
I Bought All-White PC Hardware and It’s Caused Tons of Issues
Tech comes in a lot of different shapes, sizes, and variants, but aesthetics aren’t necessarily at the top of most people’s requirements list. I for one was fed up with seeing black, silver, and gray tech all around me for years and decided to chase an all-white tech aesthetic.
The result looks great but has also caused a ton of issues since.
1 They’re Always Out of Stock
The first hurdle you’ll run into when buying white PC hardware is availability. This also stands true for hardware and peripherals that are any other color or edition other than the regular black models we see selling all the time.
There is some variation to this. For example, if you’re looking at white controllers, you’ll find plenty of them around, as controllers often have more playful color schemes than mice, keyboards, and headphones. However, most white PC hardware is generally made in smaller quantities to match the lower demand and will pretty much always be out of stock unless you’re quick about your purchase.
It’s hard to come up with a definite answer as to why this happens, and that is also true across manufacturers. My best guess is that white PC hardware doesn’t sell as well as its black counterparts, so it makes sense for the manufacturer to produce fewer white or non-black units. However, I have seen this problem mitigated over the last year or so, so it might not be that big of a worry based on where you’re located.
2 Higher Prices
White PC hardware also tends to cost more than its black counterparts. My mouse, the Logitech G502 X Plus Lightspeed (one of the best gaming mice Logitech makes), costs $134.99 on Amazon at the time of writing. As you can guess, the black version of the mouse costs much less at $106.95. There’s even a difference in their regular retail prices, coming in at $159.99 and $139.99 for the white and black versions, respectively.
Another example is my pair of headphones, the Sony WH CH720N. The white version I own costs $149.99 on Amazon, while the black version, depending on the condition, can be found for as low as $60.
It might not seem like a big difference on one purchase, but it can easily balloon to hundreds of dollars when trying to assemble an entire setup. And if you don’t live in the US, the cost difference can be even higher depending on currency conversion rates. I ended up paying almost $185 for my Logitech G502 X Plus Lightspeed here in India, an extra $46 over the retail price.
3 More Maintenance
White PC hardware looks gorgeous, but only if you can keep it clean. While white hardware won’t show fingerprints as easily, you’ll have to deal with a much bigger problem—white plastic yellowing with repeated use. You might be able to troubleshoot your broken PC with ChatGPT, but cleaning is something you’ll have to do on your own.
It doesn’t look good under daylight and is not very easy to clean off. However, the amount of yellowing depends on the plastic material itself. My Logitech mouse and Sony headphones are the worst yet in two and one year of use, respectively. On the other hand, the white keycaps on my Keychron K2 V2 are still going strong after over two years of daily use.
Yellowing is also just one part of the spectrum. White hardware will show off every speck of dust or debris that you’ll catch on your hardware during day-to-day use. Of course, this affects several peripherals more than others, but I recommend keeping some cleaning solution and microfibre cloths near your desk or in your backpack and giving them a good wipe every week.
From personal experience, don’t keep coffee or fluids that can leave nasty stains near white hardware. Ideally, you shouldn’t keep any drinks near hardware just in case of a spill, but if you were to spill drinks on your white hardware, cleaning them would be a major inconvenience—that is, if they survive the spill.
4 Warranty Claims Might Be Difficult
Higher prices and lower production numbers might also make claiming a white hardware warranty harder. In my case, Logitech India refused to honor the warranty on my G502 X Plus Lightspeed simply because none of the Logitech stores in my city had a white mouse in inventory. However, I did have the option of getting a black one as a replacement.
Do keep in mind that this can be a regional thing and largely depends on the manufacturer having enough inventory on hand. I wouldn’t worry too much about warranty claims, especially if you’re buying from a reputed manufacturer. That said, it can be a really tricky situation, so it’s better to be aware of what you’re getting into.
5 Why I’ll Continue Buying White PC Hardware
In a nutshell, if you go off the beaten path and buy PC hardware to match a specific aesthetic that doesn’t have black in the color scheme, you’ll have to buy quickly, pay more, clean your hardware more often, and might run into issues when claiming warranty in case something goes wrong.
But I’ll still continue buying white PC hardware. In a sea of grey, black, and silver laptops, my white laptop stands out and looks sharp while doing so. Paired with the rest of my hardware, my workstation looks incredible whether I’m at my desk, in a library, or working out of a cafe. And if you have RGB hardware, it will look even better.
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