In this increasingly subscription-based world, it is no surprise that this idea is also emerging for gaming PCs

In a press release, gaming desktop PC builder NZXT revealed a new subscription service that will send you a gaming rig for as little as $59 per month However, you must provide your own mouse, keyboard, and monitor

The program, dubbed NZXT Flex, appears to have existed since at least February of this year, but pricing and PC specs have changed since the initial launch The latest version of the subscription service has fixed pricing and a tiered approach to renting gaming PCs

"At NZXT, we believe everyone should be able to play the games they want," said Bryan de Zayas, NZXT's head of marketing, in a press release In the past, that meant buying an off-the-shelf PC or building your own Our new Flex subscription service gives gamers flexibility and choice so they can focus on what really matters: playing the games they love"

The new Flex subscription service will be available in the NZXT's "PlayStation Store" and "PlayStation Store" sections of the NZXT website, and will be available in the NZXT's "PlayStation Store" section

The program has three levels: Player: Player:1, Player:2, and Player:3: Player:1", "Player:2", and "Player:3": The first level is an entry-level $59 per month subscription This level provides an H5 Flow tower with an Intel Core i5 14400F and Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU

Player: 2 upgrades the CPU to an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and the GPU to an Nvidia RTX 4070 Super for $119 per month Finally, Player: 3 changes the CPU to an Intel Core i7-137000KF and the GPU to an Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti Super for $169 per month

These may not be some of the best gaming PCs on the market, but they seem pretty solid

All three tiers require a $50 "setup and shipping fee," which includes a return label each time you cancel your subscription Subscriptions are month-to-month and can be cancelled

If you try this program, NZXT will ship you a new or like-new Flex rig within 3-5 days Free replacements are also available, and NZXT claims to guarantee hardware upgrades every two years

For reference, Player's rig: One plan costs $758 for the first year (monthly fee plus $50 initial fee) The next rank is $1548 and the highest rank is $2078

It is difficult to determine the total cost of purchasing one of these PCs because complete specs are not available We contacted NZXT to get more information on the complete specifications of the towers they offer

Using PCPartPicker we were able to approximate the cost We assembled a build with the same processor, 4060 GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, compatible motherboard and case for about $965 That means I could own a similar computer for only about $200 more than the cost of a one-year rental

Even though building a gaming PC is more plug-and-play than in previous eras, we do not mean to disparage anyone who wants to pursue a pre-built or buy the best gaming laptop available