Weekend Open Forum: Desktops doomed to irrelevancy?

Depends upon how one defines a "desktop" PC.

I would venture that a very substantial percentage of laptops are used as "de facto" desktops, in that they occupy a specific place in the home and rarely (if ever) leave that location.

In 5 years time I foresee the current trend of laptop sales over traditional desktops reach an equalibrium as many home users will place greater value on how the computing device fits into the home environment over power, hardware upgrade or economic considerations.

Hence for those who need to upgrade their hardware capabilities on a shorter timeline will continue to opt for desktops.

i have NOT purchased a desktop in years now. it is the age of portability and on-the-go technology and this is the path of the future no doubt

Interesting that you say that; just yesterday I read an article discussing that topic at Toms Hardware! The writer was talking about how graphics have not yet hit the point of diminishing returns that sound cards hit years ago, and how it is still going to be a while before integrated/mobile graphics performance will approach even today's desktop premium products.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/future-3d-graphics,2560-3.html

Me and a freind were talkin about how game makers such as UBI Soft and the like are all gearing twords the console users and shutting out the desk top crowd with the goal of going strait to the console, i rember back in the day when desktops had the best grafics, its amazing how far consoles have come from the days of playstaion or super nitendo's. I hope they will continue to cater to both comunities but i relize most game companys look at profit first.

I agree with many on this story. THIS....IS....RIDICULOUS!
The world of computing is of course constantly evolving, but to think that such a radical shift would happen so soon, is a stretch.

Pretty much everything was covered in this interesting open forum,
And I gotta agree, mobile and portable computing have a long way ahead of it before it replaces Desktops due to reasons covered, performance and reliability mainly..

I think desktops are going to sell less and less each year but they will never go away. Many people will still keep a pc for home use and games

You can't liquid cool the CPU,chip-set or GPU of a laptop. Enthusiasts will always go for performance over size, that is why hummers are still driving around.

That Said, Try This.......

At the end of the day, this isn't really about equipment preferences, it's about rampant mental retardation in the computing public.

Once upon a time, someone with their, "head in the clouds", was being referred to as a foolish dreamer, without much in the way of common sense. Now, Google execs are, in a very cavalier fashion, suggesting the everyone upload every bit of their personal information into the "cloud". So's ya don't need that clunky ol' desktop. Yeah, we''ll keep your info safe for you. Don't worry, be happy.

My feeling is that you should shut off your "smart phones" for a while, before they make you more stupid. Stare at your own reflection in the display, it's harmless, it won't hurt you, it worked for Narcissus, and it would work for you.

Hey, there's probably "an app for that".

The TV didn`t kill radio, e-readers didn`t kill books, the PC didn`t kill paintings, laptops didn`t kill desktops, cellphones didn`t kill phones, everything just ads to the culture.

There will come a time when everything changes everything but i don`t think anything will truly die.

I wouldn't say total irrelevency. It all depends on what you mean by irrelevent. If you consider irrelevent, such as what you'd consider PDA users today, then desktops are heading that way. 3 years is a pretty distant possibility though.

Again, like someone mentioned earlier, its all about what you consider a desktop. There are desktop replacement "laptops", which imo is about as big as a desktop with low-profile parts.

With Intel coming out with integrated graphics with CPU, for all you know a deal may be announced tomorrow for a low-power GTS250 to be integrated into a mid-high end LGA1156 CPU. If this happens, laptops can become much more powerful, and may please most gamers (except the extra picky of course).

Do realise that once more people (not just gamers) shift and stop buying desktop, demand reduces, suppliers stop making them, they become more expensive, more people switch, and the next thing you know, only people who really need top-end performance will be owning desktops. God knows when this would be happening....

I don't think it will, even when laptops, iphone and the like people still use a desktop computer.

Although Desktop sales would be down from computer company's like dell, compared to laptop sales. It would be interesting to see, the sales of computer products and parts for desktop PC's. As I am sure a lot of enthusiasts would make there own PC's or at least get a wholesaler to build it at a smaller cost.

1 word... GAMING.

I do not see mobile devices replacing desktop computers. Mobile devices offer the convenience of portability while desktops offer performance and expandability. Although sales may declince significantly, I highly doubt that business and familes thourghout the country will replace all of their desktops with notebooks, Netbooks, iPads or mobile phones.

A few more comments (reading some of the new responses):

I believe the context of "irrelevancy" is the cloud. It doesn't mean that desktops will not be sold, just that there won't be need for them when a fast connection to the internet is available. I imagine that the Google guy is basing this on knowledge of web applications that will be available, and I'm sure most people here including me are not familiar with all of them. Based on what I've read of OnLive, that could be true for gaming in three years. (GDC is in a couple of days, and I'm sure we'll hear more of OnLive then.)

I'd also like to say that the people reading and posting on TechSpot represent a very small percentage of PC users, so while we might like our desktops and their upgradability and power, that doesn't mean desktops won't become marginalised. Even for gaming, the Radeon 5970 and even 5870 buyers are a minority. Even on this front, it's possible that external graphics cards for laptops will become a reality within the next 3 years.

Regarding form factor, I agree that laptops aren't perfect for everything, and I'm sure nettops and all-in-ones (PC integrated into the monitor) and other such devices will remain. I think the definition of desktop to consider is the PC with custom components. This will likely become a niche market.

desktop will always be first in new hardware, then it gets smaller after

I love my desktop, and I can't see them going out any time soon. There are a lot of businesses that require needing a desktop in order to do all the things that they need to for their businesses, and I mean A LOT of businesses. They need the power in them to be able to perform the tasks. I highly doubt that any business is going to go to being completely mobile for conducting their business, even in 10 to 15 years. A laptop for me would be easier in some ways, but I'd honestly rather sit at my desktop for what I do on it. Plus, it's harder to upgrade a laptop with software, hardware and stuff like that compared to a desktop. This guy was getting a little ahead of himself.

I'm not sure myself on what to believe. The only system I own is a laptop and while it gets the job mostly done it does have a lot lacking in it. Then again in the next few years who knows what sort of hardware is going to come out...I think within the next ten years or so most people will have laptops as their main system and only those that require great power. Gamers, Media creators, ect ect will need much more.