RIP affordable, open, and largely inter-compatible computing platforms consumers actually purchase.

And tying it all together will be a new operating system from Microsoft, Windows 8, which promises to bring to the PC a lot of what makes mobile devices so popular.

Yup. The PC is dead.

/PC user.

PC user.

Will probably never purchase a standard PC again.

HTPC, tablet, smartphone - yes

Windows 8, 9, 10.... - no

madgonad: PC user.

Will probably never purchase a standard PC again.

HTPC, tablet, smartphone - yes

Windows 8, 9, 10.... - no

Windows 9 or 10 will be good. Since 7 was good though, 8 has to be complete garbage. It is the curse of Windows ME.

As long as there are serious gamers, there will be PCs. My web designer has a PC with three video cards driving three 32" screens.

Meh. Power users will find a way to hack windows 8 to be more conventional, or they'll move to something else.

I find it hilarious that people are dogging Windows 8, even though most have never used it and, even those that have are complaining about aspects that Microsoft has already said are going to change during the course of development. I love a good dogpile as much anyone else, but maybe wait for a good reason? It seems like Win8 might fail just because people want it to, rather than for any fault of it's own.

fluffy2097: And tying it all together will be a new operating system from Microsoft, Windows 8, which promises to bring to the PC a lot of what makes mobile devices so popular.

Yup. The PC is dead.

/PC user.

Um, no. It's not. Maybe for a few of you, but I prefer my PC. I can open it and use the power supply to power my CK3 pro /XBox360 USB Pro for hacking my slim360. I can upgrade the internal hardware anytime I want (running a new Intel Core i7-2700K). I can run experiments using hotswapable drives. I can trick it out using E.L. wire and overclock the hardware to see how fast it'll go.

Sorry. But the people that claim it as "dead" are the same twats who are rushing out (firsters) and buying tablets and proclaiming it's the be all and end all of using a computer. Tablets are fine for people who want to look cool, but know shiat about computers. My Le Pan II is great for browsing the internet, or reading a book. But I sure as hell wouldn't use it for virtualization or running a home built arduino powered cnc.

Typical apes. Can't tell one end of the banana from another.

My PC died in my last move, and I haven't bothered to replace it. My laptop has been getting much less use since I bought a Xoom. I do miss the big honkin' screen, though, so I'll probably buy another PC. Eventually.

indarwinsshadow: Typical apes. Can't tell one end of the banana from another.

That thing you heard whooshing over you?

That was the joke.

indarwinsshadow: fluffy2097: And tying it all together will be a new operating system from Microsoft, Windows 8, which promises to bring to the PC a lot of what makes mobile devices so popular.

Yup. The PC is dead.

/PC user.

Um, no. It's not. Maybe for a few of you, but I prefer my PC. I can open it and use the power supply to power my CK3 pro /XBox360 USB Pro for hacking my slim360. I can upgrade the internal hardware anytime I want (running a new Intel Core i7-2700K). I can run experiments using hotswapable drives. I can trick it out using E.L. wire and overclock the hardware to see how fast it'll go.

Sorry. But the people that claim it as "dead" are the same twats who are rushing out (firsters) and buying tablets and proclaiming it's the be all and end all of using a computer. Tablets are fine for people who want to look cool, but know shiat about computers. My Le Pan II is great for browsing the internet, or reading a book. But I sure as hell wouldn't use it for virtualization or running a home built arduino powered cnc.

Typical apes. Can't tell one end of the banana from another.

What you can't do, is go out today and buy a PC that will play Halo 3 for 250$(and the cost of the game), and use the same system 5 years later to play Skyrim right when it comes out.

When people say it's "dead" it's not a literal thing(pedantic assholes). The mainstream market, however, hasn't the money, inclination, or the free time, or the intelligence, to keep an operable and up to date gaming PC. To that party, it is, more or less dead, as a figure of speech, especially in today's economy(because no matter how good a PC is, it's still not a replacement for the e-book readers or tablets that everyone seems to need now).

I can do most anything on my old PC but play newer games, and my one time purchase(hopefully, we all know about console hardware issues) of a console will last 5-10 years, playing the same games that you play on your PC(Say, Skyrim), which is expensive in one way or another(parts over time or a big investment for the top of the line).

