Will our hobby die?

[WaTaGuMp]

Does it really matter? The end of the world is long before 5 years.

 

[jhansman]

At the rist of sounding like the old fogey, I can remember the first time I busted open my 80286 512k, 40 MB system to put a modem in. I was scared sh&*less but figured it out and sat in wonder as connected to my first BBC and the screen filled up with asciii characters. In that moment I realized that my PC was something considerably more than just a box full of transistors and ICs. Since then I've built seven or eight systems, each one more challenging and fun than the previous. So, for me, no laptop or pad or phone will fill my hobbyist desire. If enough of us keep the market for components and parts alive, desktops will get built.

 

[jihe]

The trend is defiantly moving forward laptops instead of desktops, and tablets instead of laptops. Will it ever die? Nope. There will always be the need for maximum performance, for example a work setting. Or at least i think..

It's true that I hardly use a desktop anymore, but tablets are completely useless for work.

 

[podspi]

At the rist of sounding like the old fogey, I can remember the first time I busted open my 80286 512k, 40 MB system to put a modem in. I was scared sh&*less but figured it out and sat in wonder as connected to my first BBC and the screen filled up with asciii characters. In that moment I realized that my PC was something considerably more than just a box full of transistors and ICs. Since then I've built seven or eight systems, each one more challenging and fun than the previous. So, for me, no laptop or pad or phone will fill my hobbyist desire. If enough of us keep the market for components and parts alive, desktops will get built.

I feel kind of the opposite. Building a computer nowadays is, imho, almost trivial. It used to be you selected a motherboard, graphics card, audio card, modem/network card, IDE controller, etc.


Now, I could build a budget machine with CPU, MB, HD, Optical. By next year, we are going to have desktop SoCs, where the mobo is really just a formality . Computers are becoming much simpler -- and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing -- it does take a bit of the fun out of it. Especially if you don't need whizbang latest and greatest GPU, etc.

 

[sm625]

Desktops are cheaper than their mobile equivalents. The reason the mobile segment is growing faster is due in part to a secular trend towards bad fiscal management. The two growth curves will normalize a bit when people return to buying what they need with money they actually have rather than buying what they want with money they do not actually have.

 

[AdamK47]

It seems like people have different interpretations of what this hobby consists of.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I don't think that the desktop form-factory is going away completely, because there will always be a need for superior computing power in a personal form-factor.

Therefore, desktops will likely always be more powerful than smaller laptops, and still smaller tablets.

 

[RussianSensation]

I disagree. It would make sense but most people don't care that cheapo laptops come with crappy screens. I see it all day at work. There are a lot that still have old 15" lcds with 1024x768 resolution. Other run that resolution on 19" 1280x1024 screens and it looks terrible.
They don't care and they don't know better.

But your own statement shows that the average consumer doesn't care for 1080P resolutions on a laptop, hence they have little reason to choose a desktop with 1080P/1200P/1600P for the sake of a better quality screen/resolution.

I work on a laptop every day and I still don't feel that there is a real need for a 1080P 15inch screen in a laptop for most people. In fact, that resolution can often be too demanding on the eyes if you are using a laptop for 9-10 hours a day. Higher resolution is great for media content but eventually things just get very small for productivity. That's how I feel. Besides, myself like a lot of people who care about productivity at the office are connecting our laptops to a dedicated LCD monitor and use that instead. When I am not at the office, I use my laptop and don't really miss 1080P resolution.

I think people have this idea that you need a "retina" style display (i.e., insanely high PPI). Would I want a retina style display on a laptop? Sure if there is no performance premium. That's not to say I won't use a laptop without a retina display. It sounds to me like you won't use any laptop with 1366x768 resolution since it's unacceptable. I think that resolution is perfectly fine for a 13 inch display. I also find 1920x1080P great for a 37 inch display, so my standards are probably much lower than yours.

Most modern laptops are are heavy, come with a crappy 1366x768 16:9 screen and last for about 2 hrs. Eg the typical 500$ warehouse laptop.

