Why the desktop PC is far from dead

[Brink]

Pundits love making bold proclamations that things are dead, and if the commentators are to be believed, the desktop PC needs to get ready for the biggest die-off since the dinosaurs. The idea is that the more agile notebooks are leaving the lumbering desktop PCs in their dust.

Do the people who make these boldly overconfident claims even use PCs?

Don't worry, the desktop PC isn't going anywhere. Yes, I know that the bottom has fallen out of PC sales in general - with desktops being harder hit than notebooks - and people nowadays find tablets and smartphones to be far more exciting, the desktop PC isn't going anywhere.

Here are just a few reasons why:

Read more: Why the desktop PC is far from dead | ZDNet

 

[lehnerus2000]

Axiomatic.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there.

That sentiment has been posted on W8 and W10 Forums too. Funny though as ZDNET was telling us only a few months ago why the PC WAS Dead !!.

BTW some of the comments mentioned are incorrect in the ZDNET article -- for example if a keyboard breaks on a notebook then it's a showstopper. NOT TRUE- Keyboards on laptops are actually quite easy to replace (I bought my laptop in GERMANY cheapest place) and changed the keyboard from DE to ISL without any problem - 4 screws !!. In any case use a USB wireless one until you can get it repaired.

Sales of Slabs (other than the "convertible type") have been declining now for a long time - an event predicted a long time ago by myself amongst others on these very Forums and we were ridiculed when "Tablet-mania" was at its height.

PC sales did very well indeed over Xmas and are showing quite a big come back - laptops at least. People have discovered that while slabs are great for email, surfing the web and possibly watching movies while travelling in a train / bus / plane/ship etc they are NO good when you need to create say a complex presentation, mess around with spreadsheets or do other genuine "work" things where a keyboard and mouse still work more efficiently than anything else yet discovered.

Yes you can do limited work with a tablet but it's a real pain and you certainly wouldn't spend HOURS doing that type of work just using the touch facilities of the tablet.

Decent smart phones in any case have larger screens and can do more than the average tablet can in any case and has a lot more processing power too.

No surprise here then.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[ThrashZone]

I believe we were also ridiculed saying the surface can not replace a laptop or a desktop the later was even funnier,
Most laptops can do almost everything a desktop can do
It's all clean fun though
Cheers.

 

[jimbo45]

I believe we were also ridiculed saying the surface can not replace a laptop or a desktop the later was even funnier,
Most laptops can do almost everything a desktop can do
It's all clean fun though
Cheers.

Hi there

I have a Surface 3 pro which I use daily for REAL work -- I still have a laptop (or two) on which I'm messing around with some of these new builds for testing.

I haven't had ONE SINGLE PROBLEM in using the Surface pro 3 instead of a laptop or even a desktop -- especially with a docking station - for what I'd usually do on a desktop / laptop and the Video resolution beats the standard 1366 X 768 you see on most laptops HANDS DOWN !!!.

I just wish the SP3 was cheaper -- but I think the brilliant flexibility of the convertible format makes it absolutely ideal for working in "Slab mode" or as a Real computer.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...BTW some of the comments mentioned are incorrect in the ZDNET article -- for example if a keyboard breaks on a notebook then it's a showstopper. NOT TRUE- Keyboards on laptops are actually quite easy to replace (I bought my laptop in GERMANY cheapest place) and changed the keyboard from DE to ISL without any problem - 4 screws !!...

It depends on the machine. Some are easy to work on, some are real bears, and some are impossible. I've found Lenovos are far easier to work on than Asus and Acers (the latter are in the impossible category).

...In any case use a USB wireless one until you can get it repaired...

True that.

...Sales of Slabs (other than the "convertible type") have been declining now for a long time - an event predicted a long time ago by myself amongst others on these very Forums and we were ridiculed when "Tablet-mania" was at its height.

PC sales did very well indeed over Xmas and are showing quite a big come back - laptops at least. People have discovered that while slabs are great for email, surfing the web and possibly watching movies while travelling in a train / bus / plane/ship etc they are NO good when you need to create say a complex presentation, mess around with spreadsheets or do other genuine "work" things where a keyboard and mouse still work more efficiently than anything else yet discovered.

