The only difference is scalar. That isn't differentiating, that's segregation.
It won't stop crypto and LLM peeps from buying everything (one assumes TDP is proportional too). Gamers not being able to find an affordable option is still a problem.
>Gamers not being able to find an affordable option is still a problem.
Used to think about this often because I had a side hobby of building and selling computers for friends and coworkers that wanted to get into gaming, but otherwise had no use for a powerful computer.
For the longest time I could still put together $800-$1000 PC's that could blow consoles away and provide great value for the money.
Now days I almost want to recommend they go back to console gaming. Seeing older ps5's on store shelves hit $349.99 during the holidays really cemented that idea. Its so astronomically expensive for a PC build at the moment unless you can be convinced to buy a gaming laptop on a deep sale.
Consoles have historically not done so well with backwards compatibility (at most one generation). I don't do much console gaming but _I think_ that is changing.
There is also something to be said about catalog portability via something like a Steam Deck.
Cheaper options like the Steam Deck are definitely a boon to the industry. Especially the idea of "good enough" gaming at lower resolutions on smaller screens.
Personally, I just don't like that its attached to steam. Which is why I can be hesitant to suggest consoles as well now that they have soft killed their physical game options. Unless you go out of your way to get the add-on drive for PS5, etc
Its been nice to see backwards compatibility coming back in modern consoles to some extent with Xbox especially if you have a Series-X with the disc drive.
I killed my steam account with 300+ games just because I didn't see a future where steam would actually let me own the games. Repurchased everything I could on GoG and gave up on games locked to Windows/Mac AppStores, Epic, and Steam. So I'm not exactly fond of hardware attached to that platform, but that doesn't stop someone from just loading it up with games from a service like GoG and running them thru steam or Heroic Launcher.
2024 took some massive leaps forward with getting a proton-like experience without steam and that gives me a lot of hope for future progress on Linux gaming.
It won't stop crypto and LLM peeps from buying everything (one assumes TDP is proportional too). Gamers not being able to find an affordable option is still a problem.