Utility computing can go many years without a hardware refresh, and intensive tasks need not be shared where they degrade performance on a main machine.
Gaming is completely discretionary and parts may be bought at leisure if one already owns a usable machine.
I buy multiple business class PC cheap after liquidations push them onto Ebay. Linux frees me from needing Windows, a few applications excepted which can run in VMs on Linux hosts or on a cheap secondary PC I remote into (KVM switches are also an option).
Owning multiple used PCs (because ever being one-deep on hardware invites downtime) and not discarding working hardware makes life easy. They take up little space hung on walls (my server hangs on a few cents worth of lag hooks) or stacked on shelves or hung from them to leave shelves free for other use.
Home lab enthusiasts solve the business hardware use and space problems with trivial effort making their systems worth a look. They're a friendly supportive community.
Other strategies include not caring about cosmetics where a few scratches or replaceable minor hardware usefully lower prices. Thinkpad enthusiasts were building notebooks from wrecks back when new ones were too expensive. My first A31 was assembled from bartered ewaste along with two old HP servers reused as desktops.
When you have a techy problem, respond techfully! If you really do need a peformant machine to make a living be glad they're still cheap compared to gearing up for vehicle mechanics, serious woodwork, welding professionally etc.