"Realistically, no-one I know, needs a Desktop Computer, for the rest of their lives."

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
Finally coming to this conclusion. Kind of floors me. Sure, I might upgrade a spot or two, but... all my friends are older, they all use desktops, but they'll probably use their current desktop, until they're too old to use one.

Edit: Desktop (Edit: I meant the "tower style") PC's, are kind of like Oldsmobile... yeah, your dad owned one, but kids these days? NO interest. (*)

I think that the upcoming console generation, ESPECIALLY if they include an x64/x86 VM feature for advanced users, to download a Windows OS image onto them, and use that part-time, will be the final nail in the coffin of desktop PCs. Well, heck, the Dinosaurs died off too.

(*) Not that I know any under-18-year-olds. So really, I'm just guessing here. But from what I've heard in the media, they're mostly all "mobile" (laptop/cell) users.
 
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Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,999
1,396
126
I don't think desktops will be the main computers as they used to be but they are still needed, especially at work. I do NOT want to work on multiple spreadsheets, documents, and do my research on a laptop or tablet. Even with a decent desktop with dual 22" screens, I still wish I have more visual space.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
I was speaking more of home environments, and "personal" computers. I can still see a need for a "desktop" (sort of) form-factor, although as I'm sure @Kaido can attest too, more and more businesses are going with mini/micro-PCs, both for ergonomics, as well as power-savings, and possibly even cost.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,364
7,516
126
They've been deadish in the home for awhile, and taken some hits in the office, but I think there'll be continued need for the foreseeable future.
 
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Spacehead

Lifer
Jun 2, 2002
13,201
10,063
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You might be right, at least as far as non-work related. I think i'll end up being one of the desktop dinosaurs though.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,691
14,936
126
I don't think desktops will be the main computers as they used to be but they are still needed, especially at work. I do NOT want to work on multiple spreadsheets, documents, and do my research on a laptop or tablet. Even with a decent desktop with dual 22" screens, I still wish I have more visual space.
Place I am at is all laptop with dual displays on arms
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
I'm thinking along the same lines myself, truth be told.

I'm waiting until the AMD 4000-series APU (Desktop) release, to find out if the ASRock DeskMini A300 will support them. If it does, or if they're planning on a mobo refresh for their mini-PC series to accommodate Renoir, then I'll likely build out a nice rig based on that, in a mini-PC, and DITCH all of my "gaming PCs" (big towers with powerful GPUs).

8C/16T, competent iGPU for video watching, and even a little game-playing,. hooked up to a 40" 4K UHD TV via HDMI2.0b, with 32GB or possibly 64GB of DDR4-3200, and a 2TB or two NVMe PCI-E x4 SSD, what more could you want in a desktop PC? (Other than a big, loud, heavy, power-hungry GPU?)
 
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Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,999
1,396
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Place I am at is all laptop with dual displays on arms

Maybe your office is not as big as mine (headcount) because we did a cost study and to have all of our employees with the compatible (specs) laptops vs. desktops, the cost would be too high for us for have everyone with laptops or tablets. Heck, I am still waiting to have 27" or larger screens.

Plus you still need extra full size keyboards and mouses because I do not want to type long memos on those tiny keyboards.
 
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sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,691
14,936
126
Maybe your office is not as big as mine (headcount) because we did a cost study and to have all of our employees with the compatible (specs) laptops vs. desktops, the cost would be too high for us for have everyone with laptops or tablets.

Plus you still need extra full size keyboards and mouses because I do not want to type long memos on those tiny keyboards.


Yes with headset, kb and mouse, powered adjustable sit/stand table. Multinational insurance company with market cap around 29B
 
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Nov 8, 2012
20,828
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I don't know man...

With how much Gaming is really taking off - I GUARAN-FUCKIN-TEE that any kid who REALLY likes gaming is going to be watching their favorite gamer streamer... who is going to have.... a desktop... sponsored by all the big-names (Nvidia, Intel, etc...)

