High-End Gaming Computers Banned In 6 States Due To California Energy Bill

Gamers in six states may have some trouble getting their hands on certain gaming personal computers (PCs) in the future.

According to Niche Gamer on Tuesday (July 27), the California Energy Bill recently went into effect, preventing consumers from buying high-end, pre-built gaming personal computers (PCs). Washington, Vermont, Hawaii, Colorado, and Oregon have joined California in banning these products in their states, as well. Gaming consoles are exempt from this law.

The Golden State published a study back in 2019 on the power efficiency of computer gaming. Findings show that computer gaming in California consumed 4.1 terawatt-hours in 2016, costing roughly $700 million in energy bills.

"They list consoles with taking a bulk of the emissions at 66%, and desktop computers at 31%. In spite of this, consoles are seemingly exempt from the bill," reporters noted.

Dell, in response, added a disclaimer on their website regarding seven of its eight Alienware gaming desktops in those states:

"This product cannot be shipped to the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont or Washington due to power consumption regulations adopted by those states. Any orders placed that are bound for those states will be canceled."

The company also confirmed this in a statement to The Register:

"Yes, this was driven by the California Energy Commission (CEC) Tier 2 implementation that defined a mandatory energy efficiency standard for PCs – including desktops, AIOs and mobile gaming systems. This was put into effect on July 1, 2021. Select configurations of the Alienware Aurora R10 and R12 were the only impacted systems across Dell and Alienware."

A possible workaround to this law is to build your own gaming PC by purchasing separate parts, Niche Gamer suggested.