Meaning, what I pay for my console, is what some pay for each component of their PC's, say, for example the video card, and over the life of a PC, these parts may be replaced much more frequently than my console(by being outdated). Sure there are cheaper ones, but if you go that route you need upgrades even more often.

There for a while, PC's were more mainstream, but they're shrinking back into the geek only niche market that they once were.(Aside from the hipster/status fiends type of people that apple fans are, as a whole).

omeganuepsilon: There for a while, PC's were more mainstream, but they're shrinking back into the geek only niche market that they once were.(Aside from the hipster/status fiends type of people that apple fans are, as a whole).

How do you edit video on your console?

Actually, I can see tablets being able to do that in a few years. I can edit now on my iPad, but only in the most basic way. In order to create rendered video effects or anything I need my desktop.

indarwinsshadow: I prefer my PC. I can open it and use the power supply to power my CK3 pro /XBox360 USB Pro for hacking my slim360. I can upgrade the internal hardware anytime I want (running a new Intel Core i7-2700K). I can run experiments using hotswapable drives. I can trick it out using E.L. wire and overclock the hardware to see how fast it'll go.

Speak

English


Myself I buy computing hardware based on what I'll use it for, not on what I *could* use it for.

natazha: As long as there are serious gamers, there will be PCs. My web designer has a PC with three video cards driving three 32" screens.

Is your web designer also a virgin.

By the way, I can't wait to play Civilization 6 on my Android.

poot_rootbeer: Myself I buy computing hardware based on what I'll use it for, not on what I *could* use it for.



Well, no, but I can go down the road any time I want and walk into Harry's and hold my head up high, and say in a loud steady voice: 'Harry I want you to sell me a condom. In fact, today I think I'll have a French Tickler, for I am a Protestant.'

Just bought a new laptop, installed Fedora 16 and love it. Windows 7.... meh.

Not to threadjack... but has anyone heard of installing custom firmware on a blu-ray player to make it into an HTPC?

Work a government job. We run HP dc7900 desktops with XP and Vista network-wide. Government and corporate contracts will ensure the PC is around for quite some time.

omeganuepsilon: and my one time purchase(hopefully, we all know about console hardware issues) of a console will last 5-10 years,

That would be a NO. Xbox 360 can't play most xbox games, Xbox 360 4G can't play games that run on the 250G, etc. Playstation comparability? Short for sucker.

bemis23: I find it hilarious that people are dogging Windows 8, even though most have never used it and, even those that have are complaining about aspects that Microsoft has already said are going to change during the course of development. I love a good dogpile as much anyone else, but maybe wait for a good reason? It seems like Win8 might fail just because people want it to, rather than for any fault of it's own.

To be fair to the people dogging windows 8, for the average desktop it is pretty horrible. I've tried it out, and it is not easy or efficient to use AT ALL. For tablets, it seems fine, though. By windows 9 they should have the ui figured out just fine. So for tablets or phones, windows 8 is better than android ICS. For computers, Windows 7 is great. Android ICS will probably go up to android 5 by the time windows 8 is out there, so its too early to say if windows 8 or android will be better on tablets when the time comes.

As a gamer my PC will never go away completely. Can you imagine trying to make a Skyrim mod on an xbox? Good luck with that. Not to mention keyboard and mouse is just far superior to a controller for many tasks and games.

Don't get my wrong, I don't like to play sports games or racing games on my PC, those for for the console. The point is, they both still have their place.

PCs won't die until the price of the competition goes way, way down. Can you even buy a Macbook for less than $1000?

Or are they combining Windows/OSX/Linux into one argument (because they're technically all PCs) and saying tablets are the way of the future? Because that's just retarded.

indarwinsshadow: fluffy2097: And tying it all together will be a new operating system from Microsoft, Windows 8, which promises to bring to the PC a lot of what makes mobile devices so popular.

Yup. The PC is dead.

/PC user.

