Dell gaming PC ‘ban’ explained: Why some Dell PCs are unavailable right now

Dell is one of the largest PC manufacturers in the world with a variety of different offerings. However, some Dell offerings will no longer be available to people who live in six states. The local governments of the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have regulations preventing Dell from selling some of its high-end gaming computers.

While this may come as a surprise to many, it actually took a long time. This situation, wrongly inflated as a “gaming PC ban”, seems to be based more on the company’s ignoring regulations than an unfair imposition by the state government. Let’s break down the reasons for this ban and what it could mean for the PC market.

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Why are certain Dell PCs “locked”?

The news broke last week when a new announcement appeared on the Dell website. Limited to some of the company’s high-end gaming desktops from the Alienware Aurora R10 and R12 series, the message reads as follows:

“This product cannot be shipped to the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, or Washington due to local power regulations. All orders placed for these countries will be canceled. “

writer Marie Oakes first tweeted about this message. Following this, The Register managed to obtain a statement from Dell confirming that the sales restrictions were due to the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Tier 2 implementation, which went into effect July 1, 2021 .

In principle, these gaming PCs do not meet the energy efficiency values ​​required by the regulations of these state governments. As a result, Dell is no longer shipping them to these states.

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Is that a gaming PC ban?

There is no pattern when first looking at the Dell PC configurations that display this message. However, this is far from the case. California’s Title 20 Appliance Efficiency Regulations contain detailed formulas for each class of computer as well as for each component listed under “Adders”. The decisive factor here is that these consumption values ​​are limited to non-active types of use. It’s about the energy a computer consumes when idle or in sleep mode rather than when it is active.

Basically, a computer system and its components must meet the requirements set here. If total idle energy consumption exceeds these limits, it may not be sold in the state where these regulations apply. This was the case with certain Dell gaming computers.

In the news, this has mostly been referred to as a “gaming PC ban,” which it is not. The regulations were merged for almost all electronic devices in 2016, with California taking responsibility for implementation. While there have been revisions, and there will continue to be more and more stringent revisions, this is by no means a blanket ban on gaming PCs.

It’s hardly a ban. The regulation does not target gaming PCs (or even PCs) selectively. In addition, manufacturers have enough time to comply with the regulations.

Not to forget that many of Dell’s full-featured systems appear to meet the new power consumption regulations themselves. It’s not that a powerful PC is automatically unavailable in these states. All in all, it’s clear that the government isn’t after your gaming PC.

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What do these power consumption regulations mean for the PC market?

To the average consumer, the difference is likely to be imperceptible. Many PCs already comply with these regulations and this has not resulted in any reports of negative effects on the end user. Despite the general problem of energy consumption in gaming PC components used for mining cryptocurrencies, the regulations are not really strict and are unlikely to continue in the future.

For now, there are regulations in the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. California has been at the forefront of getting these regulations through, and given the energy-saving potential, more of the US is likely to follow suit.

However, adoption by PC manufacturers shouldn’t be too difficult. For now, Dell seems to be the only one stopping PC shipments, citing the regulations as a reason. However, we expect the PC manufacturers to bring their offers to the specification soon, at least for the states concerned.

These regulations also have no impact on the process of building your own PC for the time being. While there is a chance that these regulations could apply to PC components in the future, they are unlikely to affect the market. The component manufacturers will have some catching up to do with the standards.

So rest assured that your gaming PC purchase shouldn’t be too badly affected anytime soon. You could save a few dollars on your electric bill, however!

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