Current Events > High End Gaming PCs BANNED in 6 States including California

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DepreceV2
07/27/21 5:42:51 PM
#1:


https://nichegamer.com/2021/07/27/high-end-gaming-pcs-banned-in-six-us-states-after-california-energy-bill-limits-sales-on-high-performance-pcs/

US States California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have banned the sale of high-end gaming PCs under a new energy bill.

The California Energy Bill was written in 2017, and recently went into effect. This led to several US States outside of California joining in; effectively banning high-end pre-built gaming PCs.

The state had recently published a paper looking into the power efficiency of computer gaming. They claim in their findings is that computer gaming in California consumed 4.1 terawatt hours in 2016, costing roughly $700 million USD in energy bills. They list consoles with taking a bulk of the emissions at 66%, and desktop computers at 31%. In spite of this, consoles are seemingly exempt from the bill.

As an answer to this, Dell has pulled the sale of seven of its eight Alienware gaming desktops from those states. Only the Alienware Aurora R12 Gaming Desktop is widely available; packing a i5 11400F, a GTX 1650 Super, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The other R12s which are restricted on shipping feature one major component different; such as a 1TB harddrive or different graphics cards.

The disclaimer reads This product cannot be shipped to the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont or Washingtondue to power consumption regulations adopted by those states. Any orders placed that are bound for those states will be canceled. Those disclaimers are not seemingly on Amazon, but will likely be mentioned closer to checkout.



A screenshot of the disclaimer spread on Twitter. While some had worried about the bill being an issue for game development studios and AI researchers, this regulation only seems to affect personal computers. Servers, workstations, and the aforementioned gaming consoles seem to be unaffected.

For now, you can still work around this by upgrading the PC after purchase; or build your own system entirely which we will have a guide on in the next few days.

We have reached out for comment from Dell, Digital Storm, Origin PC, CyberPowerPC, Maingear PC, NZXT ,and others.
This is Niche Gamer Tech. In this column, we regularly cover tech and things related to the tech industry. Please leave feedback and let us know if theres tech or a story you want us to cover!

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Ratchetrockon
07/27/21 5:43:27 PM
#2:


Ye gotta buy the parts individually

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CADE FOSTER
07/27/21 5:44:17 PM
#3:


pre builts are ripoffs alienware especially
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BloodMoon7
07/27/21 5:44:29 PM
#4:


They Targeted Gamers

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yemmy
07/27/21 5:44:38 PM
#5:


Lol

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nothanks1
07/27/21 5:44:48 PM
#6:


So um
They're saying to save money building a better one?
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DepreceV2
07/27/21 5:45:26 PM
#7:


BloodMoon7 posted...
They Targeted Gamers

https://youtu.be/s-09gNDsPzQ

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Reminder: On March 2nd, 2021, Texas removed mask mandates and allowed 100% capacity for businesses.
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Halo478
07/27/21 5:46:02 PM
#8:


nothanks1 posted...
So um
They're saying to save money building a better one?
basically anyone can build a better cheaper pc than any prebuilt

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DepreceV2
07/27/21 5:47:14 PM
#9:


Halo478 posted...
basically anyone can build a better cheaper pc than any prebuilt

Pretty much

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Jagr_68
07/27/21 5:49:06 PM
#10:


Gamers not only annoying as hell demographic but a danger to the environment huh

Who knew lol

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Wii_Shaker
07/27/21 5:49:08 PM
#11:


CADE FOSTER posted...
pre builts are ripoffs alienware especially
Not always. You can get deals on pre-builts if you know where to go.

Piecing together a machine has actually become more expensive depending on the build.

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GMAK2442
07/27/21 5:50:37 PM
#12:


I think the size of the card take too much energy too. Good news. Salute!

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alphagamble
07/27/21 5:51:33 PM
#13:


So are Tumble Dryers banned in the USA?

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BipBapBam
07/27/21 5:51:45 PM
#14:


Why does it feel like everyone and their mother knows how to build an entire PC

Did I get skipped on that class in high school or something

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_BlueMonk
07/27/21 5:51:53 PM
#15:


i mean

in this case, they're saving people from making the mistake of buying a shitty overpriced alienware computer.

nice job california.

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#16
Post #16 was unavailable or deleted.
EmbraceOfDeath
07/27/21 5:52:02 PM
#17:


DepreceV2 posted...
US States California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have banned the sale of high-end gaming PCs under a new energy bill.
What is the actual content of the energy bill they're referencing? Because this is an extremely loaded statement.

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CADE FOSTER
07/27/21 5:52:16 PM
#18:


youtube exists no need for anyone to be an expert in anything
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Kolibri X
07/27/21 5:56:57 PM
#19:


Ratchetrockon posted...
Ye gotta buy the parts individually

Tsk, tsk. Don't you care about climate change or was that all lisp service?

