The PC Looks Like It's Dying

matt9669 said:
Given the needs of the average consumer these days (basic web surfing, Facebook, manage some pictures, maybe video chat, etc.) it's not at all surprising people are buying fewer full-fledged PCs. In my experience, non-techies often think that the typical "big ugly tower" desktop PC is antiquated. Not to mention, who among us techies is going to buy a typical crap-tastic loaded-with-bloatware-and-sporting-yesteryear's-graphics desktop from the likes of Dell/HP etc.? At least Appleheads have good reason to buy the latest iMac - it's very difficult to roll your own.

Meanwhile, tons of people actually use the features of a full desktop computer - nice big display, keyboard and mouse, full CPU/GPU horsepower etc. That's not going away anytime soon, if ever.
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Yeah, I think this is a good point: It's not shrinking, it's stabilizing. You got people that just want Facebook, email and a web browser, and you have people that want everything along with it. Before, both groups had to get a PC. Now, the first group can get a Smartphone, Tablet, Netbook, Laptop OR a desktop, and pretty much do those couple of things.
 
wtiger said:
The desktop PC isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Sure laptops and the like will take away market share, but simply the cost advantages of the desktop will keep it in the game. Not to mention if you want the best out there a desktop is what you get. It doesn't have the thermal constraints of smaller devices
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Actually, laptops are catching up there.

Yes, they have worse thermal constraints, BUT, laptops are going to max at 1080p, and the amount of heat needed to drive 1080p at acceptable frame rates is rapidly decreasing.
 
Dr. Righteous said:
The big case PCs are mainly gamer, overclockers, now adays. If you want cutting edge performance; who is showing off a laptop or tablet? NOBODY.
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There are plenty of small form factor desktops around.

My Dell Zino HD for example is quite tiny, but clearly not a laptop. The Dells we use at work are likewise just small inexpensive desktops, and laptops are rare.

The real question is with cellphones becoming more and more powerful, and portable tablets coming out for when you need a bigger screen, who the heck needs a laptop?

The obvious combination to me is:
1) Desktop + smartphone
2) Desktop + tablet + dumbphone

Apple somehow wants to convince people though that they should have a laptop, tablet, and smartphone, and that just seems so very redundant.
 
Ducman69 said:
Apple somehow wants to convince people though that they should have a laptop, tablet, and smartphone, and that just seems so very redundant.
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And this is the key to Windows 8. There are going to be a lot of Windows 8 devices, with the Surface just one of them, that can serve as both a laptop and tablet. The issue is going to be cost, at least in the beginning.
 
That's funny... we're selling more brand new PCs than ever before at work.
 
this must be an example of how apple relies on publicity etc to sell products?
 
It might be in slight decline in North America due to oversaturation but honestly the computer-proficient population is going up all the time, worldwide.

There's like a billion functional PCs estimated to be in existence and that number is going up, not down.

And there are many emerging markets which will open up as spending power and technical needs increase and vast populations desire cheap, powerful PCs to satisfy their Facebook and [H] needs.
 
If Steve had a dime for every one of these "PC's are dying" stories he's posted over the years, he'd be one rich dude, lol.

I can't believe that they still write those kind of stories, even though PC's have been around and are becoming one of the things most people can't live without in their everyday lives more and more. Especially since we are all getting more and more connected to each other.
 
BTW, that wasn't a criticism of what you pick to post, Steve, just noting that they literally write those kind of stories everyday and it's pretty silly. PC's will more than likely never go away, they will simply evolve over time, but they will always be around in one form or another.

Tablets are great and all, but they are used more for augmenting what you do on your PC, supplementing what you do on your PC more than anything else, they are not a true replacement.
 
pankkake said:
PC is dying as much as the car is dying.
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Wait, is it my car? Mine's been dying for a while and my mechanic always grumbles at me when I bring it in like a million miles past whatever it is you're supposed to do for an oil change. I keep telling him that it helps make him more money in the long run.
 