Um, no. It's not. Maybe for a few of you, but I prefer my PC. I can open it and use the power supply to power my CK3 pro /XBox360 USB Pro for hacking my slim360. I can upgrade the internal hardware anytime I want (running a new Intel Core i7-2700K). I can run experiments using hotswapable drives. I can trick it out using E.L. wire and overclock the hardware to see how fast it'll go.

Sorry. But the people that claim it as "dead" are the same twats who are rushing out (firsters) and buying tablets and proclaiming it's the be all and end all of using a computer. Tablets are fine for people who want to look cool, but know shiat about computers. My Le Pan II is great for browsing the internet, or reading a book. But I sure as hell wouldn't use it for virtualization or running a home built arduino powered cnc.

Typical apes. Can't tell one end of the banana from another.

Umm...those apes don't need that kind of power. Those of us who hate doing software development on lappies and love our dual to quad screens, leather chairs, and full keyboards, well we run Linux.

funk_soul_bubby: Work a government job. We run HP dc7900 desktops with XP and Vista network-wide. Government and corporate contracts will ensure the PC is around for quite some time.

Heh, we are in the middle of a tech refresh and op system upgrade to Windows 7, I'm actively campaigning for a total switch to Linux desktops running Gnome. Probably won't happen, but I can dream.

Right now I do most of my development at work on a Windows XP box running IBM Rational Application Developer, Websphere Application Server locally and deploying EAR's to Linux servers running WAS.

omeganuepsilon: What you can't do, is go out today and buy a PC that will play Halo 3 for 250$(and the cost of the game), and use the same system 5 years later to play Skyrim right when it comes out.

While this isn't exactly the same (since the PC cost much more than $250 originally), I grabbed my old workstation from my work when it was being replaced, as my office changes out hardware every 4 years. It's not a mind blowing machine, but it does have 4 gigs of ram and an early core 2 based Xeon processor. It's a late 2006 manufacture machine - so it's closing in on 6 years old now.

All I had to do was buy a new video card for about $220, (GTi 560) and I can now play Skyrim on max visual settings @ 1920 x 1200 resolution, at about 50 frames a second. It totally and completely blows away the console version of the game. From everything that I've read, Skyrim is almost entirely graphics card dependent. It doesn't care if you play it on a 5 year old CPU or the latest and greatest core i7. I hope more PC games in the future follow this trend.

Slaves2Darkness: indarwinsshadow: fluffy2097: And tying it all together will be a new operating system from Microsoft, Windows 8, which promises to bring to the PC a lot of what makes mobile devices so popular.

Yup. The PC is dead.

/PC user.

Um, no. It's not. Maybe for a few of you, but I prefer my PC. I can open it and use the power supply to power my CK3 pro /XBox360 USB Pro for hacking my slim360. I can upgrade the internal hardware anytime I want (running a new Intel Core i7-2700K). I can run experiments using hotswapable drives. I can trick it out using E.L. wire and overclock the hardware to see how fast it'll go.

Sorry. But the people that claim it as "dead" are the same twats who are rushing out (firsters) and buying tablets and proclaiming it's the be all and end all of using a computer. Tablets are fine for people who want to look cool, but know shiat about computers. My Le Pan II is great for browsing the internet, or reading a book. But I sure as hell wouldn't use it for virtualization or running a home built arduino powered cnc.

Typical apes. Can't tell one end of the banana from another.

Umm...those apes don't need that kind of power. Those of us who hate doing software development on lappies and love our dual to quad screens, leather chairs, and full keyboards, well we run Linux.

And that's why I love VMWorkstation. I'm not a snob but running 7 X64, Cheetah, Minty or Ubuntu and Solaris (while debugging binaries) all at the same is still a kick and not something I could do on a tablet...

. And what the hell does a comfy leather chair have to do with running Linux? You lost me on that comparison. Real linux users are hunched over a keyboard between racks in an offsite area, working on binaries while the client is usually pissed off and wanting to run billing and rating.

I don't think the desktop/tower form factor is dead (PC's both 'Personal Computers' and x86 certainly aren't) but I do think it's going to further vanish from the shelves for all but specialist uses and businesses.

