The global pandemic and chip shortage has seen a pretty sharp price increase when it comes to gaming PC technology. So far, this has mostly affected the price of desktop parts. Graphics cards are particularly hard hit with prices that have risen above twice recommended retail in Europe. This has meant that in the current market sometimes a good gaming laptop is actually a much better business than a pc. But it looks like this is going to change.
Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan wrote on Twitter about the rising cost of PC components. He speculates that next-generation gaming laptops will see an increase in price, specifically mentioning the Razer Blade series of gaming laptops that are likely to experience inflation.
Have just had a long meeting to review our series of laptops for next year – it looks like there are significant increases in component costs, etc., and we will see price increases for the next generation of laptops everywhere line (including @Razer Blade) next year.November 30, 2021
Razer Blade laptops, while beautiful for gaming, are not often the best value. Their neat sleek build and skilled interior often place them in the more expensive world, not to mention the gamer-chic branding. We often enjoy them in our reviews, but do not necessarily recommend them for budget reasons. Usually, if you go for one of these laptops, you have already decided to pay a premium, but it might just get bigger.
Hopefully we will see solutions to the chip shortage sooner than expected and these massive price increases will not be too big a problem. Nvidia’s CEO also does not see the chip shortage ending at some point, while AMD’s has been more hopeful. It’s still good to see a CEO talking directly about the reality of prices rising when it comes to their own products. It could also be a good warning to pick up a gaming laptop earlier instead of waiting for the next generation to drop.
There are still some great deals running on laptops, while there is still some overhang from Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. While still in stock, you can grab this Razer Blade 15 for $ 800 off, which may very well be the cheapest we’ve seen this series in a while.
