Is pc building a dying trend?

[Eug]

I just saw a post at another forum by a guy talking about building a PC for his programmer dad, and mentioning stuff like water cooling, etc. I'm like WTF?!?!

 

[Hugo Drax]

Well its like in the mid to late 1960s when people used to build their own Microwave ovens from surplus radar parts. You had newsletters on Microwave building, magazines and even overclocking contests back in in the days of home build Microwaves.

Now no one builds their own Microwaves anymore.

In the future You wont be able to buy Motherboards etc.. PC's will be the equivalent of Microwaves, where you buy as an appliance it and toss it when it fails, no user replaceable parts.

Apple is already leading in that direction.

 

[AdamK47]

Well its like in the mid to late 1960s when people used to build their own Microwave ovens from surplus radar parts. You had newsletters on Microwave building, magazines and even overclocking contests back in in the days of home build Microwaves.

Now no one builds their own Microwaves anymore.

In the future You wont be able to buy Motherboards etc.. PC's will be the equivalent of Microwaves, where you buy as an appliance it and toss it when it fails, no user replaceable parts.

Apple is already leading in that direction.

This wasteland of a future is bleak and unsettling. It's a future where the poor downtrodden populous barely eek by without any hope for a better tomorrow. This vision of the future is only filled with despair. It's something so dire I cannot even fathom how such an existence is even possible.

 

[moonbogg]

Well its like in the mid to late 1960s when people used to build their own Microwave ovens from surplus radar parts. You had newsletters on Microwave building, magazines and even overclocking contests back in in the days of home build Microwaves.

Now no one builds their own Microwaves anymore.

In the future You wont be able to buy Motherboards etc.. PC's will be the equivalent of Microwaves, where you buy as an appliance it and toss it when it fails, no user replaceable parts.

Apple is already leading in that direction.

Even if true, the enthusiast isn't going anywhere. There will be a market for devices that are higher performing, and people who buy those will tinker with them to make them go faster, because "good enough" doesn't exist in the heart of an enthusiast.
In such a future, I fully expect to see odd cooling solutions, overclocking, software hacking to enable tinkering etc. Overclocking and tinkering might make a return to where it once was, when tinkering wasn't expected by the manufacturer and wasn't supported. Those were the golden days when you really felt like you were getting away with something that few others could.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I just saw a post at another forum by a guy talking about building a PC for his programmer dad, and mentioning stuff like water cooling, etc. I'm like WTF?!?!

Corsair sells the all in one closed loop water cooling systems. Easier to put on than a heatsink,

 

[rsbennett00]

Corsair sells the all in one closed loop water cooling systems. Easier to put on than a heatsink,

And louder than a noctua, thermalright, or thermaltake. I was so disappointed.

 

[rsbennett00]

Just ordered parts for a new build. Looked at Dell for a bit, but unless I wasn't doing it right, was frustrated that you apparently can't customize the build anymore. Want an i7 with SSD? It has 12 GB ram. Want 16 GB ram, well, no SSD then, and seemingly no way to just click customize and add what I needed.

I've seen comments like this throughout this thread. Why is it people think Dell is the only prebuilt game in town? I could name half a dozen others (that aren't alienware owned by dell).

 

[Hugo Drax]

Even if true, the enthusiast isn't going anywhere. There will be a market for devices that are higher performing, and people who buy those will tinker with them to make them go faster, because "good enough" doesn't exist in the heart of an enthusiast.
In such a future, I fully expect to see odd cooling solutions, overclocking, software hacking to enable tinkering etc. Overclocking and tinkering might make a return to where it once was, when tinkering wasn't expected by the manufacturer and wasn't supported. Those were the golden days when you really felt like you were getting away with something that few others could.

Only as long as the market is big enough to generate a net profit after expenses.

Or if the market is too small, then the products would sell at at a price high enough to pay for the capital investment.

Either, the market disappears OR it becomes a niche market where motherboards cost 1200 dollars and the fancy coolers cost 900 bucks. So in essence the market would become a tiny one but for high heeled individuals, not your regular joe six pack who wants to play.

In 20 years one or the other will happen. PC building will pretty much become extinct anyways. It will just be another appliance.

 

[mmntech]

I just saw a post at another forum by a guy talking about building a PC for his programmer dad, and mentioning stuff like water cooling, etc. I'm like WTF?!?!

My rig is cooled with one of those closed loop systems. I bought them for a failed project to liquid cool one of those fat PS3s. Got more complicated than it was worth so I dropped it into my desktop instead. They are nice in that they vent outside the case.

Custom liquid cooling used to be a big deal ten years ago but the advent of more efficient CPUs killed its usefulness. Little more than a curiosity these days. You only really see it in show rigs.

Speaking of exotic cooling, apparently you can still buy phase change units. Frozen CPU still sells them. Costs $900. I have no idea who would buy something like that.
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6...939_940_AM2_Xeon_CE-48-S-1C.html?tl=g49#blank

In the future You wont be able to buy Motherboards etc.. PC's will be the equivalent of Microwaves, where you buy as an appliance it and toss it when it fails, no user replaceable parts.

Apple is already leading in that direction.

Not just Apple. Basically any tablet or ultrabook you buy nowadays is loaded with perma-soldered components and gobs of hot snot. For all the talk about the environment and e-waste issues, we seem to be moving towards an ever more disposable society. With Apple it's just ironic with Al "Inconvenient Truth" Gore on their board. At least their products are fairly reliable.