I think we're going to see a hell of a lot more all-in-one machines appear in their place. Consumers generally speaking don't want a whirring box at their feet, it's annoying. It's one of the reasons so many are buying laptops, they don't take them anywhere they're just quiet.

Whilst I agree that it's a shiaty thing to do for the whole 'bin the whole thing buy new one vs replace a part' thing I have to point out that most consumers do just that with 'separates'; throw it all away and buy a fresh new computer, display, etc.

indarwinsshadow: fluffy2097: And tying it all together will be a new operating system from Microsoft, Windows 8, which promises to bring to the PC a lot of what makes mobile devices so popular.

Yup. The PC is dead.

/PC user.

Um, no. It's not. Maybe for a few of you, but I prefer my PC. I can open it and use the power supply to power my CK3 pro /XBox360 USB Pro for hacking my slim360. I can upgrade the internal hardware anytime I want (running a new Intel Core i7-2700K). I can run experiments using hotswapable drives. I can trick it out using E.L. wire and overclock the hardware to see how fast it'll go.

Sorry. But the people that claim it as "dead" are the same twats who are rushing out (firsters) and buying tablets and proclaiming it's the be all and end all of using a computer. Tablets are fine for people who want to look cool, but know shiat about computers. My Le Pan II is great for browsing the internet, or reading a book. But I sure as hell wouldn't use it for virtualization or running a home built arduino powered cnc.

Typical apes. Can't tell one end of the banana from another.

I couldn't understand anything you just said so I'm just going to accuse you of being a sorcerer.

bemis23: I find it hilarious that people are dogging Windows 8, even though most have never used it and, even those that have are complaining about aspects that Microsoft has already said are going to change during the course of development. I love a good dogpile as much anyone else, but maybe wait for a good reason? It seems like Win8 might fail just because people want it to, rather than for any fault of it's own.

Sales are probably up because corporate users have figured out there is at least a 50-50 chance Microsoft won't offer a "Windows 7 downgrade" option on new PCs once Windows 8 ships, and some corporations out there still have a bunch of users using 5+ year old WinXP boxes that need to be replaced. My company is planning on going fully to Win 7 now. Heck I went back to Windows from Mac because of 7. (went to Mac because Vista was my option at the time)

8 is being designed for the home market, plain and simple. I don't want a system that is designed to stream Facebook and Twitter on the main page. Will I be able to turn it off? Maybe - the preview needs a registry hack to do so. But anything in the OS that IT has to do after purchase is just dumb. It's like the time to uninstall the bloatware the manufacturers add....if they add it, I'll stop buying their product. Fortunately most of the corporate level PCs (not the ones you buy in a store) don't have that bloatware other than anti-virus which has to be replaced by the corporate one....

My crappy old netbook can run Terraria off of Steam. That is way better than Angry Birds on my nook color or android phone.

My cheap hp laptop was not much more than a fancy tablet. It can do 2x radeon cards in crossfire mode due to the amd llano apu and the second dedicated radeon card. I have a bluray drive. How can I replace this with a tablet?

My work work could probably be done on a tablet, but why? I need screen space for spreading financial info.

Tablets are great, but I'd rather get a new 11" laptop with an amd apu to replace my aging netbook with an old intel atom, tbh.

BohemianGraham: pute kisses like a man: I'm happy with my laptop... I've been using it for gaming, but, I'd like to build a gaming rig.

unfortunately, I know very little about the construction of a PC.

anyone know of the best way to buy/build a decent gaming rig for relatively cheap?

/ I don't mind if I'm behind the times. my 3 year old laptop can play skyrim (on lowest settings), so I don't need the most advanced computer ever. just something that is good enough. and something I could upgrade as necessary.
// pc is not dead. every business in the world still needs actual computers in the office.

I built mine via Newegg.ca. I paid a bit more than most are willing, because I added fancy doo-dads like a Blu-ray burninator, TV Tuner/PVR card, 16GB of RAM, the i7-2600k, and a mid-range AMD graphics card that was about 180 at the time. I also got a fancy looking case, and 1.5 TB HDD. Didn't have to pay for Windows pro though. It also cost me a wine kit to my brother, who offered to assemble it because he was bored, and I'm lazy. I also had to pay a bunch of shipping fees and sales taxes, It was a little over 1100 for everything before tax and shipping.

