Going, Going ... 5 Signs The Personal Computer May Be On The Way Out

timesfreepress.com: Keyboards? Mice? Disc drives? It may be time to pull the plugs, experts say.
After decades of monopolizing the home computing experience, the desktop PC could be on the way out. Technology experts say the rise of "second screen" devices such as smartphones and tablets represents a fundamental shift toward a "post-PC" or "PC plus" era.

[decrypt]

High chance this most likely will happen. Desktop PC market will only keep falling, since there is no need to upgrade. Since the last 3-4 years the hardware has been increasingly powerful with software lagging behind.

If anyone bought a CPU like the I7 920 or I5 750 about 4 years back, they dont have a reason to upgrade. Hell even the generations before these were already quite powerful.

Hence it makes sense that a slowdown in the desktop PC market happens. Which if it does happen will be very bad for Microsoft.

[Blackdeath_663]

why would it be bad for microsoft? they make pc software not hardware. its the hardware that is showing a decline and you're right there hasn't been much need for upgrades but this cycle happens all the time. on the other side of thing people are Purchasing/donwloading digitally more than ever before. just because people are not buying pc parts as much does not mean pc's are any less popular or are not being used.

[Godmars290]

I would think that both their attempt to move into the hardware/tablet market while asserting and cementing the market dominance Windows has given them for years should say why its a bad thing.

That with Windows they've been resting on their laurels, where in a bad position with tablets started taking over, and now have to do things like their own hardware and copying Steam to keep up.

Only at the same time are trying to either lock Steam out of the market, or force them to play by MS's rules.

[Bigpappy]

I think windows 8 will need a bit of time for the hardware to fully use its strengths and become more affordable. But, I do believe the Surface pro and some other convertibles, like those by Samsung and Acer, will become hot items next year. HP and Dell also have some touch screen all-in-ones that I think will be the desktops of the future and will be the choice of most PC owners who are not heavy, hardcore gamers.

[CaptCalvin]

Games are being held back by current gen consoles. Just wait until the next generation of consoles roll out. Demand for more powerful hardware will increase.

[Dojan123]

I920 is just now starting to show its age with games. Planetside 2 is pushing it hard. I may upgrade over the next 6-8 months.

[bumnut]

Im on an i7 950 and don't have any problems running the latest games, PS2 runs at 50+ fps for me.

[ATi_Elite]

PC sales will slide downward as the technology is really powerful to handle daily task without upgrading for years.....unless some new fancy service comes out that requires MOAR POWAH!

PC manufactures will have to focus on China, India, Brazil, and other rapidly developing nations for PC sales. There still is a strong demand for PC's Globally as not yet everyone has one yet!

Tablets/Slates are powerful enough for casual PC use but there will always be a need for Desktops and Workstations for Corporations and Small businesses.

Microsofts Surface really has a chance to revolutionize the industry as it's a slate/laptop but MS needs to go all out with it before Apple makes something similar and take MS thunder cause Apple knows how to Market better than MS.

Everyone is hyping up the cloud this the cloud that but as a PC Gamer I want to RENDER my games locally cause that's the way I like my gaming experience so to quote Neo "I need Hardware...lots and lots of hardware!

[Klonopin]

The first line you wrote is starting to wear out it's luster. Be more original.

[rainslacker]

Yeah, I know I really enjoy working with high poly models and productivity software such as Visual Studio on my iPad. /s

There may be a shift in the general consumer when it comes to computing, but desktops will still play a major part in the computing industry for a long time to come. Cloud services may give way to a more terminal based structure, but they aren't really effective in the home, and have other drawbacks, and some people like the customization of being able to upgrade a PC without having to rebuy a whole machine.

As far as MS, they could actually see a boon in software sales if they work the market properly. They are first and foremost a software company, and their biggest money makers are office, server, and productivity software. There is also nothing preventing them from making a non-PC based OS, and they already do with Windows Phone OS. All the things which they currently profit off of will still be required regardless of the platform.

[DA_SHREDDER]

I don't like the pc cause it's too easy to get viruses and getting your whole pc sabotaged. It's not about the graphics, or capabilities, it's about the software, and it just so happens my favorite franchises are first party titles, from mario to killzone , motorstorm to mario kart,

[Prototype]

After reading the article, I'd say PC is evolving more than just "out the door." Where something was mandatory at one point is now an option - if even needed anymore. The whole Smartphone/Tablet phase is more geared towards a certain demographic than someone who's looking for a desktop/notebook replacement all together.

