AI Takes Over CES 2026
CES has always been about consumer tech, but CES 2026 felt very different. This year the show was flooded with artificial intelligence announcements, many of which had very little to do with what everyday PC users or gamers actually want.
Yes, there was still classic CES weirdness like InWin’s futuristic egg shaped PC case and Lenovo’s latest rollable laptop concept. There were also odd gadgets like AI flavored lollipops that claim to turn candy into a concert in your mouth. But the real story was how aggressively AI dominated the big booths and keynotes.
Gigabyte arrived under an AI Forward banner, pushing everything from its AI Top series for local AI development to full blown Gigapod data center solutions. These are powerful systems aimed much more at enterprise and cloud workloads than at anyone trying to build or upgrade a gaming PC at home.
At the same time AMD and Nvidia were loudly promoting local AI on consumer hardware. The pitch is simple: instead of relying only on cloud AI, you run smart features directly on your PC using their CPUs and GPUs. That sounds good in theory for gamers and creators, but a lot of the messaging felt more like a scramble to justify the huge AI investments driving today’s hardware market.
Analysts and execs keep insisting there is no AI bubble, even as reports show circular investment patterns and warning comparisons to the dotcom and subprime crashes. The industry is still searching for a killer AI app that normal users will pay for, and that uncertainty is bleeding into how PC hardware is designed and priced.
Do Consumers Actually Want All This AI?
One of the most telling points at CES 2026 was how lukewarm actual consumer interest in AI seems to be. Many AI centric products feel like they are looking for a problem to solve.
A great example is Razer’s Project AVA, a desktop AI assistant that wants to watch your every move to offer gaming advice and even wardrobe tips. It is a flashy holographic concept, but it raises a simple question: who asked for this? Gamers want better frame rates, smoother experiences, and fair pricing before they want a virtual stylist sitting on their desk.
Dell’s CES presentation was surprisingly light on AI. During the Q and A, Dell head of product Kevin Terwilliger summed up the reality very clearly: consumers are not buying based on AI, and in many cases the term AI just confuses them instead of explaining what a product actually does for them.
Part of the problem is the term itself. Everything from chatbots and large language models to medical research tools and simple in game enemy behavior gets stuffed into the same AI label. That makes it harder for regular users to understand what they are paying for, and easier for marketing teams to overhype features that do not really improve gaming or day to day PC use.
There is also a hardcore niche of users who really do want to run giant 200 plus billion parameter models locally. For those people, reviewers are recommending powerful modular rigs like the Framework Desktop PC, one of the early picks for best AI mini PC. But this kind of setup needs huge amounts of RAM and storage and costs a lot of money. It is not a realistic target for most gamers already dealing with rising living costs.
How AI Is Making Hardware More Expensive
The biggest way AI is affecting PC enthusiasts right now is not magical features. It is prices.
Training and running large AI models demands enormous quantities of high performance memory and storage. That surge in AI driven demand has created a memory supply crunch, and consumer hardware is caught in the crossfire. RAM and SSD prices have climbed sharply and there is no clear sign that costs will drop soon.
Meanwhile the big memory manufacturers are doing very well. Samsung for example is forecasting record operating profits of around 13 billion dollars for the end of 2025, helped significantly by AI related demand. For normal users trying to buy RAM for a new build, that translates into higher costs for the same capacity and speed compared to a few years ago.
In this context it can feel like a lot of CES exhibitors have quietly stopped designing for everyday consumers and are instead chasing big AI contracts and investor money. The consumer still matters on paper, but the real focus is on whoever can pay the most for cutting edge memory and compute.
The Good News For PC Gamers And Builders
Despite all the AI noise, CES 2026 did bring some hopeful signs for PC builders and gamers who care more about performance and value than chatbots.
Be Quiet stayed firmly focused on the consumer side with a lineup of near silent PC components, including a new Dark Rock 6 cooler. Better air coolers and quieter cases might not grab the same headlines as AI assistants, but they directly improve the experience of using a gaming PC: lower temperatures, less noise and more reliable performance.
Micron also delivered a pleasant surprise. After shutting down its Crucial branding, many assumed the company was done with consumer storage. Instead it announced a very fast PCIe 5.0 QLC SSD aimed at regular users. Combined with Phison’s E37T SSD controller, which promises faster and cooler PCIe 5 storage at slightly lower prices, there is real potential for affordable next generation SSDs in gaming rigs over the next couple of years.
On the CPU and GPU front, some vendors are considering unusual tactics to cushion the memory crisis. AMD Ryzen chief David McAfee revealed the company is actively working on bringing back some older processors to help users avoid the worst of current RAM pricing. Rumors suggest Nvidia may try something similar with the RTX 3060, a previous generation GPU that is still very capable for 1080p and even 1440p gaming.
Reintroducing older chips is hardly a glamorous move. It highlights just how distorted the market has become under AI demand. But it could give budget conscious gamers more breathing room, especially if paired with cheaper DDR4 or lower cost DDR5 kits.
In short CES 2026 showed a clear split. On one side is the AI gold rush with data center hardware, giant models, and eye watering memory prices. On the other is a quieter group of products that still focus on what PC gamers actually need: sensible CPUs and GPUs, fast but affordable SSDs, quiet and efficient cooling, and component options that do not require a cloud budget to buy.
If you are planning a build or upgrade in the next couple of years, the key is to look past the AI marketing and focus on concrete benefits. Check real game performance, thermals, noise, and price per frame. CES 2026 proved that while the industry may be obsessed with artificial intelligence, there are still companies and components that remember what personal computers are really for.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/seems-like-everyone-forgot-the-consumer-part-of-the-consumer-electronics-show-this-year/