Yes you can do limited work with a tablet but it's a real pain and you certainly wouldn't spend HOURS doing that type of work just using the touch facilities of the tablet.

Decent smart phones in any case have larger screens and can do more than the average tablet can in any case and has a lot more processing power too.

No surprise here then.

Cheers
jimbo

Right on!

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I believe we were also ridiculed saying the surface can not replace a laptop or a desktop the later was even funnier,
Most laptops can do almost everything a desktop can do
It's all clean fun though
Cheers.

That depends one's needs. Multitasking that requires several windows can be a royal hurt in the donkey on the smaller single screen of the laptop. I recently had to depend on a 15" notebook for a little over seven weeks while I was out of town. Fast as the little guy is (boot time is amazing due to its SSD), I went through serious withdrawal from my three 24" monitor desktop setup with 18 macro keys on the keyboard that wasn't relieved until I got back home. All seriousness aside, as much as I love my little notebooks for traveling, multitasking, high detail graphics work, working with large spreadsheets, storing large amount of data, etc. are far more efficient and practical on a desktop than a laptop.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I believe we were also ridiculed saying the surface can not replace a laptop or a desktop the later was even funnier,
Most laptops can do almost everything a desktop can do
It's all clean fun though
Cheers.

Hi there

I have a Surface 3 pro which I use daily for REAL work -- I still have a laptop (or two) on which I'm messing around with some of these new builds for testing.

I haven't had ONE SINGLE PROBLEM in using the Surface pro 3 instead of a laptop or even a desktop -- especially with a docking station - for what I'd usually do on a desktop / laptop and the Video resolution beats the standard 1366 X 768 you see on most laptops HANDS DOWN !!!.

I just wish the SP3 was cheaper -- but I think the brilliant flexibility of the convertible format makes it absolutely ideal for working in "Slab mode" or as a Real computer.

Cheers
jimbo

If (a huge if) I were to get a tablet, it would be the SF3. It would have to take over the duties of a notebook for traveling to even barely approach justifying its procetag.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

Sometimes for all sorts of reasons we indulge in a bit of "expensive luxury". I agree the SP3 IS expensive (but no more so than APPLE kit of comparable spec- or even a really top end laptop).

I find when travelling (of which I do a lot) being able to relax and watch say a movie in Slab mode with a nice long battery life is well worth it. On a plane EVERY gram is important - especially with baggage allowance getting tighter and tighter -- definitely if you have to travel in "Cattle Class".

I've attached it to a huge 60 cm monitor via the docking station - the 4K video resolution is unbelievably Stunning. You do need a desktop though for quite a variety of purposes too and I haven't found a way of using a genuine multi-monitor set up away from a desktop system --I'm installing some Stock Trading software where I'll need at least THREE and preferably FOUR or even FIVE large screens -- I agree for this a desktop is the only sensible (or possible) solution so I've bought an old desktop back into service for this -- you don't need a mega fast CPU but you need very fast Internet to get good real time market data and to be able to trade almost instantly.

Do I regret buying the SP3 in spite of the price -- No way !!!.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[fireberd]

There are a lot of recording studios, mine included, that still use a desktop for the main recording computer. With a desktop, I'm not concerned with cooling like a laptop. Cooling (quiet cooling) is still an issue but its controllable with a desktop. Having a large amount of I/O ports (mostly USB) is needed in recording system PC's and laptops are limited to only two or three. Using external USB hubs is not a viable option.

My main recording studio system is relatively old in computer technology as it was built almost 3 years ago with an i7 3770, 16GB of RAM and an SSD for the OS and recording software (Sonar). But that is more than most Laptops. Probably a new desktop will be built next year.

 

[ThrashZone]

Yea if Microsoft figures out the pricing and hard drive size/ space deal the surface might be worth using for people with older programs and allot of files...
Otherwise the all cloud stuff will need to be used and not allot of people are interested in subscriptionware or carrying flash drives around

 

[Layback Bear]

How about this simple idea.

