Gamers Nexus Calls NZXT’s Flex PC Rental Program a ‘Scam’

Photo credit: www.theverge.com

An hour-long video released on Saturday by Gamers Nexus, a YouTube channel dedicated to PC gaming hardware, raises serious concerns regarding NZXT’s PC rental service, alleging that the program employs “bait-and-switch” tactics due to its frequently changing prices and specifications.

NZXT’s Flex program invites consumers to rent pre-configured gaming PCs, with starting fees as low as $59 each month, not including peripherals such as a mouse, keyboard, or monitor. However, Gamers Nexus reveals troubling patterns in how NZXT alters specifications and prices for PC models, sometimes on a daily basis. The channel claims that customers may encounter significantly different configurations under the same model names based on whether they opt to purchase or rent, complicating the value of advertised discounts as offerings fluctuate.

In one example cited in the video, NZXT’s Player: Three PC appears to feature an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super graphics card and an Intel Core i7-13700KF when selecting the “buy” option. Conversely, when the same model is viewed under the “subscribe” option, it showcases the same processor paired with an inferior Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti.

Despite these variances in graphics processors, both configurations are reported to have the same estimated performance in popular games like Starfield and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

The video further critiques aspects of the Flex program, noting that its pricing framework can result in higher overall costs compared to purchasing a PC outright. It also mentions the “aggressive” nature of its terms of service. Efforts by The Verge to obtain comments from NZXT were met with silence, as no immediate responses were available from the company’s community forums or social media platforms.

Steve Burke, the editor-in-chief at Gamers Nexus, stated in the video, “We just think this is a scam at this point. The performance claims alone are hugely misleading, especially since the only difference in one of these that’s meaningful is the word ‘Super,’ which a lot of people — especially those who are potentially renting or buying a pre-built — won’t catch.”

Source
www.theverge.com