thedesktopisdead

posts about #thedesktopisdead more →
So Long Desktop PC, You Suck

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

Project_J187
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
Did you guys just now notice the Frys laptop display growing and the tower display being the one small row in the back?

R.I.P. Tower

P.S. - I will always have one of you for my PC gaming.
Reply

Project_J187 was starred Project_J187 was unstarred

Thorax
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
Every computer I have ever owned has been a laptop, even before I became a college student. A laptop does everything I would use in a desktop, except it is also portable. I hate being tethered to one spot while doing work.
Reply

Thorax was starred Thorax was unstarred

Voyou_Charmant
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
I own both. I use my laptop when I'm drunk/lazy, or traveling. Any other time, I'm happy to have a desktop with a nice big ergonomic keyboard and mouse and nice big multiple monitor setup. I like that the towers are getting smaller, but I still need a proper desk setup and I'm not going to plug in and unplug all of that from my laptop.
Reply

Voyou_Charmant was starred Voyou_Charmant was unstarred

Curves
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
I cant predict the future, but, I am looking for a new desktop for home, which I have wanted for a couple of years, but I will NOT be saddled with Vitsa (dispite assurances from some at Giz that its all good, I fear it). I am wondering if, like me, lots of PC buyers are waiting for Win 7.
Reply

Curves was starred Curves was unstarred

zenneth
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
This article is bunk. Various market figures are quoted yet are only partially grounded in reality. The truth is that the market fluctuates from year to year. I vaguely remember this same take a few years ago when laptops were just coming into their own within the entertainment market of PCs. The simple truth is that desktops aren't going anywhere, and the inanity of this article just irritates like sand in the underwear.
Reply

zenneth was starred zenneth was unstarred

Wilson Rothman
06/29/09

@zenneth: You keep telling yourself that.
Reply

Wilson Rothman was starred Wilson Rothman was unstarred

wild homes loves you but chooses darkness!
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
I can see how you'd make the argument that desktops are dying out. And insofar as we're talking general-purpose computing, I agree-- though I'd argue that netbooks could pretty much do most of the same things, at a generally sub-notebook price.

But for mine, I'd generally go desktop. I've got an older laptop around here somewhere, but for just about everything I do I'd rather be here at my desktop... especially for doing web-based work. I prefer the screen real estate, the full-sized keyboard, and the fact that my hardware represents EXACTLY what I plan to do with the PC without having to make compromises based on what a laptop manufacturer chooses to offer at my price point (SSDs in RAID, 8GB RAM, etc).

I guess the thrust of this article is that pre-built desktop sales are dying, and that's certainly true. The market has been segmented into pretty specific pieces for a while, now: cheap junk boxes from the likes of eMachines and lower-end Dells and such, mid-range junk like you see in Best Buy, and overpriced, proprietary junk from manufacturers like Alienware-Dell and Falcon Northwest. Maybe we've just reached the point where a desktop is something everyone can build... maybe the idea of desktop PCs as something that have to be purchased, complete, in a big brown box is a moribund concept.

PS and the laptop you tout as being a really great deal seems anything but. The multitouch trackpad is cool, but a lot of the other features seem a bit off. Blu-Ray support on a 1366x768 display? Each keep the resolution and increase the density by SHRINKING the screen, or give me a better resolution display, and I'd be interested... and pairing DDR3 RAM with such a comically piddly processor is a bit funny. It's an OK laptop, but I can't see what the market for that particular device is. Unless you just really, really wanted Blu-Ray support.
Reply

yardameus
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
I hate sitting and typing and working at a desk on a laptop. The only thing I hate more than that is sitting and attaching a laptop to a redundant extra screen and keyboard and mouse etc...
Reply

yardameus was starred yardameus was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
06/29/09

@yardameus: I generally close up the clamshell and attach my own keyboard and mouse.
Reply

Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred

Zanduar
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
Interesting article. What are your sources?
Reply

Zanduar was starred Zanduar was unstarred

Wilson Rothman
06/29/09

@Zanduar: A stupid question like that sounds like you didn't actually read the article. But thanks for calling it "interesting" anyway!
Reply

Wilson Rothman was starred Wilson Rothman was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
Since getting the MBP, it's become both my mobile and desktop device, relegating the Powermac G4 to a headless torrent and file backup system, which I can remote access from wherever I have an open wifi available. Desktops still have some good uses which I wouldn't think of using a laptop for, mainly because desktops are also much cheaper and simpler to maintain, such as how I use my G4 now, but I'd never use a desktop as my primary computing device again, unless I have no choice.
Reply

Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred

Mac the Tard
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
Compared to a Console,

a budget Gaming PC is going to be

Better

Faster

Cheaper

& lets not forget about

Upgradable.
Reply

Mac the Tard was starred Mac the Tard was unstarred

Ehrich Blackhound
06/29/09

@World's Greatest Mactard!: Compared to a console a budget gaming PC is cheaper? Have some numbers? (Not trying to be an a-hole, I would just like to see that theory flushed out.) Most budget gaming PCs I've seen cost 2x as much as a console. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places though.
Reply

