I Panic-Bought a New PC: How Tariff Fears Led Me to Upgrade Now

Three weeks ago, staring at the PC I built in the summer of 2020, I started receiving invites to preview upcoming games that my old rig just couldn't handle. Then, President Donald Trump announced the largest slate of tariffs on imported goods I've ever seen in my lifetime. So I did what seemed like a sane thing: I panic-bought a prebuilt PC. It's generally unwise to make rash decisions on tech products. But, with the pandemic supply chain pains still relatively fresh for many of us, the impulse is understandable. As Trump's reciprocal tariffs went into effect and were then temporarily paused for 90 days -- but ramped up for China, where many PC components are sourced -- confusion reigns. It may seem smart to rush out and buy the things that might shoot up in price, but at least for now, they haven't. My professional tech reporter advice is: Don't do what I did. In fact, as Group Vice President for the International Data Corporation's Worldwide Device Tracker suite, Ryan Reith said, ... Read full article.