Gaming PC sales growing fast in the US

[midian182]

We often hear about the declining PC market, but it seems that gaming PCs are on the rise in North America. According to the vice president of computer and electronics store Micro Center, overall sales increased 25 – 30 percent on year in 2016, and Micro Center's own sales grew 200 – 300 percent from a year ago.

Digitimes reports that VP Kevin Jones believes the increase in gaming PC sales can be attributed to the growth in eSports popularity. He considered PC gaming a niche market as recently as five years ago, but says the segment has grown rapidly since 2016 thanks to mid-range prices and more publicity around eSports.

Micro Center may not have the largest number of outlets – 25 stores in 16 states – but the company has been able to absorb customers from the many small PC retailers that have closed down due to competition. Close partnerships with brand vendors helped Micro Center’s sales reach $60 million per year.

Last year, analyst firm Gartner reported that Q1 2016 was the first quarter to see fewer than 65 million PC sales since 2007. It is, however, a different story when it comes to high-end gaming laptops and desktops, which it expects to grow from 6 million units in 2015 to 8.7 million units in 2020, accounting for 13 percent of all consumer PC shipments.

While Jones expects gaming PC sales to continue climbing, he believes that recent component shortages will result in the price of PCs going up in the near future.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/69156-gaming-pc-sales-growing-fast-us.html

 

[imronburgundy]

Built my first gaming pc in 2016. Absolutely blown away after years of subpar console gaming.

 

[amstech]

Made my first gaming PC in the early-mid 90's, ABS custom PC my folks bought then gave to me; Pentium II 400 MHz (cartridge ftw) with the first external GPU I ever bought, a Voodoo Banshee 16MB PCi (from TigerDirect's magazine btw), forget how much ram it had, maybe 128 or 256 MB SDRAM, think it was Windows 95. I did have a Windows 3.1 system I gamed on but that was a little older.
Been hooked since, even if I only do it here and there now I still have fun with the builds and trying new games to see how good they look.
Once the word got out how much better PC gaming can be, I knew it would only be a matter of time. 20 years later and its still growing.

 

[oldikes]

Only reason I havent bought more parts is component shortages, and I wont be buying any as long as they continue. :S

 

[TomSEA]

"Gaming PC sales growing fast in the US."

As it should be. If you're a serious gamer and gaming is an important part of your recreational lifestyle, then you're going to do what it takes to have a good rig.

 

[Invizibleyez]

The only issue with pc gaming is that to have a capable system you need to spend the equivalent of an entire console's cost on each major component. I think the cheapest thing in my system is the memory.

 

[davislane1]

The only issue with pc gaming is that to have a capable system you need to spend the equivalent of an entire console's cost on each major component. I think the cheapest thing in my system is the memory.

Spoken like a console loyalist. "Capable" and "top of the line" are two separate things.

 

[Invizibleyez]

Spoken like a console loyalist. "Capable" and "top of the line" are two separate things.

No. I am so pc gamer more than any kind of gamer. Facts are facts. I can get a ps4 for around $300. If I don't spend around $300 on just the gpu on my computer, I can't run at anything respectable. Top of the line is more like around $1000 per component, not $300.

 

[Uncle Al]

YES!!! Long live the PC !!!

 

[oldikes]

Spoken like a console loyalist. "Capable" and "top of the line" are two separate things.

No. I am so pc gamer more than any kind of gamer. Facts are facts. I can get a ps4 for around $300. If I don't spend around $300 on just the gpu on my computer, I can't run at anything respectable. Top of the line is more like around $1000 per component, not $300.

while this used to be true, a pretty respectable PC can be built with a g4560 and an RX470/570/480/580 for $400, and can fairly consistently hit 1080p 60 FPS on medium-high settings on the latest games (high-ultra on most). while consoles do have great value for $200-300, once you go past that you can have a pretty superior PC these days. (unless scorpio costs under $500 and is as good as it says it is)
Before anyone accuses me of PC elitest, I actually do most of my gaming on my xbox one S...

