NZXT Goes Full Rent-A-Center by Launching Subscription PC Service

Some things are meant to beryllium rented: cars, homes, and immoderate higher-end cameras. Smartphones and gaming PCs should not beryllium connected that list. (Don’t connection maine astir the smartphone thing; we shouldn’t beryllium leasing smartphones similar they’re cars.) But NZXT is banking connected you not taking my advice, arsenic the PC shaper has launched a caller programme wherever you tin rent a rig for arsenic debased arsenic $59 (peripherals not included).

Dubbed the NZXT Flex, the subscription programme allows gamers entree to a brand-new PC operation with escaped upgrades each 2 years. You tin cancel anytime; you person to instrumentality the system, arsenic NZXT explicitly states that this isn’t a rent-to-own service. Your subscription besides comes with 24/7 lawsuit work and a beingness warranty. However, determination are limits to the warranty, arsenic it doesn’t screen “exceptions lone for cases of negligence, theft, oregon intentional damage.”

And successful lawsuit you’re wondering, this won’t effect successful a hard enquiry connected your credit. NZXT mightiness bash a brushed enquiry during the verification process. Now, if you don’t wage oregon instrumentality the system, the institution mightiness notation you to a postulation bureau “as a past resort.”

Subscription pricing

According to The Verge, NZXT has been moving its Flex subscription work for a fewer months. Since its inception, the institution has tweaked the exemplary structure. The existent iteration of the work has 3 subscription tiers: Player One, Player Two, and Player Three. Player One is the $59 entry-level tier of the plan, offering a desktop PC with an Intel Core i5-12400F CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, 16GB DDR4 3,200MHz RAM, and a 500GB NVMe M.2 SSD. NZXT recommends the tier arsenic being “for the mean gamer connected modular settings.” A coagulated configuration volition nett you bully framework rates connected astir games. However, those rates volition driblet importantly if you’re funny successful 4K gaming.

If you privation thing with a spot much oomph, there’s the $119 Player Two mid-tier. This tier is for “enthusiasts to play the latest releases astatine large FPS.” That bumps you up to an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, 16GB DDR4 3200 MHz RAM, and a 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD. It’s decidedly a measurement up and should nutrient immoderate superior framework rates. However, those with 4K gaming connected their brains volition request thing adjacent much powerful. That’s wherever Player Three, the $169 top-tier, comes in. Specifically targeting those connected the hunt for “cutting borderline show and 4K gameplay,” this tier brings a 16-core, 3.4GHz Intel Core i7-13700KF processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti GPU, 32G DDR5 5600 Mhz RAM, and 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD.

No substance which tier you choose, determination volition beryllium an further $50 interest for “setup and shipping.”

Subscription vs. Preconfigured vs. DIY

Alright, present let’s get into immoderate math. If you spell with the Player One tier for 2 years, you’ll beryllium shelling retired $1,416. Player Two and Three volition outgo $2,856 and $4,056, respectively. Yeeesh! For that benignant of money, you tin physique your ain PC with much almighty specs—think RTX 4080 oregon adjacent 4090.

I went to a mates of fashionable desktop PC manufacturers to spot if their preconfigured systems were cheaper. Something I instantly noticed is that each preconfigured strategy was much almighty and outgo little than 2 years of the Player Three tier. Two of the desktops were adjacent cheaper than the Player Two tier, and each strategy besides had much almighty specs.

I started with Dell and the Alienware Aurora R16, which costs $3,699.99 (Intel Core i9 14900KF, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, 32GB DDR5, 5600 MT/s RAM, and 2 TB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD). Next, there’s the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 (Intel) with RTX 4080 Super GPU. It costs $2,649.99 and has an Intel Core i9-14900KF CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, 32GB DDR5-5200MHz RAM, and 2 TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Performance TLC Opal SSD. And finally, I went implicit to HP’s tract and recovered the HP Omen 45L Gaming Desktop GT22-2085t. It costs $2,289.99 and comes with Intel Core i7-14700K, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER GPU, 16GB DDR5-5200 Mhz RAM, and 1 TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe TLC M.2 SSD.

Okay, present let’s look astatine gathering retired a system. I stayed connected NZXT’s tract to physique a strategy from scratch utilizing the astir costly components, employing the aforesaid process for the CPU and GPU. For the case, I went with the H9 Elite, presently connected merchantability for $169.99, a brace of the Kraken Elite 360 RGB fans ($299.99 each), a F140 RGB DUO Twin Pack ($84.99), a C1500 Platinum ATX 3.1 powerfulness proviso ($369.99), and Intel® Z790 ATX Motherboard ($299.99), a NZXT Control Hub ($34.99), an Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition Gaming Graphics Card ($1,976.59), and an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D CPU ($546.82) oregon an Intel Core i9-13900K CPU ($476.14) depending connected your preference. 

If you take the AMD CPU, the expansive full is $4,048.35, portion Intel fans volition wage $3977.67. Both prices are little than a two-year Player 3 subscription.

NZXT’s programme mightiness beryllium bully for radical who are connected the obstruction astir making the leap to PC gaming and privation to dip their toes successful the water. It could besides beryllium a chill mode to guarantee your rig ever has the champion specs—it depends connected however coagulated NZXT’s upgrade programme is. Consumers looking for a strategy volition beryllium amended disconnected either snagging a preconfigured rig oregon gathering their own.