"Intel makes no secret about its intentions with Thin Mini-ITX. The chipmaker wants the market for all-in-one PCs to 'mirror the tower desktop market as much as possible.' The advent of Thin Mini-ITX and compatible all-in-one enclosures, like the Loop chassis we tested, are part of that strategy."

http://techreport.com/articles.x/23376/1

An interesting read. Intel's HD 4000 on-CPU video is now good enough to game titles like Skyrim, Crysis Warhead, Dirt 3 and the like at 1680x1050. When they get good enough to game at 1920x1080, rolling your own all-in-one PC starts looking pretty good.
 
Down a tenth of one percent. At that rate the PC will be dead in a 1,000 years. Start planning now, before it's too late.
 
Oh no! I had better trash that new XPS laptop I just bought this month, it's out of style!
 
The end is near, the signs are there.
time to drink the poision and say goodbye.
oh wait, Tom Cruise on a mission?
 
Ducman69 said:
The real question is with cellphones becoming more and more powerful, and portable tablets coming out for when you need a bigger screen, who the heck needs a laptop?

The obvious combination to me is:
1) Desktop + smartphone
2) Desktop + tablet + dumbphone

Apple somehow wants to convince people though that they should have a laptop, tablet, and smartphone, and that just seems so very redundant.
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That's how I feel. I just sold my laptop (a tablet PC convertible) because I wasn't using it that much any more - I tend to use either my desktop, or my tablet (Toshiba Thrive). Didn't really need mobility.

I can't see replacing my desktop for a laptop. But I barely needed a laptop as it is - a tablet replaced a laptop for me.
 
I look at it like this - unless you're a gamer, what has been the motivation to upgrade or buy a new computer recently?
You can play movies, use office, e-mail, explore the web, use a database/or CMS, play basic games, etc. on older hardware just fine.
Short of serious gamers and people using niche software packages, there isn't much reason to buy a new computer or even additional parts for an i5/i7 or in many cases, a Core 2.

That said, I do think the MS surface might make an impact for casual PC users. MS has been known to bungle things like this, but it SHOULD if they play their cards right.
 
Hey guys, this is looking pretty grim :D

By the looks of it we only have a couple of options:
1) Be forced to run my games on my laptop and get it cooking close to BP, nice portable heater
or
2) Get used to playing Angry Birds.

:D
 
Ducman69 said:
There are plenty of small form factor desktops around.

My Dell Zino HD for example is quite tiny, but clearly not a laptop. The Dells we use at work are likewise just small inexpensive desktops, and laptops are rare.

The real question is with cellphones becoming more and more powerful, and portable tablets coming out for when you need a bigger screen, who the heck needs a laptop?

The obvious combination to me is:
1) Desktop + smartphone
2) Desktop + tablet + dumbphone

Apple somehow wants to convince people though that they should have a laptop, tablet, and smartphone, and that just seems so very redundant.
Click to expand...

Ditto.

I think tablets are really cool, but the truth is I have a smartphone, and it allows me to do everything I could do with a tablet, so I don't need a tablet. Besides, a tablet can't fit in my pocket.
 
People keep writing these silly articles, and they are just as wrong now as they were when they first started cropping up.

Desktop sales have not grown since the financial collapse, but they have not shrunk either.

They have remained flat for about 4-5 years.

Part of this has to do with the economy, and part of this has to do with consumers moving on to other devices, particularly laptops, and to a lesser extent tablets.

Desktops are - however - showing no sign what so ever of going away. They just aren't growing as fast as Laptops and Tablets/Smartphones are, and we shouldn't expect them to.

There will always be a core (albeit relatively small) group of users for whom there is no other option than a proper desktop. This group is large enough to support a very varied and financially stable desktop component industry today, and that is unlikely to change for a long time, unless there is some sort of groundbreaking change that makes us desktop lovers move on to something else, in which case we won't care anymore.
 
I think that the author has another job writing for the Enquirer!

Very reliable news indeed!:eek:
 
This is a result of our declining education system. Because people are no longer smart enough to use PCs, they have to make dumbed down devices for the population. The knowledge of how to actually use a computer is fading away....
You should probably have a glass of Brawndo...
brawndo%20drink.jpg
 
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