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UnholyMudcrab
07/27/21 5:57:47 PM
#20:


BipBapBam posted...
Why does it feel like everyone and their mother knows how to build an entire PC

Did I get skipped on that class in high school or something

It really isn't difficult. The manuals that come with the motherboard and case tell you where everything goes.
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LincolnDuncan
07/27/21 5:58:12 PM
#21:


I live in Vermont and this is rude.

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Ratchetrockon
07/27/21 5:59:07 PM
#22:


Kolibri X posted...
Tsk, tsk. Don't you care about climate change or was that all lisp service?
I dont remember what i said back then i was prob drunk

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CADE FOSTER
07/27/21 5:59:35 PM
#23:


aslong as u dont follow the verges pc building video you should be fine
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LinkDaLunatic
07/27/21 5:59:59 PM
#24:


alright i'm an idiot about this clearly but, why do they give a fuck what people are doing with power if those people are paying for it? like if i pay my electric bill should i not be able to use whatever power i want or are we just going full communism now or what's the dealio
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Makeveli_lives
07/27/21 6:00:17 PM
#25:


CADE FOSTER posted...
pre builts are ripoffs alienware especially
Not in this market. You can buy a high end Alienware for a few hundred more then the highest end graphics card, take the card out, and then sell the rest for profit.

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AwesomeFawful
07/27/21 6:01:52 PM
#26:


DepreceV2 posted...
https://youtu.be/s-09gNDsPzQ
Fuckin beat me to it! Damn it!

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#27
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I4NRulez
07/27/21 6:06:39 PM
#28:


Eh, they arent banning the parts just pre builts right? Just build your own its not too hard.

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Funkydog
07/27/21 6:09:15 PM
#29:


At least they are targeting the source of the problem!

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#30
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creativerealms
07/27/21 11:30:04 PM
#31:


Gamers are the most persecuted minority ever. Except maybe comic book readers.

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Returning_CEmen
07/27/21 11:30:21 PM
#32:


Tag

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VipaGTS
07/27/21 11:32:00 PM
#33:


no they're not. 2 minutes worth of research will disprove that lol...they're not banned at all.

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ChocoboMog123
07/27/21 11:34:49 PM
#34:


Makeveli_lives posted...
Not in this market. You can buy a high end Alienware for a few hundred more then the highest end graphics card, take the card out, and then sell the rest for profit.
Seriously. Computer part prices are through the roof right now. If I wanted to rebuy my 10 year old computer it'd be about the same as when I bought it.

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Smashingpmkns
07/27/21 11:43:34 PM
#35:


So why are the banned ones banned? Bad power supplies or something?
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#36
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#38
Post #38 was unavailable or deleted.
Unclover028
07/27/21 11:59:05 PM
#39:


Only seem to effect pre built, you can still build a quality gaming PC and you'll still save yourself a little money than buying a pre build. Love my gaming PC, I could never give that up.
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008Zulu
07/28/21 12:34:40 AM
#40:


Maybe not have such a shit energy grid in the first place?

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Dark_SilverX
07/28/21 12:35:51 AM
#41:


xbox series s for them

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What_
07/28/21 12:38:50 AM
#42:


wont do shit to stop in energy crisis you still have bitcoin miners sucking up God knows how much more wattage than any gamer not to mention the other infrastructure that needs to be upgraded this is typical government stupidity
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TetsuoS2
07/28/21 12:48:35 AM
#43:


https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/12/california-adopts-first-energy-efficiency-standards-for-pcs-in-us/

On Wednesday Californias Energy Commission (CEC) announced that it would adopt new energy efficiency rules for computers and monitors sold in the state, requiring computers to sip less power when theyre not being used and requiring monitors to be built using high-efficiency screen technology.

According to the CEC, the standards for desktop computers set an energy use target that manufacturers must meet depending on what technology can be found in the unit. The targets center on the performance in idle, sleep and off modes and do not set a limit for active mode, the CEC writes. A first tier of the standards for computers must be met by January 1, 2019, and then a second, more stringent version of the standards must be met by July 1, 2021. The energy commission estimates that these new standards will add $10 to the cost of desktop computers on average, but will save the owner $40 in electricity bills over five years.



It's about Dell selling garbage with high idle power consumption, not about banning gaming PCs.

Stop overreacting.

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RustyFerret
07/29/21 12:31:55 PM
#44:


Meanwhile, the entertainment industry in california can have high end pc's running 24/7 to render movies/special effects, as well as server farms.
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philsov
07/29/21 12:46:30 PM
#45:


alphagamble posted...
So are Tumble Dryers banned in the USA?


Nope. "Having a laundry line and using the sun" is banned by sooo many HoAs and local laws it's ridiculous. "Buy this expensive and energy-consuming machine and don't be poor"
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Cheater87
07/29/21 12:48:49 PM
#46:


California found out how to finally ban video games.

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Pepys Monster
07/29/21 12:52:11 PM
#47:


Cheater87 posted...
California found out how to finally ban video games.
If it's fun, California will ban it.

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