Gamers Nexus claims NZXT’s Flex PC rental program is a ‘scam’ - The Verge
Got an hour to spare?
Now, now, they didn't prove it's a scam. They just proved it would be cheaper and potentially safer to take out an illegal, maybe mafia backed payday loan to outright buy the equivalent computer. And you'd own the machine at the end of the day
Also that they will raise prices, offer a very consumer unfriendly contract, apply false advertising through influencers and try to bait you into a worse PC by switching specs as soon as you hit rent instead of buy. Also the claimed fps numbers you'd hit remain the same on those lower specced PCs apparently and even then they're not consistent.
Not to mention advertising as rent to own but have explicit language in the contract saying this is not rent to own.
And they proved it was a bait and switch
And that they were making false claims in advertising
Used to like NZXT and suggested them to others. Won't be buying another product from them ever again. This program is pretty outrageous. So tired of this "you'll own nothing".
I loved their Phantom cases back in the day
H440 was a great looking case, even if the airflow was mid
I saw a Phantom on the cover of PC Mag or MaximumPC in a shop in like 2011(?) and that was when I started thinking of computers as more than just machines for edutainment CDs. It was a eureka moment. Computers. Not just what’s happening inside but the outside as well. Cool computers.
(Don’t get me wrong, I think society would be in a better place right now if we were still making quality edutainment CDs. Those games were made with love and I want to give everyone who worked at DK Multimedia a hug.)
But yeah. It wasn’t just a box, it had this striking blue-on-white alien design and decorative LEDs. I’d lowkey love to find an original Phantom and restore it (and remove most of the non-structural metal and replace it with mesh). I remember cases becoming obsolete with old front panel IO but I think worrying about the front panel IO is obsolete in itself now. Unsurprisingly there are no classifieds for a Phantom or a PC inside a phantom in my country right now.
It was that specific case for me, from that specific company. Enshittification is even here for every memory of every magazine cover your remember.
I tend to sit in the "a fool and his money" camp, but yeah, they aren't anywhere even near the budget brand they were in the 2010's. Competition has eaten a lot of that away. Must be desperation.
Not surprising. My gut reaction when I heard about renting gaming PCs was "that can't work", and it's so much worse than I expected. The pricing alone should be enough to turn any informed person away. Easily more than double what would be reasonable. If you know anyone considering this, be sure to steer them away. Friends don't let friends rent from NZXT.
The video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pomC1CfpC0
NZXT has no quality control, fuck them.
This was so much worse than no qc.
QC is the canary in the coal mine as it is reflective of the attitude "business" clowns have about what they are doing IMHO
When I heard about this:
"NZXT? Who buys their garbage?"
Then like, oh yeah, cases... Right.
This is why the news was so startling. I've used their cases many times, great build quality. And I also have a kracken cpu cooler that's kept my i9-10980XE under wraps for 4+years. I'm a fan but I'd never rent a pc part so I'm not the intended market ig.
I actually hope the "influencers" who parroted NZXT's lies get harassed for it, just absolute scum