No one wants to buy a PC right now - and prices are falling

RV_ · January 15, 2023

Boy are they! I am glad I held off as I believe top shelf systems are dropping a bunch. Lenovo phone sales agents will give even better discounts than online. For example I just took another look at the Lenovo AIO 17" 4k resolution touchscreen, Ryzen 7, 16GB RAM, 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD, and the screen rotates from landscape to portrait, WiFi 6 great graphics for $1379.99?? e.g. Lenovo 4k AIO

All of the folks with older machines that will not run Windows 11, may get a break this year and just in time too before Windows 10 support runs out in 2025!

Excerpt:

"Global PC shipments took a plunge in the fourth quarter of 2022, falling to their lowest levels in years, according to research firms IDC and Gartner.

There are plenty of reasons why no one wants to buy a PC right now -- inflation and climbing interest rates have put a damper on the market, as well as the anticipation of a global recession. Plus, huge numbers of people made their last big PC purchases just a couple of years ago, at the start of the pandemic. The good news is, if you are in the market for a new computer, you may be able to find one at a relatively good price.

In Q4 2022, "average selling prices (ASPs) across many channels also fell as excess channel inventory over the course of the past few months triggered discounting in an effort to spur demand," IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani said in a statement.

According to Gartner, worldwide PC shipments totaled 65.3 million units in Q4. That's a 28.5% decrease from Q4 2021 -- the largest quarterly shipment decline since Gartner began tracking the PC market in the mid-1990s. For all of 2022, PC shipments reached 286.2 million units, a 16.2% decrease from 2021.

Both IDC and Gartner expect low demand to continue at least through 2023.

"The commercial segment has several drivers towards growth, including the approaching end of support for Windows 10 and a building refresh cycle, while the consumer market remains a wildcard for 2023 and beyond," IDC said."

More in the article here:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/no-one-wants-to-buy-a-pc-right-now-and-prices-are-falling/?ftag=TREc64629f&utm_email=3b2e0f94e4947c973f63c5cf2d34603c24fe97fe01cb10979119da7270e034b9&utm_campaign_id=5921717&utm_email_id=6f37a1c54a87428fb365292a3f7bc9fb2baa7b0e3e4105b1a58ff6ce10fdee5c&utm_newsletter_id=92316&medium=email&source=iterable

NDBirdman · January 16, 2023

I just bought an ipad pro with 1 TB. The price on that thing is through the roof! Sure wish prices on those were falling!

2gypsies · January 16, 2023

I just dislike working on laptops or worse yet... phones. Love my desktop!

justRich · January 17, 2023

Similar in price and features: https://www.costco.com/dell-inspiron-27-7000-series-all-in-one-touchscreen-desktop---12th-gen-intel-core-i7-1255u---geforce-mx550---1080p---windows-11.product.100987811.html

Includes touchscreen and more memory. I saw one in Costco but not sure it was the identical model - the monitor would not "rotate" but it did "tilt" a few degrees.

RV_ · January 17, 2023

Short version:

Rich thanks but I want the 4k resolution. The difference is it is a 4k Touchscreen your link to the other Dell FHD is way down on the resolution scale. 4k is a step up from what I already have. FHD resolution is a step down. Why would I want inferior resolution to what I already have?

Have you gone and looked closely at the Lenovo screen at BestBuy? They only have the Ryzen 5 there but the screen is the same. I have two QHD Systems now. My Lenovo 27" Ideacentre AIO 5-27IMB05 Desktop, and my Dell Optiplex micro 5080 attached to a Viewsonic VX3211-2k-mhd IPS QHD 32" monitor.

Why would I buy inferior specs for screen/mobo and graphics?

Long version:

For those who don’t understand HD/FHD/QHD/4k resolutions here is a short article that explains them each: https://www.t3.com/features/wqhd-qhd-2k-4k-and-uhd-whats-the-difference

I had planned to upgrade the Lenovo I have and already bought what I needed to replace the 256GB NVMe drive and before I could do it I saw the new Lenovo 4k AIO and almost bought it several months ago when they only had i5 in that model and it cost more! Now they have the Ryzen 7 (about the same as the Intel i7)and the 4k resolution.

