Rental providers are in every single place now. If you happen to can’t outright afford one thing expensive, you’ll be able to normally discover somebody who will lend it to you for a month-to-month charge, whether or not it’s a house, a automotive, a sofa, or a DVD.
So, possibly it’s not all that shocking that somebody is now renting out full-fat gaming desktop PCs, but it surely is shocking to listen to that that “somebody” is case and accent maker NZXT.
The NZXT Flex program at a look
The NZXT Flex program is actually a month-to-month subscription for a beefy gaming PC. Costs vary from $59 to $169 per thirty days primarily based on {hardware} configurations. The plans haven’t any contracts so you’ll be able to cancel at any time, and return transport is free with a pay as you go label.
The corporate is providing three totally different pre-built fashions headlined by Nvidia RTX 3050, 4070 Tremendous, and 4070 Ti Tremendous graphics playing cards so as of ascending value. (The promo web page says the Participant One package deal makes use of an RTX 4060, however the RTX 3050 is at the moment reside on the order web page.) Every pre-built package deal is available in an NZXT-branded case: the H5 Circulate, H5 Elite, and H7 Circulate, respectively.
However a gaming PC isn’t a sofa—it would want periodic refreshes to remain related. In keeping with the Flex program’s FAQ part, every PC package deal will get a free improve after you’ve stayed subscribed for 2 years. (The precise particulars of the improve aren’t spelled out, however presumably NZXT will bump the tiered packages up sooner or later.) To swap out your present subscription PC for a extra highly effective one earlier than then, it’ll be a flat $100 cost plus the elevated price of the upper tier.
To be clear, that is not a financing plan or a rent-to-own setup. If you happen to hire an NZXT PC for ten years after which cancel, you’ll nonetheless need to ship the PC again regardless of having paid way over what it’s price.
Is the Flex program price it?
Slightly serviette math (and assistance from PCPartPicker) exhibits that over the course of two years, you’ll be paying considerably greater than every PC is price by way of {hardware} in any respect three tiers. Granted, that serviette math doesn’t account for the markup of a pre-built PC, the transport prices, or the hassle-free service.
Besides, renting a gaming PC is certainly a “dangerous deal” in purely monetary phrases. (And also you don’t must do a lot analysis to find out that as a result of NZXT is outright promoting near-identical packages on the identical web page.) However that’s additionally true of just about any rental service.
The worth proposition right here is two-fold: you don’t need to entrance all of the money of a big-ticket buy, and you’ve got the pliability to cancel or improve on a whim. Plus, NZXT is providing a “lifetime guarantee” with these Flex PCs, with free swap-outs for any critical points besides theft.
So, the NZXT Flex program looks like an honest possibility should you simply can’t cobble collectively the 4 figures wanted for a top-notch gaming PC. Mix it with an Xbox Sport Go subscription for quick entry to plenty of high-quality video games. It’s additionally a low-hassle possibility should you’re new to PC gaming and wish to strive it with low dedication. (That’s particularly helpful should you’re a console gamer who’s intimidated by the platform.)
Some caveats to bear in mind
There are two provisos that give me pause.
The NZXT Flex program doesn’t embrace a mouse, keyboard, monitor, headset, or audio system with the PC. If NZXT desires this to be a one-stop store for potential PC avid gamers, it’s a tough ask if the potential purchaser additionally wants to purchase a whole bunch of {dollars} price of equipment.
NZXT’s FAQ additionally says that once you subscribe you’ll get a “new or like-new Gaming PC.” That seems like NZXT shall be refurbishing models after they’re returned and transport them out to new subscribers. It is smart from a enterprise standpoint—the overhead can be huge in the event that they constructed new PCs for each buyer and bought the returned ones—however I can’t assist however really feel like a whole lot of gamers wouldn’t really feel nice about paying a premium for what’s basically used {hardware}.
