PC Building NOW is Unaffordable.

retiredat44 · Aug 25, 2026

most people I know build gaming computers, a few thousand at least if you start from scratch it's more. add the software (games/simulators) and we get over $5K and are still not getting the best. Just good enough to play.

larc919 · Aug 25, 2026

Thankfully, I upgraded my main PC with a new CPU, motherboard and RAM not long before this catastrophe hit. Removed parts got handed down in turn to 3 other desktops (2 Insider). Here's hoping I'm fixed for the duration.

pparks1 · Aug 26, 2026

gunrunnerjohn said:
I paid $259/ea for my Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 4TB drives that I have in external enclosures for my air-gap backup, they only went up to A$575, I expected them to be more.

One reason for it not going up as much is that it doesn't have a DRAM cache. That helps keep the production costs down.

Scannerman · Aug 26, 2026

First couple of minutes on Links with Friends. Companies are folding on product lines because RAM costs too much to continue.

SIW2 · Aug 26, 2026

If you check motherboard bundles at the usual retailers they now only include mobo + cpu. No ram.

MisterEd · Aug 26, 2026

XxXxX said:
when ordering from China its best to do your home work.

example.
i was refurbishing my old second-hand Dell 13" laptop and it required a new battery
the manufacturer of Dell batteries is written on the old battery.

i found the web address of that manufacturer/supplier and ordered a battery for the Dell laptop direct from them
Dell wanted over £100 for a replacement battery, from the manufacturer/supplier in China that makes Dell's batteries £45
which included postage and packaging.

the only difference was no Dell logo on the battery. they battery is still working just fine.
with RAM and Drives i would look at the manufacturers/suppliers of the components within that system and then order direct
if the components are good enough for the main players to put into their systems then you improve your chances of buying reliable replacement components at a better price/cost. its just a matter of are you willing to do the foot work or not.

the main players have deserted the home computer upgrade market totally and it looks like China will be stepping into the worldwide gap the main players have vacated and doesn't look like the main players are coming back any time soon.

just my thoughts
best of luck Steve ..

There is someone that fixes old Dell laptops on YouTube. He says he has the largest supply of genuine Dell parts maybe in the world. You still have to depend upon Dell for newer laptops still in warranty. After the warranties end Dell generally sells the parts. He usually buys these pallets of parts directly from Dell.

You can always buy a Dell-compatible part online and take your chances. You have no way of knowing how well it will work or last. However, if you want a genuine OEM Dell part such as a battery you can buy it from him. He goes by Parts-People.

MisterEd · Aug 26, 2026

To show how bad it is I sometimes watch a YouTube channel where someone used to buy old laptops and sell them. He might buy a pallet of old laptops that used to be used by a company that bought new ones to replace them. The laptops used to come with a drive and RAM. Now the ones he gets have all of that removed beforehand.

Before this year he would upgrade the drives and RAM if needed and install a new copy of Windows. He could do that and still sell them for a profit. Now if he did that he would have to sell them at a loss.

gunrunnerjohn · Aug 26, 2026

MisterEd said:
But back then computer parts were so expensive that a person could only afford to build one.

I miss the days when a person could afford to build more than computer.

Today I have 3 desktop and 3 laptop computers. The newest is 4 years old. I hope these computers will get me by until I can afford to get a new one.

I put together my main and standby machine last year with all new parts except for a couple of SATA SSD drives that I salvaged from the ten year old machines. The prices were quite reasonable for all the new hardware. I even replaced the main display with an LG 45" wide curved monitor for $520, even those went up in price significantly. Now the parts I used are from 2x to 4x the price I paid for them just last spring not much more than a year ago!

Catnip · Aug 27, 2026

I did the math on my PC. I spent about $2500 CAD a few years ago, now it is worth about $5200 CAD at current RAM prices.

That does not include the 5070 Ti that I was going to buy but now can't afford. In that case the cost is over $7000 CAD.

Yikes!

PhilB · Aug 29, 2026

No new posts in at least the last 4 hours.

Does that mean that PC component prices have dropped, and everyone is busy ordering stuff before prices go back up again?

Marie SWE · Aug 29, 2026

PhilB said:
No new posts in at least the last 4 hours. Does that mean that PC component prices have dropped, and everyone is busy ordering stuff before prices go back up again?

nope... it just mean that we all have given up all hope and switched to Linux instead, as it more lightweight and faster so it feels like new hardware. :winkt:

TraderGary · Aug 30, 2026

Marie SWE said:
nope... it just mean that we all have given up all hope and switched to Linux instead, as it more lightweight and faster so it feels like new hardware.

Not all of us switched to Linux. I'm staying with Windows. My hardware feels like new hardware because it IS new hardware! :hug:

SlicEnDicE · Aug 30, 2026

I'm pretty certain Gary will stay on Windows a really long time. The software he use is mainly only available on Windows, some may exist on a Mac and most don't exist on Linux.

AK6DN · Aug 30, 2026

So no worries about prices going down any time soon. May even start to go up again if any of this stuff goes thru ...

AI industry says Trump plans to tax chips in the “single dumbest way imaginable”

Tech industry is perplexed by Trump’s plan to win AI race by taxing data centers.

arstechnica.com

XxXxX · Aug 30, 2026

AK6DN said:
So no worries about prices going down any time soon. May even start to go up again if any of this stuff goes thru ...

AI industry says Trump plans to tax chips in the “single dumbest way imaginable”

Tech industry is perplexed by Trump’s plan to win AI race by taxing data centers.

arstechnica.com

taxing AI out of existence wouldn't cause me any worries or problems

just my thoughts
best of luck Steve ..

Marie SWE · Aug 30, 2026

TraderGary said:
Not all of us switched to Linux. I'm staying with Windows. My hardware feels like new hardware because it IS new hardware!

*lol*

I would never recommend Linux to people that dont have a reason for actually want to switch.

Linux sucks in the same way as Windows, just in different ways.

Marie SWE · Aug 30, 2026

SlicEnDicE said:
I'm pretty certain Gary will stay on Windows a really long time. The software he use is mainly only available on Windows, some may exist on a Mac and most don't exist on Linux.

I think we can use Gary as a sign of, the world is coming to an end and Microsoft just goes belly up, the day Gary switch to Linux or Mac OS.

Catnip · Aug 30, 2026

I looked yesterday and the 5070 Ti I want has dropped $200 CAD. It was not on sale and available from NewEgg.

Maybe there is hope yet.

PhilB · Aug 30, 2026

AK6DN said:
So no worries about prices going down any time soon. May even start to go up again if any of this stuff goes thru ...

AI industry says Trump plans to tax chips in the “single dumbest way imaginable”

Tech industry is perplexed by Trump’s plan to win AI race by taxing data centers.

arstechnica.com

So what's new here?

gunrunnerjohn · Aug 30, 2026

Catnip said:
I looked yesterday and the 5070 Ti I want has dropped $200 CAD. It was not on sale and available from NewEgg.

Maybe there is hope yet.

Any place that has the RTX 5070 TI for $200 is a scam site! That one sells for over $1,000 anywhere I look in the US!

PC Building NOW is Unaffordable.

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