But what good desktop can you buy for $500 with a monitor? Why limit us to $500 laptops? I am pretty sure a person is faced with a decision: Desktop + Monitor using at home vs. Laptop that they can use anywhere. The world is changing. Under such circumstances, most people are now choosing a laptop that's more versatile and is fast enough for just about anything. You can get plenty of models for $750 that are excellent. Lenovo even has rapid-charge technology that gives you 80% battery charge in about 30 minutes. You can always get a spare battery if you really need 13 hours of battery life.

I just think your requirement for very high resolutions puts you in the minority. I mean, remember a laptop = portability. So if you really valued portability, you'd easily sacrifice 1080P for it.

You are also focusing way too much on features. Modern consumers are becoming more concerned about the "user experience". OS/battery life/form factor & slick looks/portability are far more important than having an 8-core GTX580 SLI 2560x1600 15 inch screen laptop for 99% of people who want a laptop.

You have a 2.3 lbs offering from apple for $1000 in the MacBook Air. You want thin and light, you have it. 5 years ago something like this would have cost $3000-4000.

Some of my friends share a 17 inch laptop in their living room with 2-3 members in the household. They are well aware that a desktop is way more powerful for the same amount of $, but a laptop fits their needs much better since it takes up far less space.

 

[Jacky60]

Yes it won't but probs will.

 

[AdamK47]

Yes it won't but probs will.

I take that as a maybe.

 

[Arachnotronic]

AdamK47, as a hardcore enthusiast yourself, what's your take on all this?

 

[Deleted member 4644]

I have been tinkering with the insides of computers since about 1993, and with the insides of other electronics since the late 80s.

I sadly think that computers will be 99% commoditized in the next few years, with our segment being pushed further and further to the edge.

People are getting stupider, and performance is now so good on a $500 laptop that few people "need" more.

There will always be some sort of "desktop" model, but it may cost $5000 again soon.

 

[AdamK47]

AdamK47, as a hardcore enthusiast yourself, what's your take on all this?

Change happens.

 

[tweakboy]

Ill be 90 and and still be OCing more then ever. By that time smartphone can have DX11 haha and play how it is on pc same speedl. very fast geforce 100000 GTX SLU lol

 

[bryanW1995]

It won't die but you will see fewer and fewer people building 1200W EVGA SR-2 Classified systems than there already are.

I think power costs will rise to the point where its just not cost effective to build such a power sucking system. Rigs like that are like running a hair dryer for several hours at a time will make the meter outside spin rapidly.

I get laughed at when I tell people I am playing Counterstrike : Source on the system in my SIG which is more than adequate for a game which came out in 2004 or so.

BTW I also own a 750W Core 2 DUO E6600 system with 2 X 9800 GT in SLI and one dedicated GT 240 PhysX card, but it puts too much heat out in the summer here in Arizona so I rarely use it except at night to play games.

It gets just as hot here, I just crank up the A/C a bit...

 

[Fritzo]

The trend is defiantly moving forward laptops instead of desktops, and tablets instead of laptops. Will it ever die? Nope. There will always be the need for maximum performance, for example a work setting. Or at least i think..

People are tweaking phones now - modding them and overclocking them. The smartphone is going to be the new PC for modders.

 

[jhansman]

People are tweaking phones now - modding them and overclocking them. The smartphone is going to be the new PC for modders.

I fussed over my Android phone for a good three months before I finally lost all interest in it. It's rooted and has some non-market apps, but at this point I couldn't care less about it. It's a phone that plays video and lame games; BFD. OTOH, my desktop still provides me with large (or larger) screen graphics, excellent sound, fast access to the web, and more processing power than ever. For me, a phone can't hold a candle to the enjoyment a desktop PC offers, either using or modding.

 

[lol123]

People are tweaking phones now - modding them and overclocking them. The smartphone is going to be the new PC for modders.

Hahaha. In what parallel universe is that?

 

[Fritzo]

Hahaha. In what parallel universe is that?

I guess you haven't noticed that all the other tech sites are mostly talking about smartphones these days instead of PCs and video cards.

