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For anyone with imminent plans to build their first PC or upgrade their existing setup, you should definitely consider doing it now, or at least in the next few months—and not just because of epic holiday deals.
The looming concern in my head, and the heads of other concerned Redditors, is whether President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial tariff promises will be enacted after the start of his second term in 2025.
A presidential candidate’s campaign promises don’t always keep once in office, of course, so there’s a chance that additional tariffs won’t be imposed on goods from other countries. However, looking at Trump’s history with tariffs imposed since his first term, there is a solid chance that PC component prices will go up entirely from the better graphics cards to the better RAM DDR5 it can quickly increase sharply.
What are Trump’s proposed tariffs?
In a Fox News interview In February, Trump was asked about past statements about imposing 60% tariffs on Chinese goods, and he replied, “No, I would say it will probably be more than that.” Similar statements were made throughout the campaign, further cementing the idea of 60% or higher tariffs on goods imported from China.
So, at a campaign demonstration in AugustTrump said: “We have 10 to 20 percent tariffs on foreign countries that have been ripping us off for years.” A broad tariff of 10% or 20% for goods imported from all countries is not necessarily great and will probably increase consumer prices – according to many economic experts and supporters. Fiscal foundation – but it’s the high potential tariff on Chinese goods that is really worrying for PC enthusiasts.
How potential tariffs could affect PC component prices
According to a study published by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), high-performance GPUs could see the biggest price increase among PC components. One example cited was a $900 high-end GPU that could increase to a new price of $1,300 — that’s about a 40% increase.
While post-tariff GPUs will cause the biggest hit to your wallet, the prices of other PC components are expected to increase as well because of US imports. a lot of computer parts from countries in Southeast Asia, such as Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and of course, China.
Newegg Business writes, “Finished components such as DRAM and SSD use domestically produced NAND wafers. The other parts of the component – circuits, controllers and assembly – are imported from all over the world, mainly China.” According to the site, it is “almost impossible to build a PC exclusively from North America”.
Unfortunately, this means that the prices of your PC components will increase. Although some claims have been made about consumers no longer paying for goods, and that it will be the countries that the tariffs are imposed to pay, it is not true – at least, not according to Ed Brzytwa, VP of Commerce CTA International. .
In an interview with Tom’s hardwareBrzytwa said: “Tariffs are regressive taxes that Americans pay. They are not paid by a foreign government. They are taxes that importers in the United States pay and foreign governments and foreign countries do not pay these tariffs.” . He went on to explain that nearly 100% of the cost of tariffs passed on certain Chinese imports — imposed by the Trump and Biden administrations — have been passed on to consumers.
Gaming laptops, peripherals and console prices are expected to increase as well
I would argue that most of the people who build PCs are also hobby gamers, and unfortunately, the gaming industry is expected to be hit pretty hard if the tariffs are imposed.
According to the CTA study mentioned earlier, computer accessories could go up by 10.9% with an average increase in retail cost of about $25. I assume that “computer accessories” includes most peripherals, such as keyboards, mice, microphones, etc.
Monitors are listed as a separate category from the CTA. The study suggests that monitors could increase by 31.2% with an average increase in retail cost of $109. This potential price increase is just the latest push for me to finally upgrade my two monitors to snazzy OLED models.
The CTA says that general laptops could increase in price by 46%, adding an extra $357 on average to the retail cost. With gaming laptops equipped with discrete GPUs, I imagine gaming laptops will see an even sharper price increase.
Finally, video game console prices could increase by almost 40%. By this estimate, the $699 PS5 Pro could end up costing nearly $1,000; the $349 Nintendo Switch OLED can cost as much as $490; and the $499 Xbox Series X could cost nearly $700.
Considering the Nintendo Switch 2 probably has an initial release date of 2025these potential price increases are definitely disheartening. On the plus side, Nintendo has confirmed that the Switch 2 will be backwards compatibleSo I’ll probably just stick with my original Switch if the Switch 2 ends up costing nearly $500.
When will these fees be possible?
It is entirely possible that Trump’s proposed tariffs could be enacted on the first day of his second term: January 20, 2025.
Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, said (via CBS News), “If they decide on day one that they want to use executive authority to put tariffs on Chinese goods, they could probably go ahead and do that.”
Is it likely that the fees will be imposed on the first day? Maybe not. You may have a few months to squeeze in a PC upgrade before higher prices hit, depending on which tasks take priority for the Trump administration.
Inu Manak, a trade policy fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, he told CBS MoneyWatch that Trump will likely enact the tariffs “immediately after taking office,” so buying your PC components as soon as you can will be the smartest way to avoid price increases.
Tips for updating your PC configuration
If you’re not sure where to start with building your first tower or upgrading your PC components, we’ve got you covered. Here are our extensive guides on how to build a PC and how to upgrade your PC to help you through the process.
Or, if you are still in the research phase, trying to find out which GPU can handle the games you want to play, how much RAM you really need, which motherboard to choose for your first creation, and so on, I tried several components of the PC has compiled a long list of our favorite picks:
