Recently passed power consumption laws in the US mean that a number of prebuilt Alienware gaming PCs can no longer legally be sold in certain states, it has emerged.
The Register reports (via Vice) that Dell's Alienware Aurora R10 and Aurora R12 gaming PCs will no longer be available to purchase in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, or Washington. According to the company's website, these models will not be shipped to those states as a result of "power consumption regulations". Any orders that had been placed but not yet shipped are to be cancelled.
If you're thinking it might be time to grab a gaming PC that doesn't use too much power, Valve's new handheld could be a shout!
"While our most powerful gaming systems are available in all 50 states, it is accurate that select configurations of the Alienware Aurora R10 and R12 aren't shipping to certain states due to the recent California Energy Commission (CEC) Tier 2 regulations that went into effect on July 1, 2021," Dell told IGN over email. "New models and configurations will meet or exceed these regulations, in line with our long-term focus to address energy and emissions."
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It's no secret that the gaming industry plays a hefty role in contributing to carbon emissions, especially as hardware grows more powerful. California was the first state to take action against increasing power consumption back in 2016, approving energy efficiency standards for PCs under its Appliance Efficiency Regulations. Other states have slowly but surely followed.
It's also been reported that yet more regulations for PCs will come into effect in California from December 9. According to a fact sheet, these new rules would impact "computers with high-speed networking capability, multi-screen notebooks, notebooks with cyclical behavior, and monitors with high refresh rates".
Bizarrely, while California continues to clamp down on the power used by gaming PCs, cryptomining rigs remain legal in the state. It's currently unclear whether or not these latest regulations will be extended to bitcoin farming.
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