Can the PC Market Be Resuscitated?

[Onkel Neal]

Can the PC Market Be Resuscitated? (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2498438,00.asp)

Interesting article by John Dvorak, the desktop PC is a dinosaur.

With Intel rolling out its new Skylake chip, there has been a lot written about flagging PC sales and the idea that it could resuscitate the PC market. As if that's going to happen; 2015 saw the largest decline in PC shipments in history.

The market for PCs is never going to bounce back, especially the desktop market.

[james_nix]

I'm an IT contractor for the DOD. trust me, our desktops aren't going anywhere.

The leftover market of users who actually need a desktop computer now appears to be a niche;

That is like saying the XBOX/PS4 is a 'niche' market.

[Rockin Robbins]

And I build my own desktop machines as well as build them for others. For those who appreciate the advantage of having the position of every component in the box, as well as the box itself, competed for by hundreds of companies killing each other for the chance to sell you a better component for a cheaper price, there will never be a replacement for a desktop machine.

When you compare the prices of a homebuilt machine and a laptop of similar abilities, it is very difficult to pull the trigger on the laptop, especially when you are totally dependent on the manufacturer of the laptop for replacement components.

But there are no new people buying computers. It's simply a replacement market now and there are legitimate reasons to own a laptop or tablet that replaces a desktop machine. So the desktop market is irretrevably shrinking. It will not vanish.

Personally, I haven't bought a new computer since 2007, when I first built my present machine. But it has been extensively reconfigured several times since then and other than the box, only optical drives remain from the 2007 version. I'll never have to buy a new computer again, just maintain and upgrade components.

To the PC market I've vanished. But I'm still buying components all the time.

[GT182]

Rockin Robbins, I do the same as you. I build my own desktop PCs. Tho I don't do it for anyone else. They can keep their Xbox 1s and PS4s. You can't do with them what you can do with a real computer.

I'm now working on my 5th computer build. Going with AMD 3.9 6 core processor and an MSI motherboard. IMO Intel is way over priced.

[Skybird]

The idea to write long paper works and documents on a tablet or do image manipulation on a notebook, still gives me the shiver.

And for simmers and many gamers, the PC still is an indispensable platform still. You can run Assetto Corsa with a wheel via console (soon), okay. But try that with P3D.

And having a look at the games in Google Appstore, is quite disillusionisng also. Kindergarten stuff for the most.

Then there are many games still that are not easdily to be co9ntrolled wiotho0ut keyboard and mouse, just with a gamepad. Gamepoads are nice fior NHL and the like. For 1^st person nshooters they asr4e imo terrible. Driving a race sim with them is not only unrealistic, but also kills immersion.

The audience for PC desktop systems may become more elitist, specialised, smaller - but they will continue to create a sufficient amount of demand for the industry to continue for the forseeable future. Saying that as somebody who has a desktop PC, maintains three laptops for myself and others, and two tablets.