In an increasingly subscription-based world, it shouldn't be a surprise that the idea will eventually come to gaming PCs.
In a press release, gaming desktop PC builder NZXT revealed a new subscription service where it will send you a gaming rig for as low as $59 a month. There is a catch — you must provide your own mouse, keyboard and monitor.
The program, dubbed NZXT Flex, has apparently existed since at least February of this year, though it appears the program has shifted pricing and PC specs since its initial launch. The newest iteration of the subscription service locks in pricing and a tiered approach to renting gaming PCs.
"At NZXT, we believe everyone should be able to play the games they love," said Bryan de Zayas, NZXT's Head of Marketing, in the press release. "In the past, that meant buying a pre-built PC or building your own. Our new Flex subscription service offers gamers more flexibility and choice, so they can focus on what really matters – playing the games they love."
The program features three levels: Player: One, Player: Two and Player: Three, with the first being the entry-level subscription starting at $59 a month. That level gives you an H5 Flow tower on an Intel Core i5 14400F and Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU.
Player: Two ups the CPU to an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and an Nvidia RTX 4070 Super GPU, costing $119 a month. Finally, Player: Three offers an Intel Core i7-137000KF CPU and an Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti Super GPU, which will hit your wallet for $169 monthly.
These may not be some of the best gaming PCs on the market, but they seem pretty solid.
All three tiers have a required $50 "setup and shipping fee," including a return label for whenever you cancel the sub. Subscriptions are month to month and can be canceled.
If you try the program, NZXT says that a new or like-new Flex rig will be shipped within three to five days. Free replacements are available, and NZXT says it guarantees hardware upgrades every two years.
For reference, the rig in the Player: One plan would cost $758 for the first year (the monthly cost plus the $50 initial fee). The next tier would run you $1548, and the highest would be $2078 for year one.
It's difficult to determine the total cost of buying one of these PCs since the full specs aren't available. We reached out to NZXT to get more information about the full specifications of the towers they provide and will update you if they provide that information.
What I could do was approximate the cost using PCPartPicker. I assembled a build, which you can see at this link, with the same processor, a 4060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, a compatible motherboard and a case for around $965. That means you can own a similar computer for around $200 more than the price of one year of renting.
Despite gaming PC building getting more plug-and-play than in previous eras, we won't disparage anyone who wants to pursue a pre-built or buy one of the best gaming laptops.
