Global PC Sales Fall to Eight-Year Low [OC]

More doom-and-gloom statistics about the "failing PC" market that is going to totally dry up and blow away in the shadow of tablet and phone sales that never actually seems to happen.

I've built PCs for the last 15 years. I'm doing about the same amount of business in 2016 that I did in 2001. The difference is now that PCs are last longer and I do more upgrades than full builds. Swapping out a motherboard/CPU/RAM after 3 or 4 years and keeping everything else in the box has become more and more standard over the years. For my gaming customers most of the time they just swap out a videocard and add a few bells and whistles (SSD, larger hard drive, second videocard) as there is no longer any real reason to keep upgrading every 2-3 years.

These statistics showing "declining PC sales" are also gauging their statistics on big PC manufacturers and the adoption rate of businesses to a new standard (such as Windows 10 in this study). Over time, especially the last 10 years, people have learned and become more comfortable with computers. Many of my customers have swapped out their own parts after coming to me to just replace a power supply or install a videocard. 10 years ago someone might have gone out and bought a whole new computer just because the Geek Squad told them their shit was toast after they paid $100 for a diagnosis. Now they just fix it themselves. This data never takes into account home builders and upgraders.

The PC isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Not until you can build a portable/laptop for the same price/performance ratio as a desktop. Myself and millions of others still prefer to game and work on full-featured desktop machines that don't cost an arm and a leg. Sure, I could pay $2500 for a laptop that will keep up with my desktops I build, but the minimal upgrade path and high price tag will ensure I always have a desktop PC.

/r/dataisbeautiful Thread Link - vilays.com