Building a R15,000 gaming PC — Local vs Amazon

It is currently substantially more expensive buying an entry-level desktop gaming PC using components from Amazon.com than acquiring the same system through a local outlet.

South African gamers are generally critical of the seemingly excessive markups on PC parts like graphics cards (GPU) and processors compared to their recommended retail prices (RRPs) in larger markets like the US, UK, or the European Union.

This often ignores the significant additional costs that must be considered — such as VAT, import duties, shipping fees, and foreign exchange forward cover contracts — before a profit margin is added.

Furthermore, GPU board partners in particular have often complained that the RRPs that AMD and Nvidia put on their graphics cards are out of touch with the prices they have to charge to turn a reasonable profit from the sale of these products.

Nevertheless, several MyBroadband comparisons have found that Amazon can be substantially cheaper for many lighter PC components — such as storage and RAM. That was even when including VAT, taxes, and shipping costs.

Amazon is the world’s biggest online store and offers an extensive range of computer parts and peripherals.

It also offers a large third-party marketplace through which sellers can list and sell their products, with the option that Amazon fulfil the order.

However, with the rand weakening significantly since we last performed those comparisons, this is no longer the case.

Buying local currently works out to be much cheaper, at least if you get your parts from Evetech.

While not always a leader in terms of customer service, the Centurion-based online shop is often the most affordable.

Using Evetech’s prices, MyBroadband configured an entry-level desktop gaming PC that is powerful enough to run popular online multiplayer games at medium to high settings above 60 frames per second.

We aimed for a price of no more than R15,000 on our locally-sourced build and took the cheapest prices for the same or closest components available from Amazon.com that ship directly to South Africa.

Despite being nearly identical in almost every regard, buying the components from Amazon.com would cost over R5,500 — or 38% — more than when buying them through Evetech.

Unlike in the past, not a single one of the components from Amazon.com worked out to be cheaper than in South Africa.

If you still decide to go the Amazon route, it would be highly recommended to avoid the gaming case and power supply.

The former cost a whopping R2,807.60 (or 168%) more than when bought through Evetech. That was likely because of the expensive shipping costs for its larger volumetric weight.

The table below compares the prices of an entry-level gaming PC with a local cost below R15,000 when bought from Evetech compared to confirming the same system via Amazon.com.

While these findings show that buying local will work out cheaper, it is quite possible that local shops’ prices might reach parity with Amazon.com in the coming months.

The stock included in our comparison could’ve been bought a few weeks ago when the rand was much stronger against the dollar — meaning their prices are effectively “lagging” behind.

As stores and distributors refill their shelves and warehouses at the current exchange rate, they will pay more for the same parts, pushing prices up.

Therefore, if you are looking to buy a gaming rig at a good price, now is likely a better time than in the coming months.

Another popular local PC hardware store — Dreamware Tech —  told MyBroadband that it was very likely tech gear would soon see price increases due to the rand’s weak state.

“In some instances, we have already seen suppliers increasing prices on certain stock,” Dreamware Tech said.

It also warned that this could have a prolonged impact.

“Generally when the rate of exchange (RoE) drops so significantly, it sadly affects pricing over a longer period of time,” Dreamware Tech said.

“Stock purchased at the current RoE would have to be sold off before a drop in pricing occurs with distribution channels, as they need to cover their overall expenses from the RoE drop.”

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