So I have been deciding if I want to get it for the 4k screen and install the 32GB of matched DDR 4 3200 RAM in the Lenovo 4k one in my link, and sell my current Lenovo QHD with the faster 1TB WD black drive with the 16 GB of RAM. I won’t need it if I buy the new one as it already has a 1 TB NVMe drive.

I already have the 32GB DDR4 RAM:

And the bigger faster WD Black 1TB SN 770 M.2 NVMe Drive:

And a 2TB WD Blue 2.5” SSD to replace the 2.5” SATA 1TB storage HDD:

So I have already spent the money on 2GB RAM and the 1TB faster drive, and Dell stopped making their 27” 4k systems. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-desktop-computers/xps-27-all-in-one/spd/xps-27-7760-aio

BTW I did buy a Dell 27” FHD All in One with an i5 in late 2019 and only because they did not have any QHD or 4k available then either. I upgraded it to 24GB RAM, it had a 256GB NVMe-SSD boot drive and a slow 1TB HDD 2.5: for storage. I removed it and put in a 1TB SSD for storage. It now screams but I still dislike the resolution. It’s Lynda’s daily main system. She still loves it! It had a bad motherboard that Dell replaced under warranty in home.

I went from a nine year old 2014 Dell 2720 QHD touchscreen 27”/i7/16GB RAM/1TB WD SSD main drive, to the i5 FHD Dell my wife uses and put my old QHD Dell back on my desk and set the New Dell up for her, then I bought my current Lenovo AIO5 QHD i7/256GB NVMe SSD, and backup1TB HDD for storage and bought the WD SN770 1 TB fast drive for it and the 32GB RAM for it but did not install them because I saw the new Lenovo with that awesome 4k screen.

So now with the clearance sale price I am looking again at getting it and selling this one. I also still have my old Dell 2720 that runs better than new as I upgraded it too several years ago.

So I have a decision to make. A Microsoft update messing with this Lenovo is the only issue I had with any of my 5 Lenovo computers in the last 13 years. and I resolved that before pulling all my hair out.

But no I won’t buy a FHD for the same price as a 4K AIO similarly equipped.

Heck even my back up Dell 5080 1TB WD Black SN770 NVMe main drive and a 1 TB HDD for storage, and 32GB DDR4 RAM is hooked up to a 32” QHD monitor, a Viewsonic VX3211-2k-mhd:

RV_ · January 18, 2023

On 1/15/2023 at 10:16 PM, 2gypsies said:

I just dislike working on laptops or worse yet... phones. Love my desktop!

Agree. I do like that the new Surface Pro 7+ like mine make upgrading SSDs as easy as changing an SD card. No disassembly just a hatch that opens with the same tool as the Micros SD Card hatch on Android cell phones. They also made the screens and other components much easier to R&R starting with a few things on mine but with the Surface Pro 9 OMG it is user serviceable!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Surface+Pro+9+disassembly&view=detail&mid=EB1A9C15E24111E69BEAEB1A9C15E24111E69BEA&FORM=VIRE

justRich · January 18, 2023

15 hours ago, RV_ said:

Why would I want inferior resolution to what I already have?
I don't know. But for me it might be far more $$ expensive $$ - I would then need to purchase an upgraded big screen TV. And I don't know if my cell phone hotspot is capable of carrying 4K resolution for streaming.

Have you gone and looked closely at the Lenovo screen at BestBuy?
No, not yet. Maybe later today.

Why would I buy inferior specs for screen/mobo and graphics?
I don't know. You have inferior vision and don't need the graphics?

For those who don’t understand HD/FHD/QHD/4k resolutions here is a short article that explains them each: https://www.t3.com/features/wqhd-qhd-2k-4k-and-uhd-whats-the-difference
That's good information. Thanks.

justRich · January 18, 2023

Good information.

vermilye · January 18, 2023

Just ordered a 16" M2 MacBookPro with 32MB & 2TB SSD.

RV_ · January 18, 2023

3 hours ago, vermilye said:

Just ordered a 16" M2 MacBookPro with 32MB & 2TB SSD.

Apple M2 Pro or Apple M2 Max chip? Great resolution @3456X2234. The Lenovo AIO in my link above does 27.0" UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS, anti-glare, touchscreen, 360 nits but it is a desktop.

