Dell can’t ship its high-end Alienware gaming PCs to several US states due to new power regulations

New power regulations in the US are now preventing Dell from shipping many of its high-end gaming PCs to customers in certain US states, including California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

With the implementation of California’s Energy Consumption Tier 2 rules, consumers in states with these power efficiency regulations will not have access to high-power gaming systems that do not comply with this new ruleset.   

Right now, most of Dell’s Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 and Alienware Aurora R12 (Intel 11th Gen) systems are affected by these new regulations. Orders of non-compliant systems within affected US states have been cancelled, and these systems will no longer be shipped to states with these new power efficiency rules. 

New power regulations? 

The California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Tier 2 implementation is designed to force PC manufacturers to create more power-efficient systems, hoping to reduce the power requirements of future PCs and prevent the electricity use of PCs from rising dramatically. In time, these efforts are designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions, as decreased electricity use will reduce the quantity of fossil fuels that electricity producers will burn. 

The rules regarding these new power regulations are complex, as the maximum power usage of PCs under these rules will vary depending on their specifications. Factors like expandability and power consumption during short-idle, long-idle, sleep and off-modes are also considered.

While the positives of these new regulations are apparent, only time will tell if these regulations will create more efficient PCs from manufacturers like Dell and their competitors. Should the PC industry fail to reduce the power usage of their components, these rules may result in less consumer choice within US states that have enacted these new power regulations.