I was just thinking in the back of my head about how cheap LEDs have made types of lighting that would’ve cost way too much (both to install, and in electricity usage) no longer stupidly expensive.

For example, I noticed on Amazon some cheap furniture that has LEDs/power outlets sort of integrated right into them. Looks pretty cyberpunk-ish to my eyes. And I know years ago that sort of thing would’ve been marked up to high heavens.

Fancy lighting in general has changed drastically in price/design.

So…what are some things, due to changes in demand or changes in tech or changes in anything…that would’ve been really expensive back in the day, but which no longer seem to be, making them more frugal than they used to be?

  • AFK BRB ChocolateEnglish
    351·
    7 months ago

    I always used to figure a decent desktop computer would cost me between $2k and $3k. That’s going back to the early 90s. But even though the value of a dollar has plummeted since then, you can get a decent desktop for significantly less, maybe half.

    • otacon239English
      131·
      7 months ago

      I was able to build a desktop capable of 4k60 for around $1500, and I overbuilt in places. You can definitely do okay at $1000 or less if you’re aiming for lower resolutions these days.

      • AFK BRB ChocolateEnglish
        71·
        7 months ago

        Yep, for sure. And you can get a serviceable system for closer to $500, though you aren’t going to pay high end games.

        • datavoidEnglish
          30·
          7 months ago

          Where do you source cheap parts? Maybe its a Canada thing, but things are still not cheap in my experience

          • FermionEnglish
            30·
            7 months ago

            Microcenter is the gold standard for cheap PC parts, but they don’t sell much online and they have very limited locations.

            Beyond that, Newegg and amazon will have sales quite frequently that make a budget builds possible.

            In the US $500 might get you a decent office desktop, but I would say to expect closer to $800 minimum for a PC with a dedicated gpu.

            • IonAddisOPEnglish
              10·
              7 months ago

              FYI, Newegg got sold to some company a few years back and is no longer the geek nirvana it once was. So YMMV if you use it. It can still be good, it’s just not as central as it used to be to computer geekdom.

              • FermionEnglish
                10·
                7 months ago

                Yeah RIP tigerdirect and old Newegg.

                B&H has been a good experience, but their pricing tends to be a bit high with only a handful of good deals.

                There’s no consistently great place to buy pc components online as far as I’m aware. Amazon is rife with sketchy sellers, Newegg will sell you damaged goods and blame you on the return, best buy hides/mislabels specs, and everywhere else is expensive.

                • TrainguyromEnglish
                  10·
                  7 months ago

                  Dude I’m still salty that CompUSA merged into TigerDirect right around the time TigerDirect got sketchy

          • AFK BRB ChocolateEnglish
            10·
            7 months ago

            For those really cheap ones, you’re probably talking prefab - hard to complete with them on the low end last I looked (which, admittedly, has been some years). Things like this.