PC Shipments Post the Steepest Decline Ever in a Single Quarter, According to IDC

[Ferrum Master]

Actually that's why Windows server products work so well. They, by design, will use as much RAM as they possibly can. This is not by accident. Having a post graduate degree in computer software engineering, you will quickly understand that having your resources available in the fastest form of memory results in the quickest processing of operations. The previous poster's comments were on the right path. Having an O/S that does more than merely superfetch would be great. The problem is not much software today is written to take maximum advantage of multiple cores and high memory capacities. SQL server, Exchange etc. reap huge benefits from high capacity memory, high I/O, and high speed storage. The average desktop user won't come within a minute fraction of the I/O generated by this software. However, that doesn't mean the desktop user shouldn't benefit from some of the thinking used in this software.

@Frick
Mate, you misunderstood the whole thing, sorry.

@HelloKitty2010

Just my pure opinion, thanks. M$ is not really smart enough to shape itself to user behavior. SuperFetch is not enough evolved for desktop user behavior. They have the resources to blow everyone out off the water, why they revamp again the old NT6? Cut the lines like you did with Win9x/Me branch and NT, thus making old apps incompatible and let they[appdevs] recompile all the good, worthy stuff with new tools that support proper OS behavior utilizing all resources well. We need a truly next gen OS.

So there is the whole root problem, M$ stagnated so much, with not offering serious revamp of whole coding style within their own ecosystem in order to truly use all capabilities of a PC. If they are so afraid, why they don't launch an experimental OS for enthusiasts and see how it goes, look what Google did with their android in few years, even they have more progressive ideas in their OS, and they are not afraid to make incompatible apps while updating core OS.

PC always will have MORE RAM, and MORE DISK SPACE, than any mobile device, because it can be customized[is modular], and of course dissipate more heat [lol] and is hell of a faster. Why one not take the advantage of it? Therefor M$[as the biggest PC prophet] has created situation that the productivity gap between a tablet and PC is almost lost, due an lack of innovation. And now with Win8 they even erased it. I completely think - it is a big error. And no one else has such a big role in shaping PC like M$ does. So multimedia, now no one cares about sound, 5.1, screen size and picture quality. Everyone is watching the whole crap on youtube etc. Yeah things have changed truly... half of the nation is not only deaf but lack taste , but that's an off topic.

Touch thingy stuff etc... screw it, if you want to type seriously and do some work, you will need a PC. Entertainment wise M$ also spilled the water - simply with not raising the performance bar due to consoles and thus making the gap between PC and a tablet bigger and bigger and reclaim the PC as a serious device for serious people. And let the console dust in the kitchen or toilet to watch kitten videos at xhamster etc

The second thing that AMD have not enough strength to spank Intel and create competition is a different story tough, but we hope for ARM, the cup does not matter if the coffee is still good in it.

And yes... OEM vs Custom designed? We are not objective here mates, we are enthusiasts and of course we use hand crafted custom setups. But for an average user - a OEM setup is not a bad thing. It shows the middle class level. Our ambitions, custom setups are only some spikes in the graph. Just look why Intel is the biggest GPU market share holder, those are OEM's, at least most of them.

But no matter that, those big OEM's are weak in many regions outside US, where custom designs are only being sold, due to fact they are cheaper...

But in the end of the day yes... why an upgrade if my old PC does the same... and my neighbor has the same? People catch on to an old hook - look my neighbor has a pad, I need it also to keep up[so the viral behavior spreads]. It just a hype, time to times it is always been like that[a walkman, a LCD TV or an FM radio etc], it will perish just as Apple sales does also now , but a need for a train remained for years. And this should be the PC image as it should be polished. From old time steam engine powered 8080 to magnetic rail high speed trains like some latest Haswell clocked at 5Ghz+.

Where to put that power? Simple not only gaming - those pads and smart phones etc produce byproducts - videos etc... and they are hell of a big... easy editing them, in a flash, while compress with more serious codec? And the UI made so simple that even a blond soul could do it and put their beloved effects in it?[oh yeah win 8 brang out of the box mkv h264 support, wow...]

It is still 2013 and it cannot be done on the fly really. Why? Dunno, my personal picture video collections starts to horribly expand and I don't like it. I can bet everyone has a some sort of mess in their personal data collections, and what for PC should be used in the first place and afterwards it could be streamable to that crappy tab, that already is by that time retina class 4K resolution, and show it to our beloved grannies. That is not the only example. Nevertheless M$ fail to impress us with handy things, just an abuse...

In the end you wonder why 4K resolution isn't out yet? It isn't the hardware, but lazy software that lacks ideas, high standards what to do with it and utilize... again...

 

[overclocking101]

windows 8 fail slowed the market?!?!?!?! NOPE. Windows 8 is absolutely fail, BUT that isnt what slowed the market. What slows the market is price hikes!, Prices for cpu's motherboards and graphics cards are seriously high for a decent product. memory hdd's etc have seemed to stay decent. they cannot blame the decline of an entire market on a single piece of operating software, that is simply ludicris

 

[MxPhenom 216]

The blame on Windows 8 for this is the biggest bull shit I have ever seen.