Think about it... Twitch videogame streaming is getting pretty big.

Or maybe I'm totally wrong.


I honestly hope I'm not wrong, and I honestly hope gaming gets bigger. There's nothing more sad and pathetic than a generation of kids that think "gaming" is playing dipshit games like Candy Crush on a cell-phone.
 
Nov 8, 2012
20,828
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Maybe your office is not as big as mine (headcount) because we did a cost study and to have all of our employees with the compatible (specs) laptops vs. desktops, the cost would be too high for us for have everyone with laptops or tablets. Heck, I am still waiting to have 27" or larger screens.

Plus you still need extra full size keyboards and mouses because I do not want to type long memos on those tiny keyboards.

I've been with nothing but huge megacorps and mega- accounting/consulting firms.

Every single one of them have given me laptops. Most only come with a mouse, cable lock, etc... Anything else I desired I could go to IT and put in a request for it.


The reason? They all fucking love the concept of you taking it home every-day and continuing to work at home. Can't do that with a desktop.
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,999
1,396
126
I've been with nothing but huge megacorps and mega- accounting/consulting firms.

Every single one of them have given me laptops. Most only come with a mouse, cable lock, etc... Anything else I desired I could go to IT and put in a request for it.


The reason? They all fucking love the concept of you taking it home every-day and continuing to work at home. Can't do that with a desktop.

I rather keep the desktops and have bigger dual screens. I guess our CFO+ CIO are too cheap to go all laptops with decent specs. We do have laptops to take with us when we travel or out in the field but no "all laptops" policy here. Damn tightwads.

And I would quit if I have to bring work laptop with me and continue to work at home. I rather stay late in the office and be done with urgent projects.
 
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Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,201
12,029
126
www.anyf.ca
Sadly the truth. Most people I know don't even have a desktop anymore or have one they barely use. Kinda boggles my mind. idevices are ok for quickly checking stuff but I can't imagine getting everything done on one 100%.

Even laptops are kinda limited if you want multiple monitors as most won't do multiple 4k monitors.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
126
Before I got my MacBook Pro a few years ago, I would have told you I could never do development on a laptop. I had 2 Dell's prior and I was simply not as efficient on it as I was on a desktop with multiple monitors.

But with Macbooks it's so easy for me to have multiple desktops and swipe the touchpad to go between them that I may be more efficient with my laptop than I am on a desktop now. On my desktop at work I have 2 huge monitors and being able to have a browser in one window and the dev tools in another window is definitely comfortable to work with, but I've done enough of that on Macbooks now that I am just as productive if not more on it now. I typically have 3 desktops on my Macbook when working so that is even more than the 2 I have at work on a desktop.

I don't game anymore on PC at all and don't plan on ever upgrading my desktop at home. I haven't upgraded in over 10 years. I do still use it however when I've been messing with some arcade games and hardware, like to flash some HDD's with MAME CHD images, and stuff similar to that. But other than that I don't use it at all.

I still don't see ANY use for a tablet though like on the professional level. The only thing I use my Asus Nexus 7 for is basically a movie player for my son when we are flying.
 

PowerEngineer

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2001
3,548
716
136
Well...maybe. At least to me, the "desktop" computer is much more about the peripheral equipment -- monitors, keyboards, mice, and AO1 printers -- than the form factor of the PC itself. I'm always going to have that kind of "desktop".

Perhaps I wouldn't really mind having a laptop powerful enough to replace my tower build, but there is something to be said for the flexibility that a large power supply, a well optioned motherboard, and a roomy case gives me. (And I hate track pads!)
 
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[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
14,006
12,077
146
You can pry my desktop from my cold, dead hands. Until tech advances to the point where a 'laptop' (or some kind of small form factor) can handle upper end CPU's + GPU's, and have adequate storage for all my needs, and actually cool the whole mess down to the point that it doesn't sound like a jet engine and the system's life is more than 5 years... I'll maintain a tower the size of a car tire.
 

snoopy7548

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2005
8,048
5,043
146
Desktops, or at least towers, are pretty much dead unless you're a gamer or enthusiast. SFF PCs and NUCs are just as capable for the majority of people out there.
 