I've been told that Amazon.com has some good deals, as well as Newegg.com, and tiger direct.

I've built a number of PCs over the last few years for myself and others, and I've always used and been happy with Tigerdirect, but have heard just as good about Newegg.

Some recommendations if this is the first time building a PC -- make sure the motherboard is compatible with everything. Particularly the processor and ram (as that's where you'll run into the most compatibility issues), but also make sure it has the right sockets for whatever drives and expansion cards you're installing. Your best bet is to buy a kit that includes the motherboard and cpu (and possible also case), as this will insure compatibility. From there, for each accessory you buy, make sure there's a spot for it.

If you're looking for a gaming rig and price is an issue, the one place you don't want to skimp is the video card. In terms of CPU, for example, you won't see much difference between an i3 and an i7, but you'll see marked improvement going from a card with 512MB ram to one with 1GB. Don't worry about trying to get multi video cards. It's usually more hassle than it's worth to try to get them running properly, and you're probably better off spending that money on a single, better video card.

You don't need a ton of ram, but ram is cheap now, anyway. 4GB would be lower end for a new gaming PC, but would still perform well for anything out there. If you've got 4GB or more ram, though, and you're going with Windows, keep in mind that the 32-bit versions won't be able to utilize that much and a lot will be going to waste; get the 64-bit version of the OS. More important than the RAM itself, in my opinion, is making sure your motherboard has plenty of room to upgrade it. Down the road when you're looking to boost your performance, a ram upgrade is one of the first things you're going to look at.

HDDs are still expensive right now because of the floods in Thailand. Get the smallest you think you can make due with, and you can add a bigger one down the road if you need to once the price/GB drops.

Don't worry too much about the power supply. Get something from a reliable company (the customer reviews on Tigerdirect and good for identifying this) and that has enough power for your system. Unless you go overboard on the video card or extraneous drives, 450W should be enough (though check whatever video card you get to see what it recommends, as this is going to be a big source of your power drain).

Overall, out of a budget of, say, $1000, I'd spend ~$200 on a video card, ~$450 on a motherboard/CPU, and the remaining $350 on a case, power supply, hard drive, RAM, and DVD drive (I wouldn't bother with a Blu-Ray drive unless you want to watch Blu Ray movies and don't have another device that can play them). Scale those costs as appropriate for your budget. This doesn't include things like monitor(s)/keyboard&mouse/speakers, but you can add those and still get something cheaper than I specced that will work just fine. Unless you're getting a nice sound system, don't even bother with a sound card -- your motherboard built-in sound card can handle a 2.1 system just fine.

I won't get into the details of actually building it, as there are guides out there that can cover it in much more depth than I ever could. But it's not as hard as it might initially seem to someone who's never done it before. If you've ever replaced a component in a computer, it's just like that but all at once.

BohemianGraham: pute kisses like a man: BohemianGraham: pute kisses like a man: I'm happy with my laptop... I've been using it for gaming, but, I'd like to build a gaming rig.

unfortunately, I know very little about the construction of a PC.

anyone know of the best way to buy/build a decent gaming rig for relatively cheap?

/ I don't mind if I'm behind the times. my 3 year old laptop can play skyrim (on lowest settings), so I don't need the most advanced computer ever. just something that is good enough. and something I could upgrade as necessary.
// pc is not dead. every business in the world still needs actual computers in the office.

I built mine via Newegg.ca. I paid a bit more than most are willing, because I added fancy doo-dads like a Blu-ray burninator, TV Tuner/PVR card, 16GB of RAM, the i7-2600k, and a mid-range AMD graphics card that was about 180 at the time. I also got a fancy looking case, and 1.5 TB HDD. Didn't have to pay for Windows pro though. It also cost me a wine kit to my brother, who offered to assemble it because he was bored, and I'm lazy. I also had to pay a bunch of shipping fees and sales taxes, It was a little over 1100 for everything before tax and shipping.