 

[Invizibleyez]

while this used to be true, a pretty respectable PC can be built with a g4560 and an RX470/570/480/580 for $400, and can fairly consistently hit 1080p 60 FPS on medium-high settings on the latest games (high-ultra on most). while consoles do have great value for $200-300, once you go past that you can have a pretty superior PC these days. (unless scorpio costs under $500 and is as good as it says it is)
Before anyone accuses me of PC elitest, I actually do most of my gaming on my xbox one S...

I don't know where you are getting great prices, but there is no way you are building a system that is respectable for the same price as a ps4 pro. Sure, you can run games on cheap hardware, but if you are going to compare computers and consoles, the main reason to get a computer is to exceed what you can do with a console (ps4 pro = 4k gaming). You are not even matching that.

 

[davislane1]

No. I am so pc gamer more than any kind of gamer. Facts are facts. I can get a ps4 for around $300. If I don't spend around $300 on just the gpu on my computer, I can't run at anything respectable. Top of the line is more like around $1000 per component, not $300.

If you're going to compare PC to console, you have to target the same metrics: 1080p/30FPS with numerous effects and special gfx features disabled.

You can do that for $300-$400, matching PS4 and PS4 Pro performance and price. Videos of setups are all over YouTube if you want proof. Here's one of them, using a $200 build:

I don't know where you are getting great prices, but there is no way you are building a system that is respectable for the same price as a ps4 pro.

So you aren't a console pleb. You're part of the PC Master Race.

 

[Invizibleyez]

Ps4 pro isn't limited to 1080p gaming. 4k. That's a huge difference.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Built my first gaming pc in 2016. Absolutely blown away after years of subpar console gaming.

Great. It's never too late to learn. I'm proud of you. Welcome to the elite corps.

 

[oldikes]

I don't know where you are getting great prices, but there is no way you are building a system that is respectable for the same price as a ps4 pro. Sure, you can run games on cheap hardware, but if you are going to compare computers and consoles, the main reason to get a computer is to exceed what you can do with a console (ps4 pro = 4k gaming). You are not even matching that.

gtx 1050ti/rx470: 120ish or 150ish(wait for sale)
g4560: 60
8GB DDR4: 50
matx h110 mobo: 50
1TB HD: 40
cheap case + psu - $60 (25 for case, 35 for 400w ish psu)
mouse + keyboard: $20 (unless you want super gamey ones)
(I forget OS, but lets pretend that gets offset by either free student editions, money saved on inarguably better steam prices, and no need to pay for XBL or PS plus or whatever its called)

noting that all these can be had cheaper using ebay coupons when they pop up or coupons for new jet customers, thats a respectable PC for $400.


any 4k gaming on PS4 pro usually suffers from terrible performance, unless its the "fake" 4k or not graphically demanding to begin with. Then again though, I wasnt countering your argument that the PS4 pro/scorpio are decent values (except that you only came up with that in an attempt to prevent yourself from being wrong, despite it being irrelevant to your original argument), just the statement that "no decent PC can be had for 300-400 dollars".

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

The only issue with pc gaming is that to have a capable system you need to spend the equivalent of an entire console's cost on each major component. I think the cheapest thing in my system is the memory.

That's great. The cheapest thing in my system is the dust which reminds me...

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Spoken like a console loyalist. "Capable" and "top of the line" are two separate things.

No. I am so pc gamer more than any kind of gamer. Facts are facts. I can get a ps4 for around $300. If I don't spend around $300 on just the gpu on my computer, I can't run at anything respectable. Top of the line is more like around $1000 per component, not $300.

while this used to be true, a pretty respectable PC can be built with a g4560 and an RX470/570/480/580 for $400, and can fairly consistently hit 1080p 60 FPS on medium-high settings on the latest games (high-ultra on most). while consoles do have great value for $200-300, once you go past that you can have a pretty superior PC these days. (unless scorpio costs under $500 and is as good as it says it is)
Before anyone accuses me of PC elitest, I actually do most of my gaming on my xbox one S...