Ehrich Blackhound was starred

zenneth
06/29/09

@Ehrich Blackhound: You must be. A true budget gaming PC can be had, minus display, for less than the cost of a new PS3, with graphics that are easily comparable.
Reply

zenneth was starred zenneth was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
06/29/09

@zenneth: Which brand(s)? Like Ehrich, I've only seen those that come in, at the very least, at twice the price of a PS3.
Reply

Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred

Ryanraven
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
I'm going to use the same argument that's been used for years. Until there are HUGE improvments in battery life, without compromising computing power or adding huge amounts of heat I can not see the desktop dying completly. I will cry the day I see a laptop as a server. Upgradeability may never be surpassed. Powerusers will always be on desktops, just for that little bump.
Reply

Ryanraven was starred Ryanraven was unstarred

OMG! Ponies!
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
The XBox 360 and PS3 are the two reasons why I go for a mid-bottom of the line refurb desktop as a backup email and media server. And I don't know if I'm going to replace my 6 month-old desktop (which replaced an 8 year-old) desktop when it dies.
Reply

OMG! Ponies! was starred OMG! Ponies! was unstarred

Mr_Biggles:Windows 7 was my idea
06/29/09

@OMG! Ponies!: I always thought you were a PC gamer phonies I'm sadden by this.
Reply

GitEmSteveDave_ My Brute Dojo Code CDIAFIFE
06/29/09

@OMG! Ponies!: So, if someone made you a bacon-themed tower case, you would turn it down?
Reply

OMG! Ponies!
06/29/09

@Mr Biggles_Just a Dealzmodo Kind of Hobo: Back in the day, I was. I adored flight-sims and I count Wing Commander as one of my favorite games of all-time. But I haven't seen a space combat sim that I've liked since X-Wing Alliance.

I started playing video games on the C64 with F-15 Strike Eagle III being one of my favorites. I love the Sim games (even Sim Earth, Sim Ant and Sim Tower).

But when FPSes started demanding more and more power, I saw that I could get a decent experience on a console. I've grown accustomed to gaming on the couch, as opposed to at the computer desk. And when I got my XBox 360, I realized that I probably would never play video games on my computer again.

SteveDave: No, I do not want a bacon-themed desktop computer. Get me a computer made entirely from bacon and then we'll talk.
Reply

OMG! Ponies! was starred OMG! Ponies! was unstarred

GitEmSteveDave_ My Brute Dojo Code CDIAFIFE
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
I think the biggest killer of desktops was Wifi. No longer were you tethered to a wire in the wall, and also to your own home. As more places got high speed wireless, you were more free to use your computer in places you never could before, which opened you horizons.

Me myself, I like towers. Except in my bed and living room, I have all towers, and I like them for their upgradability and also ease of repair. And you can totally customize them! But that's just me, apparently.
Reply

RT100
06/29/09

@WearingBlue4BillyMays_GitEmSte...: you really can't argue with the price-performance ratio on those good ol' beige (or racing stripe) towers
Reply

RT100 was starred RT100 was unstarred

GitEmSteveDave_ My Brute Dojo Code CDIAFIFE
06/29/09

@rt100: Ahhh, The Green Machine. I actually just ordered a new mobo and power supply for it b/c I had some spare P4's floating around, and the computer was/is dead.

The RadioactiveDell case is slated to be finished next weekend.
Reply

angelzero
06/29/09

In reply to dead desktops
Trying to determine causation in such a ridiculously volatile global market is ludicrous.

Let the numbers ride out for another couple of years and then revisit them. Possibly from your laptop. :D
Reply

angelzero was starred angelzero was unstarred

PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:
06/29/09

@angelzero: I also think that the desktop market may not die as quickly as one might think. The desktop provides a stepping stone for new innovations for laptops. Most technologies are adapted to notebooks from desktops.
Reply

jp182
06/29/09

@Purple Monkey Dishwasher: that is very true. The desktop will be dead when the latest processors and videocards come out for the laptop first.
Reply

jp182 was starred jp182 was unstarred

negitoro
06/29/09

@jp182: While that's true, that doesn't necessarily mean desktops will retain their general mainstream market relevance. Just because something is cutting-edge technologically doesn't mean that consumers will start buying desktops again - mainly because most consumers could care less.

Desktops will never completely die... but their importance will definitely diminish over time.
Reply

negitoro was starred negitoro was unstarred

IN THE FACE!
06/29/09

@negitoro: Aren't home built desktops already more relevant than pre-built ones?
Reply

IN THE FACE! was starred IN THE FACE! was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

#thedesktopisdead

Gizmodo

Gizmodo Team

So Long Desktop PC, You Suck

#thedesktopisdead

Gizmodo

Gizmodo Team

SUBSCRIBE TO Gizmodo

So Long Desktop PC, You Suck

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment