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brody_hamer • yesterday at 12:22 PM • 2 replies • view on HN

For a period of time I would rent a windows box with gpu from aws, install my game, and play it over parsec (a Remote Desktop tool designed for low latency). It was around $0.40/hour for a high-end gaming rig for the ~40 hours I needed to binge my new game. I play new games infrequently, so the cost analysis was “a new computer for $1500, or rent one for the time I need it for $15.”

It’s just a bummer that this process wasn’t a bit easier. I recall there was some setup involved.


Replies

simoncion • today at 12:08 AM

> ...a new computer for $1500...

How often do you buy new computers? I paid something like 2500 USD for my Threadripper machine (including 128 GB of RAM and graphics card) ~seven years ago. Between now and then I paid ~580 USD (at the end of last year) to get a new graphics card and that's it. After last year's upgrade, I've yet to run into a game that it doesn't play reasonably, and I've also gotten a lot of work done with it over all the years I've had it.

The console lifecycles being like a decade long has been a fantastic blessing for us PC gamers. Most AAA games are intended to run well on those ancient almost-PCs, which means that our old actually-PCs usually play the games just fine.

bjord • yesterday at 12:39 PM

from your perspective this feels like a positive, then, no? cheaper price per hour, no requirement that you use those hours all at once?

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