 

[sangyup81]

Turning 30, games are not as relevant to me as before. Sure I like to fire up a FPS and some StarCraft II once in a while but not as often as when I was in college.

Fortunately, for the sake of my computer hobby, I discovered Distributed Computing projects like Folding@Home and the project hosted by BOINC!

Think about it though. Since when has anything we've been in to here been mainstream? Even when I buy mainstream products, I overclock them, undervolt them, and then tweak some more. This is definitely not a mainstream hobby.

 

[ancient11]

I have yet to see a laptop that can play all the games, I am not saying there is not one out there, just that I haven't seen it. There are more laptops sold than PC's but there is a large difference, 60% of the laptops get thrown into the bottom of the closet (there are four in mine). Tablets aren't even worth mentioning and as far as the smart phone goes – I just traded my iPhone 4 lor a Dora. My son was very happy.

I think PCs will be good to go for the next 12 years, then I believe electronics will have matured enough that the laptop and tablets will be able to handle things.

Dang it – 31 more days

 

[Interitus]

I think most people just get caught up too much in the here and now.

Sure people are tweaking phones and loving tablets and increased laptop ability. But all that is relatively new, especially tablets. A lot of focus is put onto those types of devices because they're evolving quickly and doing things that just weren't possible in such a form factor before now.

Even if these devices continue to improve at a fast pace, they're still going to continue to be limited in performance compared to a powerful desktop PC, just as they have always been. Green economics may dwindle the demand for such powerhouse desktops, but look at it the same way as the MPG race in cars. You still see people driving gas guzzlers all over the place. They didn't just go away. If people enjoy them and can easily handle the cash drain, they're going to continue to use them, so they will continue to be available.

If anything I think advances in smaller form factor computing will keep enthusiast or hobby computing to just what we're calling it now, a hobby or enthusiast only market where the average Joe off the street isn't building his own systems.

 

[ultimatebob]

This hobby isn't dead yet, but people just aren't building gaming desktops like this used to. I blame console games and the iPad for stealing resources from PC game developers.

Personally, I'm surprised that nobody is offering a bare-bones kit for building your own Android tablets yet. What's up with that??

 

[Smartazz]

I think most people just get caught up too much in the here and now.

Sure people are tweaking phones and loving tablets and increased laptop ability. But all that is relatively new, especially tablets. A lot of focus is put onto those types of devices because they're evolving quickly and doing things that just weren't possible in such a form factor before now.

Even if these devices continue to improve at a fast pace, they're still going to continue to be limited in performance compared to a powerful desktop PC, just as they have always been. Green economics may dwindle the demand for such powerhouse desktops, but look at it the same way as the MPG race in cars. You still see people driving gas guzzlers all over the place. They didn't just go away. If people enjoy them and can easily handle the cash drain, they're going to continue to use them, so they will continue to be available.

If anything I think advances in smaller form factor computing will keep enthusiast or hobby computing to just what we're calling it now, a hobby or enthusiast only market where the average Joe off the street isn't building his own systems.

This, and power consumption is way overblown. The added cost of electricity for a gaming desktop isn't much in comparison to the cost of such systems. This is assuming you don't run the desktop when you're not using it. I suppose the most extreme setups with 3 or 4 video cards can run up electricity costs, but those systems are usually very expensive to begin with so electricity costs probably aren't a concern. In regards to the green movement, the impact that a desktop has in comparison to most cars is minuscule as long as the desktop isn't run 24/7 or something.

 

[Interitus]

In regards to the green movement, the impact that a desktop has in comparison to most cars is minuscule as long as the desktop isn't run 24/7 or something.

True, I should've been more clear when using that reference. I just meant it in terms of a selling point for misinformed consumers, where the current economy enforces a "less is more" attitude when making purchases.

Personally I use an i7 920 @ 4ghz with a single 5850 and it runs 24/7. I don't use idle power states either because I have a crappy chip and they screw with the overclock stability. The difference in power usage is negligible when it's not loaded all the time, which is rare for me.