 

[cadaveca]

The blame on Windows 8 for this is the biggest bull shit I have ever seen.

BS. I blame all the people saying Windows8 sucks for this...because Windows8 works great for me. But, it'll be just like Crossfire was...nobody agrees with Dave until it gets shoved into their face with hard data.






And the hard data is that all this bashing by enthusiasts, and OEMs listening to enthusiasts, are what have created this larger-than-normal low sales period. A lack of PC market growth has no effect, at all!


I mean, there's no way that the LHC being finished, as well as many SuperComputers and university upgrades have also been done in the past 18 months has ANYTHING to do with a drop in sales...no way at all. :shadedshu

 

[drdeathx]

Money is part of the blame. Remember, hardware technology within the last 5 years is very capable of running anything today, so upgrading is not as predominant. People are getting mobile and tablets instead of new desktops. Us enthusiasts only make up less than 2% of the entire market. Until technology does not out pace processors, people will keep desktops much longer than a decade ago.

 

[mandis]

I think the lack of innovation is what is causing the decline of the classic PC industry. The PC seems to only evolve in terms of performance and even that cannot exactly be described as evolution. My 5 year old 4-Core cpu is a lot slower than the best 4-Core on the market today. OBVIOUSLY! Yet it still manages to handle every task I throw at it without even a hint of struggle. Why would I need to upgrade? Most importantly, where are the 48-Core Cpus we were promised 5 years ago??? Lack of competition in this technology segment has caused development to stall.

On the Software side things are even worse! Gaming aside, there have been no significant improvements to software applications since the early 90s. Obviously applications have become more powerful and capable over the years but that is merely evolutionary development. What exactly is going on at Microsoft? Windows 7 is an amazing OS if you consider Windows 95 to be the epitome of OS design... Windows 8 seems to be a step towards the right direction but is still unpolished AND is technically designed for touchscreen PCs which most of us don't have! Where are the Smart AI capable computers we were promised? The "digital assistant"? (I remember using Prody Parrot in 1998...) The keyboard-less interaction? The 3D UI? Where are all the amazing innovations we were shown in tech demos and the media all those years ago??

 

[jihadjoe]

Or people flat out refuse to buy Windows 8..

What are you talking about dude? Windows 8 is wonderful!!111oneone1

 

[Steven B]

i mean there are only so many people who can afford PCs and other devices, its also market saturation. The fact that we still have motherboard vendors to develop OC models is a good sign, as those guys know what they are doing in terms of the future, at least the big ones.

 

[Prima.Vera]

I think the lack of innovation is what is causing the decline of the classic PC industry. The PC seems to only evolve in terms of performance and even that cannot exactly be described as evolution. My 5 year old 4-Core cpu is a lot slower than the best 4-Core on the market today. OBVIOUSLY! Yet it still manages to handle every task I throw at it without even a hint of struggle. Why would I need to upgrade? Most importantly, where are the 48-Core Cpus we were promised 5 years ago??? Lack of competition in this technology segment has caused development to stall.

On the Software side things are even worse! Gaming aside, there have been no significant improvements to software applications since the early 90s. Obviously applications have become more powerful and capable over the years but that is merely evolutionary development. What exactly is going on at Microsoft? Windows 7 is an amazing OS if you consider Windows 95 to be the epitome of OS design... Windows 8 seems to be a step towards the right direction but is still unpolished AND is technically designed for touchscreen PCs which most of us don't have! Where are the Smart AI capable computers we were promised? The "digital assistant"? (I remember using Prody Parrot in 1998...) The keyboard-less interaction? The 3D UI? Where are all the amazing innovations we were shown in tech demos and the media all those years ago??

Exactly!!! The ones in Bold are the things you stole from my mouth, hehe.

Btw, I think M$ start to kill the PC, the moment they destroy completely the 3D Sound in Vista. I mean, look of the games nowadays. They sound just a little better than the ones in '90s with Sound Blaster 16, but if you compare them with Aureal3D, EAX, even Direct Sound 3D or OpenAL, they are just a pile of crap.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Exactly!!! The ones in Bold are the things you stole from my mouth, hehe.

Btw, I think M$ start to kill the PC, the moment they destroy completely the 3D Sound in Vista. I mean, look of the games nowadays. They sound just a little better than the ones in '90s with Sound Blaster 16, but if you compare them with Aureal3D, EAX, even Direct Sound 3D or OpenAL, they are just a pile of crap.

Yes, I guess there are many who still share the same opinion and see the root problem, not only plain numbers and static observation of consequences.

DS/EAX destruction was completely lame, I agree also. But I have to add that the patent reign of Creative in sound department also played a role a bit. They went too greedy and M$ did it because of them in order to suffocate them, otherwise they needed to buy them.

M$ erased the border between mobile device and a PC and brang us really nothing innovative in latest years.