I've been told that Amazon.com has some good deals, as well as Newegg.com, and tiger direct.

yeah, I usually check the newegg. I just get too excited by all the big gadgets. like this mother board can do everything and this coolant system has liquid nitrogen... and I think all of that is awesome, but I forget, I don't want to spend more than a grand (including the monitor).

my problem is that i don't know where to shell out the cash and where to skrimp. I just think, get a decent cpu, gpu, and enough memory. but, then what about the box, the fans, the motherboard, the power supply, are there other things I'm forgetting? can I go cheap on those, or do I need to keep a quality consistent machine?

/ but, knowing me, if I ever get around to it, it'll be jury-rigged with duct tape and sal ...

Sounds like a seque but it's relevant. When you go to get your motherboard...check and make sure of the socket. Not just little things like LGA but the fact that AMD and Intel have completely different sockets now. And you want to make sure the CPU you get will be recognised by the BIOS. Some of the ASUS p5n series have a problem with the Q and e series of Intel.


.
..
...
Got my CPU at Tigerdirect.ca
Newegg.ca was out of stock. Funny enough, a good way to quickly check for competing prices outside of pricecanada.com is canadapost.ca
Type in something like Intel e7500 canadapost.ca into google, and you'll get the top 5 or 6 prices in Canada for the CPU ranked in order.
Strange what you stumble across sometimes.

...
.....
And don't buy from ebay whatever you do. Most of that sh*t has been overclocked and overcooked in the process. Spend a couple of extra bucks and get a new CPU.

GameSprocket: omeganuepsilon: There for a while, PC's were more mainstream, but they're shrinking back into the geek only niche market that they once were.(Aside from the hipster/status fiends type of people that apple fans are, as a whole).

How do you edit video on your console?

Actually, I can see tablets being able to do that in a few years. I can edit now on my iPad, but only in the most basic way. In order to create rendered video effects or anything I need my desktop.

Are you suggesting fully featured video editing is a mainstream activity rather than a geek niche market?

This is why I like fark. Even though it sounds like I may have been one one side of a PC Master Race/ Console Peasant argument, I really wasn't, and most everyone that replied to me got that. Then the thread continued on into a helpful hints and tips sharing thing.

So that brings me to my inevitable question. I've got a pretty nice PC, quad AMD 2.3 or so, 3g ram(going to do atleast 4 soon, maybe up to 8). Bought it as a unit from Tiger direct(and FYI for anyone reading, newegg is generally better but when shopping for PC parts it's best to atleast check on both, newegg's reviews do tend to be better, more knowledgable).

My graphics slot is the older pcie 1.0. I was wondering what kind of limitation it would have, I read that the newer cards are backwards compatible, but just haven't been able to get answer that's convinced me to just drop a bill or two on a more modern video card.

Just after I got it I picked up a cheap video card that wasn't much better than the onboard, but enough for the gaming I did at the time, mmo's(family used to hop between all the "free" mmo's) that are very aged graphics quality.

After having bought Skyrim for the console, I got the intense urge to play with mods, tried skyrim on the PC and it was BLECH. Round about the time AGP was overcome by PCIe is the last time I knew anything about video cards, so any help would be appreciated.

/can get mobo info if needed
//on lappy right now

pute kisses like a man: I'm happy with my laptop... I've been using it for gaming, but, I'd like to build a gaming rig.

unfortunately, I know very little about the construction of a PC.

anyone know of the best way to buy/build a decent gaming rig for relatively cheap?

/ I don't mind if I'm behind the times. my 3 year old laptop can play skyrim (on lowest settings), so I don't need the most advanced computer ever. just something that is good enough. and something I could upgrade as necessary.
// pc is not dead. every business in the world still needs actual computers in the office.

Extremetech and other site have lots of info on building your own rig. It's a lot easier than you think.
/Don't be afraid to ask question to people online

xria: Are you suggesting fully featured video editing is a mainstream activity rather than a geek niche market?

Well, considering youtube is now up to an hour's worth of user videos being uploaded every second (new window) - there's a lot of people out there working with video these days. I'm sure more than just a fraction like editing them down a bit.

One website. 86,400 hours of video. a. day.

MrSteve007: xria: Are you suggesting fully featured video editing is a mainstream activity rather than a geek niche market?

