Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

General Discussion

Showing Original Post only (View all)

Cheezoholic

(3,833 posts)
Tue May 5, 2026, 12:57 PM Tuesday

Here's what data centers are doing to the PC business. I built my own PC last Sept. as mu old one was 13 years old [View all]

I wanted a nice one that was fairly future proofed for at least 7 years. I always do my DD when going about a project like this. I had a budget of 1500 dollars. That would give me a mid to maybe upper mid range desktop. I came in slightly over budget at 1600 because I wanted a case that would blend in with the living room/office/gaming space. I do most of my browsing, gaming, streaming from my couch.

Regardless, I just priced the exact same parts from the parts builder list I had saved on the web. 2600 to 2800 to build that same PC what, 6-7 months later? I knew there'd be an increase but wow, thats insanely inflationary. All so people can ask their phones for recipe's (yes I'm aware its much more than that)?

These datacenters have bought nearly 90% of the memory capable of being manufactured through 2027 so this is not just affecting PC's and laptops. Nearly everything uses these silicone chips and there are only a few places in the world that make them. All of those products will/are seeing additional inflationary pressure on their final product pricing. I see this as a reverse kind of monopoly where big billion dollar corps buy so much of a single product that whats left prices the consumer out almost all together. Especially a product this hard to produce. It takes nearly 5 years to bring a chip factory online from ground breaking. It's just messed up across the board.

These things need to be strongly regulated because of the giant circle of impacts they have on the general public from pollution to water/energy waste to breaking wallets. They drive up costs on consumers from all directions while profiting a single entity.

37 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The computer geeks Keepthesoulalive Tuesday #1
Yes, it's why I built mine when I did, and in September. I still came in under Black Friday pricing, which is nuts n/t Cheezoholic Tuesday #3
When the orange piggy turd was elected kimbutgar Tuesday #2
I need to buy a new laptop, mine's 6 years old. Initech Tuesday #12
You might look at an Acer UpInArms Tuesday #27
Yeah Acer was on my list. Initech Tuesday #28
And Windows 10 will start becoming unusable in October. I can't put Windows 11 into my perfectly fine desktop. BamaRefugee Tuesday #4
I am still using my old windows machines Keepthesoulalive Tuesday #5
I have a 10 year old HP all in one. Sector 001 Tuesday #9
For some reason when I've run the test BamaRefugee Tuesday #25
Officially Sector 001 Tuesday #29
Get something refurbished. LuvLoogie Tuesday #11
Thank you I'll check that out BamaRefugee Tuesday #26
Refurbished I think is standard 90 days, but LuvLoogie Tuesday #34
I built mine last year. Bought a 7800X3D and 9070XT. Cost less than $1,000. Initech Tuesday #6
Will Linux become more popular? purr-rat beauty Tuesday #7
Not only that, but computer makers are "baking in" age verification and who knows what else. usonian Tuesday #10
My daughter just switched to Linux Luciferous Tuesday #14
My daughter has been using Linux for years and Prairie_Seagull Tuesday #17
I will switch as soon as the apps I use move over. tinrobot Tuesday #21
I salvaged the monitor, keyboard and mouse from my last Windows 10 PC. Used them on a $449 m4 MacMini. retread Tuesday #8
Apple supports their hardware for a ridiculously long time Soul_of_Wit Tuesday #15
Once you get a Mac, you'll never go back. nt Trueblue Texan Tuesday #18
Every desktop I've ever had I've built myself. It's fun, you save money and you get a depth of understanding of your Fil1957 Tuesday #13
So have I charliea Tuesday #22
A few years ago I really wanted to build a laptop, and the kit I saw was pretty good. If it was a little more expensive Fil1957 Tuesday #32
Also hard drives Bluetus Tuesday #16
I just bought a prebuilt gaming PC in late February. Grumpy Old Guy Tuesday #19
64GB of RAM cost me $153 last year. Same product today is $839 tinrobot Tuesday #20
If we slow AI, it's liking horse and buggy drivers yelling at cars. Melon Tuesday #23
China doesn't care about killing jobs or the environment. FascismIsDeath Tuesday #31
I work on a competitive industry Melon Tuesday #35
Horses? Not even close. It's more like car companies hoarding all the steel. tinrobot Tuesday #37
You left something else out jmowreader Tuesday #24
I had my newest machine custom made with a nice nVidia card that has 16GB of VRAM. FascismIsDeath Tuesday #30
M2 SSDs pricing has gone insane. yourout Tuesday #33
Remember when the fiber optic market collapsed because it built out too far, too fast ? eppur_se_muova Tuesday #36
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Here's what data centers ...