No computing device is designed to kick out other computing devices from the market.

Each computing device is designed to meet the needs of various people doing various thing.

As far as I know their is no law against one person having several computing devices. Then using which device that meet the needs and desires at that time. Well except maybe in California where you can buy a joint but not a happy meal.

I personally have Desktops and nothing else. Their is a reason. I have no need for anything but Desktops. That does not make me a hater of portable devices. It makes me a person that has no need for one. I would think their are people that don't have a need for Desktops.

I would bet a dollar to a left handed monkey that their are people that have a need and desire for both Desktops and portables.

From what I'm seeing nothing is dieing they are just getting better and in some cases overlapping the abilities of each other. I will admit my Desktops are not very portable.
My traveling is from the computer room to the kitchen where the coffee pot is located. In between the two locations is my sleeping chair and the john so a Desktop has got me covered.

If I can figure out how to put another Desktop system in my computer room I will build another one. But maybe because of lack of room its time to buy a quality Laptop.

Decisions, decision, and more decisions.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

How about this simple idea.

No computing device is designed to kick out other computing devices from the market.

Each computing device is designed to meet the needs of various people doing various thing.

As far as I know their is no law against one person having several computing devices. Then using which device that meet the needs and desires at that time. Well except maybe in California where you can buy a joint but not a happy meal.

I personally have Desktops and nothing else. Their is a reason. I have no need for anything but Desktops. That does not make me a hater of portable devices. It makes me a person that has no need for one. I would think their are people that don't have a need for Desktops.

I would bet a dollar to a left handed monkey that their are people that have a need and desire for both Desktops and portables.

From what I'm seeing nothing is dieing they are just getting better and in some cases overlapping the abilities of each other. I will admit my Desktops are not very portable.
My traveling is from the computer room to the kitchen where the coffee pot is located. In between the two locations is my sleeping chair and the john so a Desktop has got me covered.

If I can figure out how to put another Desktop system in my computer room I will build another one. But maybe because of lack of room its time to buy a quality Laptop.

Decisions, decision, and more decisions.

Actually, methinks you will find most of us agree with you. I have both a desktop and more than one notebook. Each has a purpose for me. For now, I have no need for a tablet that can justify the expense, even for an Android. That could change someday but I'm not holding my breath.

Other people have different needs. Someone who only does light internet surfing, checks emails and social media pages, etc., and desires/needs portability will probably be happier with a tablet or a smartphone with a larger screen. A day trader or graphics designer would need a desktop. A student would probably be better served with a larger laptop. Many people would be best served by having multiple machines, each having its own purpose.

 

[ThrashZone]

I believe my main issue is I just despise touch screens and most of all cleaning all of the fingerprints off them
Shiny black items are bad enough

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I believe my main issue is I just despise touch screens and most of all cleaning all of the fingerprints off them
Shiny black items are bad enough

Oh yeah! There is that. Still, for small devices, like smartphones and tablets, they make the most sense. Laptops? Maybe for shared use with keyboards and mice (they would be easier to use than those stupid little miserable misbegotten sorry touchpads). Desktops? Nope!

 

[Layback Bear]

Buffalo wings and touch screens probable not a good thing.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Buffalo wings and touch screens probable not a good thing.

:roflmao::roflmao:

 

[DavidE]

Buffalo wings and touch screens probable not a good thing.

Buffalo Wings ! :drool:
Here is where it all started


Source: Anchorbar | Home of the Original Chicken Wings

I remember way back then we could go to a Pub and get a Monday Night special - a 50 piece bucket for 5 bucks

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I thought they started on buffalos.

 

[Layback Bear]

That is back in the good old days when one wing could feed a crew. Then the buffalo hunters came along in the 1800's and spoiled it for everybody.
Oooooh to be back in the good old days. No touch screens and big buffalo wings.

Then came along a dork that caught a prairie chicken or two and it went down hell from that time on. Back at the ranch the cook made a dip that also went well with the wings. They still call it Ranch. I like it to this day.