Yeah, I can understand the fact that you'd want to preserve all your nice, expensive hardware for as long as possible and rather trash your inconsequential console.

 

[Invizibleyez]

gtx 1050ti/rx470: 120ish or 150ish(wait for sale)
g4560: 60
8GB DDR4: 50
matx h110 mobo: 50
1TB HD: 40
cheap case + psu - $60 (25 for case, 35 for 400w ish psu)
mouse + keyboard: $20 (unless you want super gamey ones)
(I forget OS, but lets pretend that gets offset by either free student editions, money saved on inarguably better steam prices, and no need to pay for XBL or PS plus or whatever its called)

noting that all these can be had cheaper using ebay coupons when they pop up or coupons for new jet customers, thats a respectable PC for $400.


any 4k gaming on PS4 pro usually suffers from terrible performance, unless its the "fake" 4k or not graphically demanding to begin with. Then again though, I wasnt countering your argument that the PS4 pro/scorpio are decent values (except that you only came up with that in an attempt to prevent yourself from being wrong, despite it being irrelevant to your original argument), just the statement that "no decent PC can be had for 300-400 dollars".

Fair enough I didn't mention 4k gaming or the ps4 pro originally, but I did not say you cannot get a decent pc for 300-400 dollars. You cannot get a respectable gaming pc for that price. But pc gamers have high standards. I guess we have discussed this to death. Long live the pc!

 

[imronburgundy]

Great. It's never too late to learn. I'm proud of you. Welcome to the elite corps.

It's like a drug now. "Oooh, what's that? PCIe sound card. $50. Another WD black drive. $50. Is my 1070 enough for 1440p gaming anymore?"

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

It's like a drug now. "Oooh, what's that? PCIe sound card. $50. Another WD black drive. $50. Is my 1070 enough for 1440p gaming anymore?"

A decent mobo's onboard sound is so good these days that an aftermarket card can be considered a waste of money unless you into switching out opamps in which case (I think) a lot of Gigabyte's board offer that feature and yes, a 1070 is very good for gaming at high settings. I use one for 1080p gaming and I can max out all the graphical sliders in all games that I play. If I do get some stuttering, I know that's just crappy game coding, not the card pausing to regain some breath.

 

[EClyde]

The only issue with pc gaming is that to have a capable system you need to spend the equivalent of an entire console's cost on each major component. I think the cheapest thing in my system is the memory.

Not true. I game fine on a mid range budget system. If you need a new iphone every 6 months then you are correct but I don't require 100 fps and double treble tittalation to enjoy my games

 

[EClyde]

I am happy to read PC gaming is in good health. Build a system so you can have fun. Don't build a system to get more fps then the chump next door

 

[imronburgundy]

A decent mobo's onboard sound is so good these days that an aftermarket card can be considered a waste of money unless you into switching out opamps in which case (I think) a lot of Gigabyte's board offer that feature and yes, a 1070 is very good for gaming at high settings. I use one for 1080p gaming and I can max out all the graphical sliders in all games that I play. If I do get some stuttering, I know that's just crappy game coding, not the card pausing to regain some breath.

Yeah, only got a sound card because I had an existing pair of Turtle Beach PX4's that used digital optical to connect for simulated surround. Probably should have just opted for a new headset.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Yeah, only got a sound card because I had an existing pair of Turtle Beach PX4's that used digital optical to connect for simulated surround. Probably should have just opted for a new headset.

If they're headphones you really love, then whatever choice you make is right. Me personally? I woulda settled on new cans.

 

[dirtyferret]

Spoken like a console loyalist. "Capable" and "top of the line" are two separate things.

No. I am so pc gamer more than any kind of gamer. Facts are facts. I can get a ps4 for around $300. If I don't spend around $300 on just the gpu on my computer, I can't run at anything respectable. Top of the line is more like around $1000 per component, not $300.

I bought a GTX 1060 for $180, runs every game I play at 1080p ultra settings with no issue. I have been using my i5 2500k CPU since 2011 and have no plans to upgrade this year and maybe not even next year.