The electrical cost of gaming is very little. The hardware cost is another matter entirely.
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The price of graphics cards will continue to tank and will stay low for at least 2 years - Here's why
- Thread starter lovelyhead
- Start date
The electrical cost of gaming is very little. The hardware cost is another matter entirely.
The electrical cost of gaming will start to become noticeable when electric costs 60p per KWh. 3 hours of gaming on a PC that consumes 550 watts will cost £1. Add that £1 to all the other electric you are using each day and it may be one of the things people consider cutting back on. £1 for 3 hours entertainment is still pretty cheap but over the course of a month it will cost a noticeable amount for low income families.
You are quite right about the hardware cost.
Soldato
- Joined
- 21 Apr 2007
- Posts
- 2,544
The other interesting factor at play is the fact you simply don't need anything above 6800XT / 3080 performance unless you have a 4k display and want over ultra 100fps all the time or a high resolution VR HMD.
If you game at 1440p there is very little reason or incentive to upgrade beyond getting something new and rainbow shiny.
What's going to be disappointing though is Nvidia (who basically set the industry level pricing atm) won't make any adjustments until 40 series refresh at the earliest, they will ride it out as long as they can like they did with Turing.
If you game at 1440p there is very little reason or incentive to upgrade beyond getting something new and rainbow shiny.
What's going to be disappointing though is Nvidia (who basically set the industry level pricing atm) won't make any adjustments until 40 series refresh at the earliest, they will ride it out as long as they can like they did with Turing.
Who games for three hours every day? If you have 3 hours spare every day then you might look at using that time more profitably. Like educating yourself for a better paying job.
Or want RT.
Loads of people do. You must not have kids!
As for Ray Tracing, stick with what you have, which games just fine, or spend hundreds of pounds during the greatest recession in living memory for a feature that makes like difference to the game play experience?
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Yep. Both my kids can game for 6 hours a day (yeah yeah screen time and all that but we are a house of two adult software devs who love PCs and both kids are fine academically.), Both have their own PC, I do as well and when all of us are gaming that's a crap load of power being sucked. So much so that we are getting a quote for 5kw solar and a battery as otherwise if energy keeps soaring it becomes unviable.
I take exception to this statement. Very right wing.
Just make more money! Why don't you just use your spare time to get a second job!
You don't have 3 hours leisure time per day? Wow, hope you are enjoying life. You work your evenings?
Also just because someone might have the disposable income to spend a lot on energy, doesnt mean they will voluntarily do so.
I don't care about right or left politics but I agree what a miserable outlook to life.
You won't believe the situations men get themselves in slaving their lives away for money they never actually see just for their wives or children who might not even respect and appreciate them.
UK Household Energy Bills Forecast to Hit £5,000 a Year
Average household energy bills in the UK are just going to keep rising, with one forecaster setting the annual figure above £5,000 ($6,110) next year.
www.bloomberg.com
Cap could be set at £5,038 by April 2023. Discretionary spending is going to collapse in the UK if that happens. Shops, Pubs, Clubs, all manner of businesses will close because they will be hit with the double whammy of no customers and uncapped energy bills. If Westminster don't do something, it will be like the 1920's.
There is no way that GPU's don't collapse in price at that point.
I'm a work to live type so I most definitely not defined by what job I have. If I don't have any spare time I don't see much point in being alive, sounds like slavery to me...you dont have at least 3 hours per day for leisure time
Soldato
Lol. This was the guy arguing with me on the other thread. When times get tight and people are finding a tin of beans is 50% up, all the pennies will count down the line. Also you cant game on his 3 hour budget when there's a national/regional blackout!
Here he was stating the same stuff in that thread @lovelyhead
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People will consider power limiting their card, capping FPS and lowering settings to save money.
or just don't buy a high end card in the first place.
Caporegime
Not many rigs are pulling 550w consistently for 3 hours either. That's a 3080 with a 12900k and no undervolting territory.
The main argument for prices of GPU's falling and staying low is that the economy is going to be crippled and people won't have the money to pay for one.
Then you don't renew, and you will automatically be put onto the government price capped tariff which is currently around 28p/KWh until October.
The dilemma at the moment is whether to take a renewal fix at a rate much higher than the current price cap just in case the price cap rises even higher than that (and more again next March), or to just go onto the price capped tariff and ride it out.
Soldato
I'll see your 4k and raise you;
A quote for energy I received today.
Not a chance I'll be able to afford any luxuries come October, every bit of spare money I have is being saved for the inevitable hard winter period!