Companies just figured out that being able to fix products wasn't good for the bottom line.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I've seen comments like this throughout this thread. Why is it people think Dell is the only prebuilt game in town? I could name half a dozen others (that aren't alienware owned by dell).

I used to work for a rather large/famous one. Ask me anything.

Yes 90% of our RMA issues were because of cheap power supplies/cheap memory but that was basically your fault for not opting to spend the extra $50 for a named brand one.

 

[Ketchup]

I've seen comments like this throughout this thread. Why is it people think Dell is the only prebuilt game in town? I could name half a dozen others (that aren't alienware owned by dell).

Because they were the biggest that did this, and this is what they built their etail business on. Then they basically said, "eh, we're going retail, you didn't really like our biggest selling point, did you?"

 

[Tommy2000GT]

You buy a cheap Dell and throw a SSD and a decent video card and call it a day.

 

[rsbennett00]

Because they were the biggest that did this, and this is what they built their retail business on. Then they basically said, "eh, we're going retail, you didn't really like our biggest selling point, did you?"

I knew people here were mean and hateful but I did not realize they are also so naive.

 

[Ketchup]

I knew people here were mean and hateful but I did not realize they are also so naive.

So, are you going to expound on that, or do you just like being argumentative?

 

[Sulaco]

I knew people here were mean and hateful but I did not realize they are also so naive.

Who has been "mean and hateful" exactly?

 

[AdamK47]

Only as long as the market is big enough to generate a net profit after expenses.

Or if the market is too small, then the products would sell at at a price high enough to pay for the capital investment.

Either, the market disappears OR it becomes a niche market where motherboards cost 1200 dollars and the fancy coolers cost 900 bucks. So in essence the market would become a tiny one but for high heeled individuals, not your regular joe six pack who wants to play.

In 20 years one or the other will happen. PC building will pretty much become extinct anyways. It will just be another appliance.

I hope your stock market predictions don't follow this trend.

 

[Fern]

Is pc building a dying trend?

I plan to continue. I haven't seen or experienced anything yet that would compel me to quit building and purchase off-the-shelf units for my business.

Fern

 

[rsbennett00]

Who has been "mean and hateful" exactly?

It's so common that I don't really pay attention to whom exactly. The anandtech forums have a reputation of hate and bigotry among all the tech forums I frequent.

 

[mikeymikec]

It's so common that I don't really pay attention to whom exactly. The anandtech forums have a reputation of hate and bigotry among all the tech forums I frequent.

IMO you're going to think that of a lot of places on the Internet if you're willing to ruthlessly pigeon-hole people into a stereotype you find objectionable.

 

[FelixDeCat]

These are the same idiots who said mobile computing would replace desktop computing starting back in 2008.

Seven years later, desktop computing is stronger than ever.

And no, building your own will never, EVER die.

Ever.

 

[PliotronX]

These are the same idiots who said mobile computing would replace desktop computing starting back in 2008.

Seven years later, desktop computing is stronger than ever.

And no, building your own will never, EVER die.

Ever.

Because people tried to go touchscreen only and realized you can do so much more at a desktop. 24-27" screens have never been more affordable and multi-monitor is a must. Even attempting to write content or code on a touchscreen pales in comparison to two huge monitors and a keyboard. On the subject of micro/SFF prebuilt killing self built, I don't see it happening either. Building your own isn't that much more expensive and is more likely to last a longer time because you choose higher quality components than OEM's and SFF does not have the airflow capability to dissipate heat well.

 

[rsbennett00]

IMO you're going to think that of a lot of places on the Internet if you're willing to ruthlessly pigeon-hole people into a stereotype you find objectionable.

Alright. I'll start keeping track here and I can let you know if I find any other place full of as much hate as this place.

P.S. Good job stereotyping me by the way.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Only as long as the market is big enough to generate a net profit after expenses.

Or if the market is too small, then the products would sell at at a price high enough to pay for the capital investment.

Either, the market disappears OR it becomes a niche market where motherboards cost 1200 dollars and the fancy coolers cost 900 bucks. So in essence the market would become a tiny one but for high heeled individuals, not your regular joe six pack who wants to play.

In 20 years one or the other will happen. PC building will pretty much become extinct anyways. It will just be another appliance.

I've seen something similar mentioned, in regards to AMD platform motherboard prices. If the overall volume of AMD motherboards / AMD systems is much lower than Intel, then why haven't AMD motherboard prices risen to higher than that of Intel, due to the lower volume. Surely the R&D necessary to build a modern AMD motherboard isn't less than building a comparable Intel motherboard?

Is AMD subsidizing motherboards for their platform? AMD's own secret "contra revenue" program?

What's the secret to AMD motherboard lower prices?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Seven years later, desktop computing is stronger than ever.

In what world do you live?

Mobile computing is definitely becoming the mainstream.

Laptops and such are all becoming good enough for the vast majority of people.

CES has almost no desktop computers, it's all about mobile devices.

The best selling computer product on Amazon are Chromebooks.

How are desktops stronger than ever?

 

[Eug]

These are the same idiots who said mobile computing would replace desktop computing starting back in 2008.

Seven years later, desktop computing is stronger than ever.

And no, building your own will never, EVER die.

? Mobile computing has been replacing desktop computing for years. It's a slow and agonizing decay for desktop computing.

There has been a gradual shift from desktops to laptops in terms of unit sales. Currently, notebooks far outsell desktops worldwide.

Furthermore, the total combined unit sales from desktops and laptops have been decreasing on a yearly basis. In contrast, tablet sales have been increasing dramatically. Tablet sales are predicted to plateau off soon, but part of that is due to increasing large phone sales.