesel and petrol (gasoline) taxes but this seems a bonkers way to do it !!! - Perhaps the "subscription model" might actually work for once.

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 · Aug 15, 2026

swapmanager said:
Real question is, after building these useless datacenters or hyperscalars (idiotic name I know), what after that ?
People barely use AI outside drafting texts or doing funny memes. I am talking about general public. Not the vibe coders or whatever they want to call themselves.

Like we have our PCs which can be called as a fancy toy, the same analogy applies to datacenter which is fancy toy of Tech Bros.

The way things are going, I won't be surprised if Jenson Huang's Karma catches up with him and we see him getting jailed when the datacenter rush is over.

Oh dear !!

Datacentres are NOT useless you need to understand exactly what they do -.

AI tools also DO work for many tasks often saving days of boring repetitive drudge work. Note also AI is just "Intelligence" which can of course be used for good or evil in the same way that "Biological Intelligence" i.e humans can as well. A.I has no moral guidelines -- it could probably help you design or find flaws with a criminal enterprise just as easily as helping how to achieve things that benefit most of mankind.

Cheers
jimbo

swapmanager · Aug 15, 2026

jimbo45 said:
Oh dear !!

Datacentres are NOT useless you need to understand exactly what they do -.

AI tools also DO work for many tasks often saving days of boring repetitive drudge work. Note also AI is just "Intelligence" which can of course be used for good or evil in the same way that "Biological Intelligence" i.e humans can as well. A.I has no moral guidelines -- it could probably help you design or find flaws with a criminal enterprise just as easily as helping how to achieve things that benefit most of mankind.

Cheers
jimbo

Agreed. But currently there is severe trust deficit with what AI vomits out. For me it has been a big fail with AI blatantly lying or trying to gaslight me.

Josey Wales · Aug 15, 2026

swapmanager said:
Agreed. But currently there is severe trust deficit with what AI vomits out. For me it has been a big fail with AI blatantly lying or trying to gaslight me.

Whether you believe it or not, there is no shortage of Ram. Microcenter has a great deal of it in stock at a high price. This may just be temporary though but AI is responsible for the HIGH price.

Marie SWE · Aug 15, 2026

i will cut my fiber cable, go back to analog world before i build a PC or upgrade or even expand my ram or get new ssd disks.
I have an old PC running DDR3 and i looked at a 8GB stick.. even those have gone up.. then i looked at 16GB sticks to my older 5/6 gen laptops DDR4 and the prises is sick even on those old sticks.

So will i upgrade... never-ever in my life.. i will go analog before i spend those prises.. darn i get a car from 2010 for the money of one desktop.

Ghot · Aug 15, 2026

TairikuOkami said:
Keep thinking positive, it literally pays off.

France: 122 yr old woman makes money over lifetime on house sale

Guinness World Record says that Jeanne from France has held the record of the oldest person ever for nearly three decades now.

www.siasat.com

If she was still alive... even she couldn't afford to build a new computer.

PC Building NOW is Unaffordable.

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