RAM is becoming more expensive – and this also affects gaming laptops. However, instead of using cheaper components or reducing specs, HP is taking an untested path and wants to rent hardware as a subscription.
What strategy is HP pursuing? HP has already begun in the USA to offer certain laptops not only for traditional sale but also as a rental model. Instead of paying the full purchase price, customers can pay monthly installments and use the device for a limited time.
The background includes rising costs for components such as memory. Recently, even studio TT Games lowered the system requirements for the latest LEGO game in response to the difficult situation in the hardware market.
Memory chips for DRAM such as DDR5 and DDR4 memory modules and graphics memory are currently at a record high due to the global memory crisis. If memory prices rise as they have recently, this significantly increases the costs of devices.
Instead of choosing cheaper RAM suppliers, reducing specifications, or drastically increasing prices again, HP is opting for a new subscription model for its in-house Omen gaming hardware (via Wccftech).
The mobile contract for gaming notebooks
How does the subscription work? Users pay a monthly fee for their rented laptop – similar to a smartphone contract. This model could appear attractive to some gamers. The barrier to entry is lowered because a few thousand euros do not have to be paid upfront.
However, there is a crucial difference: at the end, the device typically does not belong to you. In return, subscribers receive a current laptop from the OMEN or Victus series, 24/7 support, and – as a key selling point – the option to replace the device with a new model each year (via Omen & GamestarTech).
In the long run, a rental model can become more expensive than a purchase. Additionally, players lose some control over independent upgrades. The idea behind this, “Hardware as a Service,” is already well-established in the business sector but not yet in the private sector.
What are the contract terms? In addition to the high monthly costs of the subscription model, the terms are also not without (HP). If someone wants to cancel the subscription early after the trial period, they must pay the full amount as a compensatory cancellation fee. This fee can even exceed the original price of the respective model.
And even after paying a compensatory fee, users are required to return the device (PCGamer).
So far, the model has only been launched in the USA. Whether and when HP will bring the model to Europe is currently unclear.
Rising RAM prices are just a symptom of a tense market. Manufacturers are responding with new models – not always to the satisfaction of gamers. How far this will go is also evident from strategies against fraudsters: RAM thieves and fraudsters have become so brazen that a manufacturer is now using a new trick to protect you
