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Increased PC sales are not a good thing
THE BEANCOUNTERS at IDC have warned that the increase in personal computer sales in the fourth quarter of 2009 might come back to haunt the industry.
The gloomy doomwatchers said that although the numbers were good, PC makers were making low quality gear dirt cheap.
They flogged 20.7 million personal computers, laptops and digital notebooks in the fourth quarter in the United States, which is a record for the industry.
But IDC said producers were so focused on maintaining market share that they concentrated on discounted units rather than quality.
Research manager David Daoud said that the consumer market overcame the weak commercial sector to save the quarter.
Research analyst Jay Chou claimed that, "salvaging decreasing margins will soon become even more pertinent. Without an effective strategy the market will slide down the slippery slope of 'good enough' computing sold to the lowest bidder."
IDC also said that PC vendors concentrated on the consumer market while "commercial entities wait for tangible signs of sustained economic growth."
In Europe, sales grew after three quarters of declines. In Japan, sales rose 4.3 per cent with punters buying lower-priced portables. µ
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Agreed with the new motherboard if you buy Intel... AMD is not the case and has rarely been like that hence the reason why you see Intel making great profits ... they force (bite) the consumer who is the hand that feeds them. I recently bought an AMD AM3 based board with a quad core... can't wait for the desktop 6 core or hey they might even get their 12 core for desktop in a couple of years. A simple BIOS upgrade and voila faster system :D.
Mind you I do agree you will get more performance from Intel but you would not be able to tell since I get an average of 100 to 300 FPS on all games I play (L4D&L4D2, Borderlands, Startrek Online Beta, Modern Warfare 2, ...) @ 1920x1080 so like I said I couldn't tell if there really is a difference mind you synthetic benchmarks I would definitely see the difference and all for a little over $1700.00 CND.
Specs
AMD 955 Black Edition (3.2GHz)
8GB DDR3 1333 (Kingston KVR 2x4GB DC)
1TB WD Black
Asus M4A79T Deluxe
Antec P183 case
Antec TruePower 750W
Sapphire Radeon HD5870 1GB
I'm sort of into your way of thinking, the only problem is that after two years replacing the CPU almost certainly also requires a new motherboard and new RAM.
The high sales of lower quality products should be good for the industry, since that means increased sales when the crap goes bust... unless it's mostly warranty issues.
people who buy ready made PCs are foolish and get ripped off willingly
if youve had your head buried in sand the past 15 years, heres some interesting news:
"its miles cheaper to build your own!"
its no more complicated than lego (ok, lego technics at a push) and you get much more for your money.
pre-built systems always have a catch like no graphics slot, slowest possible memory or ultra-weak power supply. hollow promises are made by the sales assistant that it is upgradeable - yes, to a mildly (but still archaically useless) higher spec
in this industry you can tell a nonce as soon as they open their mouths
For the vast majority of home users, computers are toys designed for the amusement of the owner. Contrary to popular, myopic IT "professionals" most users who buy a computer off the shelf treat them like any other electronic toy. And in today's "throw away" world the cheapest is the best since long term usage is not demanded. Hence, sales of Dells, and others, boomed and the users are oblivious to matters of longevity.
The commononer wants his PC to be like his TV. Upgrade it every 10yrs and break so rarely that it's covered by a 5yr warranty.
Actually I think if it lasts 3 years that's long enough, you'll probably want a new one anyways. And if they are cheap, it's not a big deal to buy one every 3 years.
I used to argue with friends over that for desktops too. Do you buy the $500 cpu or just buy the $250 cpu and upgrade it for another $250 in 2 years? Personally I thought you got better overall performance by upgrading more often but to less expensive equipment but others had to have to best and honestly it didn't make alot of difference either way.
Computers don't 'need' to be expensive. Tey are commodoties, like buying gas for your car.
So in the end it will come down to price and functionality. Those who have more money and think it's worth it will buy higher grade stuff.
QED.