Even the ones that trick you by starting out cheap
Even the ones that trick you by starting out cheap
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Turns out PC's are a cheap hobby.
Many hobbies are cheap if you choose wisely out of your possible interests; and then go with cheap, good enough options rather than getting swept up in online echo chambers (where nothing less than top tier is acceptable).
Yeah but they don't pull the dopamine like the expensive ones do
Motorcycles: Excuse me
Sports cars: Hold my beer
Planes:
lmao, what? Ground floor for building a usable gaming PC is $1,000. A lot more if you want to play new games with decent graphics.
And those games cost money too.
Realistically you're spending $5,000 on a nice PC, monitors, speakers, accessories, and a collection of games. You're going to need upgrades and additional games over time so even more money.
Compared to other "adult hobbies" such as cars even the highest end PC costs peanuts.
A relatively cheap PC with Factorio and you are set. You won't spend much on food either, so win-win.
5k? I don't believe it. When in get home I'll total up my setup and compare notes
EDIT- So I bought some stuff at different prices than you'd get today (cough GPU) so I will list a few prices for.
PC Hardware
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Intel i5 10400 - $180
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RAM 16GB DDR4 - $40
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Mobo - $180
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (Used on ebay) - $215, New is about $450
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AverMedia HD2 Capture Card - $150 (now $99)
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PCIE Wifi Adapter (Amazon) - $20
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250Gb SSD (system and files, gift) - $80
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2Tb HDD (Games, tried to save on budget) - $80
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PSU - $120
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Total Spent - $985
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Total Value - $1300
Peripherals
- 40" TV - $200 new at time, got on clearance for $100. Now ~$130-150
- 24" gaming monitor (used) - $200 retail discontinued, paid $120 used, $100 on ebay now
- 4 Hard Drive dock (gift) - $100
- RGB keyboard pad (gift) - $40
- keyboard base - $120
- White switches - $40
- Custom etsy keys - $40
- Logitech mouse - $80
- USB Hub (Ebay) - $37
- Stream Deck (Ebay) - $80
- Microphone (Used Ebay) - $70, new is $140
- Headphones -$100
Total Spent - $787 (927 if free was included)
All in - I'm at about $2k and can run Space Marine 2 and Warzone.
I don't buy it either. My PC + an upgrade 3 years later (with a Ryzen 5800X and a used RTX 3090!) cost me about €2,000. If you want to push it, you add the TV (€1,000) because it serves as a monitor and the whole home cinema setup because the computer is hooked to it (probably about €1,000 as well).
That's 4k and I'm stretching it. Buy a good monitor for €300, monitoring speakers or headphones for €250 and you're already set for a high end experience.
As for games... C'mon, y'all know we sail the high seas.
I can see how it would get to 5K including games over a long enough period of time but realistically most hobbies accrue cost over time.
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That's only if you are in the subset of PC enjoyers who like state of the art equipment, expensive accessories and expensive recent games.
I consider myself a PC nerd but 5K is more than I spent in the last 10 years on the hobby. I've built my main rig for <1K, own a few raspberries and my home server is an old work laptop. It absolutely doesn't have to be an expensive hobby.