We like to feel, goddammit bring the damn kinnect to PC and make it so precise that we can browse even using gestures for example! Without messing our precious screens with fingers. Thare so many many exapmples of their own tech that already start to emerge in smartphones (SGS4 and LG Optiums G Pro). Win 8? Hello? Gestures? Eye tracking? Whatever...

M$ seems really is starting to kill the PC... and you wonder why none is buying the same old boring thing?

 

[eidairaman1]

Most average joes are sheeple. I prefer tactile feedback of a keyboard on a pc or laptop over a tablet.. reason pc sales are slipping is cuz of w8.

Yes, I guess there are many who still share the same opinion and see the root problem, not only plain numbers and static observation of consequences.

DS/EAX destruction was completely lame, I agree also. But I have to add that the patent reign of Creative in sound department also played a role a bit. They went too greedy and M$ did it because of them in order to suffocate them, otherwise they needed to buy them.

M$ erased the border between mobile device and a PC and brang us really nothing innovative in latest years.

We like to feel, goddammit bring the damn kinnect to PC and make it so precise that we can browse even using gestures for example! Without messing our precious screens with fingers. Thare so many many exapmples of their own tech that already start to emerge in smartphones (SGS4 and LG Optiums G Pro). Win 8? Hello? Gestures? Eye tracking? Whatever...

M$ seems really is starting to kill the PC... and you wonder why none is buying the same old boring thing?

 

[AsRock]

That never stopped them before. I cant tell you haw many poor people I see with smart phones. Smart phones are the new crack

Cannot get any more loans for money HAHA..

I would not think it all to do with Windows 8 sure it might of some effect. Really there is bound to be good and bad years more people know they don't need a new system because best buy \ PC World say so.

I even got to that point once again in fact been able to get 2 really nice systems together which pretty much shows to me that it's not just MS but INTEL \ (COUGH) AMD offerings are lacking.

When intel release worthy upgrades there be more sales again and to tell ya the truth people don't go changing their HDTV's every year so why would they do it with computers.

Pointing the finger at just one company is not it and just flat out blaming MS for the bad sales, Maybe it did not help as people buy a computer to be just that so i am sure it put people off but still it's not the only factor of bad sales to be considered.

 

[ur6beersaway]

These people are either
A: still using the computer they bought a few years ago because they have no need to upgrade
B: using tablets smartphones etc because they can do everything with it that they would do on there pc on it

#B
Any surprise here ? Joe homeowner just wants check facebook & e-mail where ever he happens to be. He can't justify dropping $600 on some piece of s*ht that is obsolete when he leaves the store and he can't use anywhere but his desk. Can you say Qualcomm snapdragon 600 will not only get better/faster than some OEM's desktops. The professional & gamer will be the only ones interested in pc replacement/upgrade/build. An exclusive club.

 

[eidairaman1]

These people are either
A: still using the computer they bought a few years ago because they have no need to upgrade
B: using tablets smartphones etc because they can do everything with it that they would do on there pc on it

#B
Any surprise here ? Joe homeowner just wants check facebook & e-mail where ever he happens to be. He can't justify dropping $600 on some piece of s*ht that is obsolete when he leaves the store and he can't use anywhere but his desk. Can you say Qualcomm snapdragon 600 will not only get better/faster than some OEM's desktops. The professional & gamer will be the only ones interested in pc replacement/upgrade/build. An exclusive club.

mobile pages and apps are not as full fleged and robust as full pages. plus you can only see 1 screen at a time vs a pc.

 

[Frick]

mobile pages and apps are not as full fleged and robust as full pages. plus you can only see 1 screen at a time vs a pc.

They are getting there, and the people we are talking about here have (in my experience) no concept of doing several things at once anyway. Except for listen to music, and they can do that on the phone/tablet while doing other things.

 

[Hood]

The PC as we know it is going away.

And that's not a bad thing, for most people. The PC as we know it, for 90% of people, is a $500 piece of crap from Wally World with parts that were slow 3 years ago. I mean, haven't we, as enthusiasts, already altered the PC landscape by making fast gaming computers the thing every young geek aspires to? It's become cool to be a computer geek, as long as you act like it's all about the games, and the hardware is just a means to an end. Just another item in the long list of "must have" gear required for a young person to be "with it" and popular. And the marketing whores make sure that anyone without the latest smartphone or laptop feels like a complete outcast, their friends shunning them for daring to use a Tracfone instead of the latest/greatest iPhone or iClone. The enthusiast parts and smartphone/tablet market is booming, so why cry about a bunch of under-spec beige boxes that are quickly becoming history.

 

[MarksmanR]

The main thing I want in a laptop is a powerful GPU so I can play games. Most $1000 laptops have great CPUs, in my opinion a Core i3 or Core i5 dual core CPU is already great. 4GB of RAM is enough but not amazing... but the addiction to 99% of laptops having integrated graphics or low-end GPUs is what causes me NOT to buy. After lots of research I found the $999 Lenovo Y500 with a Core i7 3630QM, 8GB DDR3, 1TB HDD and 2 GT 650M in SLI, amazing deal.