This Is Why “Gaming” Adds So Much To The Price Of Hardware

Gaming is an expensive hobby, not only for the price of games but also rising costs of hardware. We are all aware of Microsoft’s questionable stance on Windows 11 requirements, and the same is happening in AAA games. For example, DOOM: The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle require an SSD and a hardware-capable ray tracing GPU. I can understand the SSD requirement because everything runs faster on those, be that SATA or NVMe, compared to a spinner. But the ray tracing requirement almost takes the situation into Windows 11 TPM territory.

Is Ray Tracing Overhyped?

Ray tracing was first introduced by Nvidia in the RTX 2000 series in 2018 and later with AMD’s RX 6000 series in 2020, but the cold fact is that ray tracing heavily impacts game performance, with many gamers turning the feature off to regain those valuable FPS (frames per second) and a more playable experience.

Logically, these kinds of requirements, like Windows 11, push people to upgrade their hardware, such is the nature of fast-moving technology and photorealistic gaming. The two games mentioned are showcase examples of the very latest in game design, but in order to play them, many gamers will need to upgrade at least some of their hardware.

Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade!

In a quite astonishing move, AMD confirmed that RX 5000 and 6000 series GPUs would no longer receive game optimisation updates. However, since I began writing this article, AMD has backtracked on this announcement following a backlash. Clearly, AMD realised the implications of this erroneous move – many gamers would certainly have jumped ship to Nvidia, which holds around 75% of the market!

Is The Gaming Label All Marketing Hype?

You can be damn sure that any computer hardware being sold as ‘gaming’ will be more expensive than most other components and peripherals. This is especially true of motherboards, which are given fancy names like ROG Strix Crosshair Hero. However, it’s worth pointing out that these high-end motherboards usually have an abundance of features that run-of-the-mill motherboards don’t, such as BIOS LEDs, RGB, AIO pin-outs, more robust VRMs, and many more features. It’s the same with keyboards and mice (mouses in Argentina, lol), which will inevitably be described as gaming keyboards and mice. Many gamers swear by mechanical keyboards, but frankly, having used both mechanical and membrane, I have never noticed any difference in performance.

I bought a Logitech G213 Gaming Keyboard last year to replace my Corsair Strafe RGB Mechanical keyboard, with the G213 being a membrane design, and for me, there’s no difference at all when gaming. On the other hand, I am a sucker for all things gaming-related, and over the years, I have probably forked out more than I should have for hardware labelled as gaming. I also have a Logitech G502 Hero Gaming Mouse, which is said to be the most popular mouse for gamers, but the fact is that many of these gaming products have features that I will probably never use, such as adjustable mouse DPI and a plethora of switchable buttons.

Gaming Hardware Usually Lasts Longer

Yes, it’s more expensive than basic hardware such as mice and keyboards, but the fact is, I still use many of my gaming peripherals, some of which are nearly fifteen years old, which is a testimony to the built-in quality of gaming hardware. Many gamers are also very well versed in computer tech and will insist on matching every component and peripheral to their needs. And I haven’t even mentioned gaming monitors, where there’s a staggering array of choice, with refresh rate, screen type, and resolution being of the utmost importance to gamers. I have an LG 32″ 1440p 144hz monitor, and frankly, I wouldn’t want to go back to 1080p 75hz.

What are your thoughts? Do you buy gaming hardware?

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