If anything I want the option of Windows, Linux, and Mac on PC's rather than just Windows or Mac pc's with the occasional "Linux" option as a dual boot or tablet.

[Conzul]

Yes, desktops will never disappear entirely for the developer/mmo crowd. But tablets have stolen much of PC's thunder amongst the casuals.

[pandehz]

Personal Computing will always exist, it just might not be on a desktop in the future.

I dont have a desktop and do everything on my Alien.

Eventually we will see dekstop level of performance across the board on all devices. Just the way Computers used to be the size of entire rooms, its counterpart is the desktop. Those roomsized computers faded away and so will desktops as ppl are always on the move, living in rent, travelling, changing rooms, etc etc so many examples.

Also the tech being made with low power efficiency and smaller die chips means computers will be on the go. Maybe the age old concepts of wearable computers may just happen soon.

What will NEVER change tho is the concept of personal computing. It's part of our lifestyle. We want full control of many elements in our work and lives. Some things we are ok with automation but many things like work, finances etc we would like to have full control and not managed by another entity.

[Moncole]

Games always sell the most on PC. Robot Entertainment said OMD2 is not on xbox because OMD did amazing on PC and horrible on xbox.

[NYC_Gamer]

I don't believe PC will ever be dead as these so called experts claim

[Deku-Johnny]

I'm not sure this is on complete topic with the article but I've never been much of a PC gamer, the thing is I've recently starting a programming course and I don't think my PC will suffice as I'm going to be having to run high end games on it. I was wondering if anyone could offer me some help as to what PC would be best for doing so. I'd prefer a laptop really for portability and it'd be great if it was under a grand as being a student I'm not exactly loaded. Can anyone help me out please?

[STK026]

All I can tell you is that running high end games at acceptable settings on a laptop will cost you way more than a grand.

[dirthurts]

Not necessarily. ASUS makes some gaming laptops that you can often find for 6-800 bucks.
If you really want performance though...I'd be looking for a desktop. Gaming laptops are pretty heavy and bulky anyway.

[Somebody]

Why is why sometimes it made me rather angry. Not many developers wanted to optimize their games for laptops even though for years laptops have proven to be as a pretty solid sale. You need a a laptop to have a fraction of the power of a gaming desktop in order to play games at a decent performance level.

And yet these same developers are now rushing to make games for mobile devices.

[Bladesfist]

Good luck with your course, I would recommend getting a desktop for your test environment because IDEs like Visual Studio are not too heavy so you should be able to develop on any old laptop.

[rainslacker]

If you just started your programming courses, you are probably a few years out from having to run high end games. Depending on the program you may never make a game on the level of a major or even independent studio. Most of what you'll be making will work on the most basic of computers. Any modern computer will run the games you'll likely be making for the next few years.

For reference, I have a 6 year old notebook I brought for $400 at the time. I can play fairly complex games I made in Unity on it no problem. It struggles with mainstream games, but they are much more demanding. Unreal games play OK, however actually making them is somewhat problematic due to it being the bare minimum.

However, I can tell you for your own sake, look for computers in at least the $6-800 range if your on a budget. Maybe $7-1000 if your going with a notebook. Upgrade the RAM to 8GB. If you will be working with a lot of high poly models go to 12-16GB. The reason is that the software your going to be using, probably Visual Studio, Unreal, Unity, etc, can be real memory hogs. High poly models also require more memory as the software that uses them will take up whatever you have available, and your system will literally stop responding for minutes at a time just trying to move the camera around. There is nothing more annoying trying to switch between those applications or even within the application, and waiting for the page file.

This was my experience with my old notebook. I use a PC for everything now, upgraded to 12GB for modeling. I'd imagine most mid-range notebooks now would be more than sufficient for you for the next 3-4 years, as the software has remained relatively the same. Definitely make sure whatever notebook you buy has a VGA or DVI out, and I believe most of them do nowadays.

Edit: Also consider going for one with a bigger screen, 17" widescreen with good pixel density. Visual studio isn't that bad on a slower machine, but it's really not the easiest to use on a small screen.

Edit2: Bladefist is right about VS, however, in all likelihood you will probably also have a web browser open at the time, possibly reference material open, maybe Unity if your using that as your engine, so the likelihood that you'll be using just VS is slim. That's why I believe you should upgrade the memory. Particularly if you'll be using 3DS Max or Maya, and likely you'll have a time come when you will need to use those for something, even as a programmer.