The one you ordered has 1000 nits brightness! Sweet!

Still no touch screen or pens so I guess they are doing with Macs what they did with music, make you buy an iPod and/or expensive on-board storage and not put micro SD card slots on their phones or laptops? In this case an iPad pro for drawing?

The page for it is here: https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-14-and-16/?afid=p238|lBvjvFyK-dc_mtid_20925top39173_pcrid_78409126117823_pgrid_1254543410242107_&cid=wwa-us-kwbi-mac-slid---Brand-MacBookPro-Announce-

Please do a review in this forum once you've got it set up for the Apple fans.

Edited January 18, 2023 by RV_

rynosback · January 18, 2023

That’s good news. That means more chips for EVs and ordinance to help Ukraine.

RV_ · January 18, 2023

Rich I need 4k TVs anyway because I have 4k BluRay UHD players and disks. I buy them at yard sales and online for less than 5 bucks each when I can. I have quite a collection of BluRay FHD disks, and about 50 Ultra HD Blu-ray disks so far. The players are backwards compatible and play regular Blu0ray disks and Standard resolution DVDs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_HD_Blu-ray#:~:text=Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD%2C UHD-BD%2C or,often packaged with Ultra HD Blu-ray discs.

I believe all disks will give way to streaming which is unreliable for favorite movies as after it was free on Prime later you have to pay to view it again after it has had a run, or it may be unavailable anywhere.

So I have lots of Blu-ray disks we have not watched yet, as well as some old favorites I like to watch again on occasion. As well we have subscribed to the main streaming services (Prime, Netflix, Hulu and Disney, HBO Max, and Sling Blue for 24 hour news and some content- we do Paramount plus fior a month at a time as well as one or two others because 5 bucks for a complete season like with 1923 almost all available, then we do one month and catch up. But we are off the road now so broadband is cheap and very fast. Several fiber Internet companies are coming here this year, 2023. Google Fiber is starting here and the crews are already running fiber underground on my street. It will be synchronous meaning the $80 a month GB service will be 1 GB/s speeds both uploading and downloading. Currently my service is up to 150MB/s downloads and 20MB/s upload speeds, and costs $55/mo. 10 bucks more if you rent their $250 gateway, which takes the place of the modem and separate or built in routers I was used to using, and could be had for under $100.00!

And it will spread to the mobile community lowering prices for all of us whether we used cellular 5G, or cable, or streaming in the past.

We had nothing but dial up and that rarely where I could connect my laptop when we were full-time 1997-2003. Remember smart phones did not come out until 2007. We had only expensive VSAT systems back when pics took a few seconds to download and we would watch them appear from top to bottom as a page downloaded at 10-56 KB/s. Our first streaming service was Netflix after renting movies by mail for years with them they sent us a disk to use its WiFi to connect to the Internet and watch movies streaming! It was slow but for the resolution of the times it seemed very fast. Faster than the mail. I remember my modem router system did 5MB/s before they did not occasionally buffer for a few seconds.

And we get 50 Over the air channels clear as a bell in 1080p FHD on the main networks and 720p HD on all but some oldies sub-channels. Free. I used an outside antenna and a powered distribution amp and the signals go to every room using the old cable TV and Internet Coax. It was 50 bucks for the amp and 40 bucks at Lowe's for the directional digital outside antenna. I am amazed at how many people have no clue! In my upstairs office the cable outlet was on the wrong side of the room so I use two flat indoor antennas with their own USB powered amps in-line for my main system and my backup system using Hauppauge WinTV - HVR 955Q TV tuners that connect to USB on the computer and they get perfect pics too. Perfect reception and excellent FHD picture. I run the news and some shows in the background while working online. So half my screen has my browser and TV and the other half is email, thus my preference for large screens for my systems. Here is a pic I just took, the bottom left is the Today show just now:

We could make do with just TV over the air and our digital copies and occasional OTA rentals/buys from Amazon Prime. 2020-2022 and COVID prompted us to go more streaming and now we do more friends and short trips.

So yes we have two 4k 65" TVs, a 4k 43" we are selling, and two 21" FHD 1080p TVs. It was really hard to find the small TVs in FHD as most are 720p.