PCs were more and less expensive in Q1 as shipments stalled

PC shipments continue their slow slide, with analyst firms Gartner and IDC both releasing data for 2018’s first quarter showing further slippage. IDC counted 60.383 million PCs heading out of factory doors around the world, down just 14,000 from Q1 2017’s 60.397 million and an assessment of “flat” sales. Gartner’s count …

[Doctor Syntax]

" Slipping shipments therefore indicate slower replacement cycles and the fact that buyers now have a choice of smartphones, phablets, tablets and detachables for their computing needs."

And all the losses at the margins through refusal to produce what some purchasers are looking for because "there's no demand".

[Fading]

I helped Dell's figures...

By buying an Alienware machine last quarter. The previous machine was purchased in 2013 and was still a better specification than the dell I have to use at work..... So definitely a slow down in the work desktop replacement - laptops though seem to be replaced almost every other year.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I helped Dell's figures...

I bought an Inspiron 15 7000 7577

My previous laptop was a Dell (circa 2010, an i 3 540m).

For $680 USD, a 256gb nvme drive, an i5 7300, an nvidia gtx 1060, Thunderbolt 3 port, 8g ddr4 memory. I put an additonal 8gb memory ($60) and a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD drive ($140)

The thing is, in just discrete PARTS, the m2 drive, the cpu, the ddr4 memory and the graphics adapter would cost nearly $680!

I thought it was an excellent deal. This thing is dead quiet unless exercising the GPU. It reboots in 15 seconds ( i kid you not).

With this laptop ( and esp with the Thunderbolt 3 port), I am declaring that I will never purchase or upgrade another desktop computer. Ever. A laptop can now do it all.

[mark l 2]

Re: Cost Have Increased A Lot - Quality Reduced

"Within 3 months, the ethernet connector broke, so i have to use a USB ethernet module."

Surely this should be repaired under the warranty if it's only 3 months old? In fact i would say this should be a complete swap out for a new computer or a refund as it was not fit for purpose if it broke so soon after purchase.

Although i understand it is probably less hassle just to get a USB Ethernet adapter than have to be without your computer since you would probably have to send it back to Dell for a repair or exchange.

[Old Timer]

Re: Cost Have Increased A Lot - Quality Reduced

Or this could just be complete nonsense and he's just slating Dell without foundation...

[Alan Sharkey]

Quality has slipped

I recently purchased a new I7-8700 PC from HP as an upgrade from my old I7-4790. The speed increase is nice but the quality is awful. It is really built down to a price. Everything seems flimsy and awkward to upgrade.

I wanted to add another hard disk - no chance. Getting at the SATA connection on the motherboard involves taking everything off AND moving the 2.5 SSD to a little corner. There's no spare power connections anyway.

The included wireless keyboard was obvioulsy designed for a laptopn where the USB dongle is about 6" from the keboard. Putting it on a desktop machine at the back where the case is in the way just destroys the signal.

The DVD player is not only flimsy, but really slow. I could get around 7x speed on dvd copies whereas my old one goes up to 11x speed.

Still, it looks nice :)

[MikeHuk]

My 2009 desktop still works fine

Why would I buy a new pc when my current works well. Pc development reached the point where fast, really useful units were available some ten years ago. OK gamers wont agree but my 2009 Chillblat Vista 3.2 mhz is quite fast enough for daily use. OK I have put in an SSD which was a really important upgrade but performance increase is mainly that startup is quicker..

It has been updgraded through Windows 7 and now to Windows 10. Why would I upgrade? I am sure that there are millions of users who are in the same situation.

[Andy The Hat]

Re: My 2009 desktop still works fine

It does seem true that the Wintel not-a-monopolistic-partnership-at-all 'OS needs more power ... here is some ... oh, our lastest update now requires more power' spiral has certainly slowed if not stopped. To me, at the front end it's only the power games market that is the real upgrade driver now.

[Davidcrockett]

Re: My 2009 desktop still works fine

Ditto - my PC is a similar age and spec. Got a new graphics card, more memory and an SSD a few years back. I keep thinking of getting a new one but struggle to think of any reasons why.

[Boothy]

Re: My 2009 desktop still works fine

I have a home built i7-3770k (built in 2013). Stock speed is 3.5GHz, but runs quite happily at 4.25GHz with a good cooler (sealed liquid).

As an example, this can run Far Cry 5 (using their built in benchmark tool) at 58fps in 3440 x 1440 on High, drops to 53fps on Ultra (this with a now also old'ish 980Ti (AMP EXTREME factory overclocked version)).

As I'm not a framerate whore, I really don't see any point in upgrading my rig any time soon.

[jelabarre59]

Re: My 2009 desktop still works fine

Why would I buy a new pc when my current works well. Pc development reached the point where fast, really useful units were available some ten years ago.

I usually upgrade by aquiring friends/family castoff machines when they find the latest MSWin "upgrades" have turned their systems into mush. I load Linux on them, and they (for the most part) run great. Except for this P.o.S. Optiplex 390, which doesn't run right with ANYTHING.

[steve 124]

Ignore the reason ethusiasts aren't building?

I've built a new gaming rig every 2 or 3 years since the late 90s. I have the extra income to build with the newest tech each time, but the price of RAM chips has increased over 400% in 2 years. That affects the cost of everything from SSDs, to GPUs, to motherboards... it's a trickle down effect.

There would be plenty of new builds this summer if only RAM manufacturers weren't trying to bleed us dry like we're the last humans on a planet full of vampires.

I understand they can continue to sell their overpriced crap to tablet/phone manufacturers, but this stranglehold is killing the PC enthusiast market (and, of course, we don't buy dell, lenovo or other crap).

32GB of DDR4 2400 bought in summer of 2016 for 107$ is now 449$ on NE... explain how that happens? You want PC sales to go up in 2018? Prosecute some RAM CEOs again, just like they had to do back 2008. PUT THEM IN JAIL!

[Anonymous Coward]

> PCs were more and less expensive in Q1 as shipments stalled

Quantum computing? I'll get my coat

[Anonymous Coward]

Selling Lenovo desktops is getting really difficult - prices not competitive, and if you want to carry something a bit older to lower the price, most of what they have are the teeny tiny ones that my business customers seem to dislike intensely, based on the time it took to stock the few that we tried.

Had a 3770 and just upgraded to an i7-8700k with an NVMe SSD and only 8 gigs of ram due to the pricing of ram and having the new SSD as a performance buffer - ram is outrageous because everybody wants more and more and more - IOT galore, and we know all about the video card issue, my 760 is just going to have to suffice. But I used quality parts, anyone that goes to purchase a big box store machine and expects both a low price and high quality is delusional.

[niio]

"slower replacement cycles"

This.

My desktop gets the heavy use. It is a 16gb 4770i7 with a couple of SSDs and nvidia driving a 55in 4k hdtv. It is 2.5yrs old, nearly silent until I start up the engineering simulations, as good as anything I'd consider buying and does everything I need. The PC boots faster than the TV.