KB

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 1999
5,394
383
126
I can't stand typing on a tablet. Only thing I use the tablet for is lurking, but once I want to post something, time to boot up the laptop. Yes they are bluetooth keyboards for tablets, but they stink.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
I was speaking more of home environments, and "personal" computers. I can still see a need for a "desktop" (sort of) form-factor, although as I'm sure @Kaido can attest too, more and more businesses are going with mini/micro-PCs, both for ergonomics, as well as power-savings, and possibly even cost.

Depends on the need, but for businesses, yeah mostly mini computers these days. Common tower desktop users include:

* Gamers who want big video cards need desktops
* DCC users who need GPU horsepower & big-boy toys like Threadrippers & video encoder cards
* Some businesses have special card requirements for video capture cards or specialty-connector cards

But by & large, most consumers I know go with equipment in this order:

1. Late-model smartphone
2. Laptop running Windows
3. Tablet
4. Desktop
5. Laptop running Chrome

Most home users either go with a $300 to $600 Windows 10 laptop or a full-bore desktop tower, usually for gaming purposes. Unfortunately mini computers haven't really jumped broadly into the consumer sector yet, because most people would rather go with a flip laptop or a brand-new $$$$ iPhone or Galaxy phone or something. From what I've seen, the number of people (outside of gamers) who still use a desktop PC's at home is dwindling...most people are either on their phones or laptop these days.

As far as the professional sector goes, I pretty much only install HP Z2 Mini computers in businesses these days. There are the odd times when a particular machine needs a tower cards that don't have viable USB equivalents (and I haven't had much luck with external PCIe chassis) or a DCC user needs some insane video card setup (ex. a 24gb P6000), but mostly a Z2 Mini with vPro (remote restart & built-in IP-KVM for BIOS-level remote access) does the trick. This is my standard model: (upgradable to 64GB RAM, 8TB 2.5" SSD, etc.)


I used to use a lot of NUC-style PC's, but an 8-core i7 in the HP MIni's is fairly future-proof for most office users (especially if the client is willing to spring for them), plus it has an excellent cooling system, built-in remote access tools, support for a bunch of displays, yada yada yada. PSU is 200 watts max, but usage typically doesn't go anywhere near that.

I have a tower myself at home for gaming, VR, and video editing, because I have a big video card & a bunch of storage drives inside of it. But it seems like most people just buy a console these days if they want to game at home. You can buy a stick computer for basic PC use for pretty cheap these days:


Plus a nice big HDMI screen:


I think largely the public psyche still has "buy a tower PC setup" in their minds, but when they go to the store & see nice laptops for reasonable prices, they usually shift towards that instead.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
I can't stand typing on a tablet. Only thing I use the tablet for is lurking, but once I want to post something, time to boot up the laptop. Yes they are bluetooth keyboards for tablets, but they stink.

Same. I loathe typing on tablets. I just picked up a 12.9" iPad, but I primarily use it for creative purposes (CAD, drawing, etc.). I'd rather surf the net on my phone tbh, just because it feels like so much work to keep moving my arms around on a tablet for touch navigation & for typing.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
136
Imagine all the processing power you can fit in your pocket.
NOW,
imagine all the processing power you can fit in a volume one hundred times that.
 

Midwayman

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
5,723
325
126
Average users yes. However there will always be people who have needs not addressed by mobile hardware. A laptop hooked upto a dock with full size m/kb and monitors is fine for my work right now. At home replicating my desktop would be mess. You'd need an egpu, lots of external storage and hubs. Biggest thing is the 12 USB3 ports with 8 controller chips between them for home really high bandwidth USB3 devices. Of course thermally a laptop just can't keep up no matter what chip they throw in it these days for gaming.
 
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