[Deku-Johnny]

Thanks for the help, I know it's going to be a long while before I'm running big games with the course so money isn't too tight as I've got my own little system for saving up. And yes I am using Visual Studio, having to have the college's student website open as well as on disc reference material on at all times. RAM is always my biggest problem with my current laptop so that's mainly what I've been looking for. But yeah again thank you for taking the time to provide me with the info you have, it'll be a great help.

[cee773]

PC will not die the core loves specs but
it will dwindle casuals dont need pc's smartphones feels in the void like web browsing and email etc
and android mini pc's will cannibalize windows as well its not gonna be easy for microsoft it wont be like the old days when millions hands them hundreds of dollars a year for windows upgrades and word android is microsoft's worst nightmare imo its so versatile google cant control it lol its everywhere spreading and once college books have apps and we can do more school work from our mobiles we can already do math, word doc's and photoshop to an extent but when when they support android browsers to do school work it will be a problem we need windows less and less every day thats why windows 8 is sold for as low as 40$ microsoft's monopoly is no more microsoft cant depend on windows like they have in the past couple decades

[pandehz]

hope this helps

http://www.englishclub.com/...

[cee773]

Says the guy who's name is pandehz its panda's lame
Get off my Johnson and give your mother her turn if you cant understand don't read it I'm not trying a write an essay this is a comment section I can write with the best of em but who looks for proper grammer in the comment section dweeb

[Somebody]

I'm seeing the cycle again. I remember years ago (during the height of PC is dead era caused by current gen consoles) PC stores in my place have a hard time keeping up with sales. They had to assign half of their store to sell cellphones, their accessories and prepaid cards in order to stay afloat.

Then, several years ago things started to pick up for PCs around the time when netbooks appeared. PC stores flourished and there wasn't any need to keep selling cellphones stuff. PC stores actually sold PC stuff in them.

Now, I'm seeing PC stores are selling smartphone stuff along with regular PC hardware. It's sad actually.

[aliengmr]

I think fewer individual hardware pieces will be made but it won't go away completely. Its far easier, cheaper, and take far less time to replace and upgrade parts on a desktop.

Gaming laptops have been around a while and desktops are still around.

I personally will never use a tablet or laptop as my primary gaming device. I prefer being able to fix what is broken and upgrade ASAP.

Then again, predicting tech trends is rather futile IMO.

[strigoi814]

1. Hardware price
2. Piracy
3. less games from new developers coz some wants console popularity

[tachy0n]

1. fail troll fail, you can build a good pc for $350 or less, go research.
2. steam says hi
3. the PC has more exclusives than the ps3 and x360 combined.

dissed.

[BrianG]

I agree with your first and last point. But everyone knows that piracy is a big problem when it comes to PC gaming and PC software in general.

Which makes console development attractive to these developers. They don't have to worry about mainstream piracy.

Things like Steam definitely help for those who respect the developers and are willing to pay for full games.

I can pirate half of the latest games overnight for my laptop, but I choose not to because it hurts the industry.

[aliengmr]

@BrianG

Its a problem on all platforms.

The open nature of the PC makes it more prevalent, but it requires different ways of dealing with it. Which publishers don't like doing.

Valve's approach is to make buying games online easier than pirating. This is largely why I choose not to pirate games.

On the flipside, locking down a platform creates problems as well. Patching games comes to mind.

Reality is, piracy is a complicated problem that requires out-of-the-box thinking to deal with.

[rapidturtle]

I love my desktop. Nothing beats sitting at my desk and looking at my 24 inch monitor.

[josephayal]

Consoles are killing the PC gaming market, Anyway PCs have many uses, such as surfing etc etc

[ApexHell]

i can tell you that pc sales are slumping because people are building pc's or getting someone they know to build them one i would know i built 12 machines in the past 8 months. the fact is on the internet everywhere everyone states hp and dell over price their shit. however software sales on pc are on a rise and computer components and cases are on a rise.

the other 4 points really are not that impactful.

[ninjahunter]

Ive only seen PC gaming expand in my circle of friends over the last few years, mostly due to them going to college, and the fact that college laptops will actually play most PC games equally well, or better than consoles.

[3-4-5]

So wait....

Consoles are dead, hand-helds are dead, and PC's are dead ?

Do these idiots really think ALL people will be using Tablets and playing crappy .99cent games ?

They are in for a rude awakening in about 3-4 years when they realize things are just the same as now.