In late July 2021, manufacturers stopping shipping certain gaming PC models to several US states, notably California.
This is because of new power consumption regulations that came into law earlier in the month.
But what many dont know is that this has been coming a long timesince 2016, to be exact.
So, what exactly is the purpose of the prohibition?
And why is California’s ban on high-end PC hardware a blessing in disguise?
The Title 20 Regulation doesnt just cover the power consumption of computers.
Its Tier-II Standards then applied on July 1, 2021.
Basically, this is what the regulators wish to achieve: for computers to run efficiently.
These regulations are also designed to be cost-effective and technically feasible.
This ensures that changes made to systems will have little or no effect on performance.
The state even included an Energy Consumption Standards matrix that makes it easier to follow.
A typical LED consumes 5 watts of power.
If you keep it on around the clock, it will use 43,200 Watt-hours per year.
And with our current technology, this is easily attainable.
And this maximum power consumption limit may increase depending on adders.
On the other hand, the expandability score measures the amount of internal and external interfaces a computer has.
So if you want a powerful gaming PC, it most likely has more interface ports.
Therefore, your desired computer will have a higher power consumption limit.
It might be time to consider figuring outhow much power your PC actually uses.
Related:A Quick and Dirty Guide to RAM
Surprised Consumers: Is California Banning Gaming PCs?
After all, 46 stateswhich account for 82% of Americansstill allow the sale of these systems.
However, since many people are not familiar with Title 20, it caused alarm among gamers online.
Furthermore, some media outlets added fuel to the fire by proclaiming that California is banning gaming PCs.
But this news cannot be further from the truth.
Computer manufacturers are the real targets of this regulation.
They can no longer sell laptops and PCs if it doesnt conform to the states specifications.
Furthermore, if you look at the expandability scores and adders, powerful gaming PCs will barely be affected.
If you crunch the numbers, the most severely affected computers are affordable, low-power computers.
Related:Laptop vs.
Desktop: Which Should You Get?
This is actually a win-win situation: consumers wont use as much power, thus lowering greenhouse emissions.
It also means you wont have to pay as much in electricity bills to run your gaming rig.
Its high time the tech world follows suit.
After all, what use would we have for our powerful computers if we dont have a livable planet?