Well, considering youtube is now up to an hour's worth of user videos being uploaded every second (new window) - there's a lot of people out there working with video these days. I'm sure more than just a fraction like editing them down a bit.

One website. 86,400 hours of video. a. day.

You try to make it sound different than it is.

1. Not all youtube video's are highly edited, or edited at all
2. Lots of video blogs, make a lot of that professional work, that is their job
3. If someone is doing demanding rendering and complicated video rendering as a hobby and not their job, yes, that person is in a video editing geek niche.

Anyhow, video editing was irrelevant to my point. PC's are less used than they would be, due to other devices fulfilling some of the same roles(more and more all of the time), and gaming is on that list. If they add video editing to the xbox, like they did with media streaming, movie rental, netflix, twitter, and whatever else, PC's will be less needed.

The mainstream crowd wants convenience, can and do sacrifice quality and freedom, for a modular yet simpler means of doing more and more with one platform that is ultimately cheaper and easier to use.

What is an xbox/tablet anymore than a standardized and simplified PC? As technology gets more powerful, the geek chic of PC nerds becomes less popular in the face of angry birds and XBOX live.

You don't have to be angry or contrary or jealous about market facts. If it makes you feel more secure or whatever, a lot of PC money made is a result of status seeking as well as regular people just developing more digital hobbies. No one is talking about literal death here, no need to cringe in fear in your basement dwelling.

PC's market share of the general populace, however, is being outstripped by other devices that suit RandomNeedX(price, or ease, or specializationX[flash games, portability, compatibility, standardization] just as well.

The PC's drawback has always been it's lack of standardization and complete lack of mobility(without costing in the department of power-- the biggest and best computing systems still take up whole rooms, just as the best PC's still have the same form factor as they did in the 80's, a big freaking box). This will never go away(the populace will not magicly get less ignorant and more complacent[read, too busy to learn about PCs], and the market for the PC can(and does) lose out, not necessarily decrease, but potential is lost. Other devices grow and spread much faster, these streamlined yet restricted children of the PC, eventually, will outstrip the inherently limited desktop. As mentioned, even video editing is foreseeable on portable devices, making the modern PC's actual user base that much more of a niche in the future.

We are at the end of an era. Once people figure out how to MMO on their tablets, WoW anywhere/anytime, the PC market will backslide that much further into it's non-cool geeky roots. It's already losing the battle of FPS games, as they're developed for the consoles then ported to the PC, more or less...

I can envision a future, a bold new world, where PC's aren't used much for anything but technical hobbies...wait...that's what it always was, and by and large that's the kind of geek niche that I was talking about above. Go figure..

When it comes to actually shopping for stuff, I would suggest Pricewatch.com (pops) myself.

That way I can compare prices from a wide variety of sites. I was using almost nothing but gearxs for a while, because they offered free shipping to military APOs.

/I hate Newegg's return policy though. Return everything if ONE thing is defective is a stupid return policy.

pute kisses like a man: I'm happy with my laptop... I've been using it for gaming, but, I'd like to build a gaming rig.

unfortunately, I know very little about the construction of a PC.

anyone know of the best way to buy/build a decent gaming rig for relatively cheap?

/ I don't mind if I'm behind the times. my 3 year old laptop can play skyrim (on lowest settings), so I don't need the most advanced computer ever. just something that is good enough. and something I could upgrade as necessary.
// pc is not dead. every business in the world still needs actual computers in the office.

Find geek friend, grab his "old" desktop for a grand, throw in a mid-range GPU, and maybe a new PSU if the power requirements went up, and done.

Or just build a midrange one yourself. (Though wait a tad if you want to go AMD for GPU's as the new 28nm 7xxx cards are still trickling out, and that's a worthwhile investment).

Right now, AMD CPU's suck at high end, so a nice i5-2500K + cheap, yet good p67/z68 mobo is about $350, 16 GB RAM is another $50-70, hard drives are expensive, but a 128 GB SSD + a 2 TB data drive is ~$350, good case is about $100. If you want to OC a lot, sink another $50-100 into cooling.

Throw a $250 video card in and a $75 600W PSU (probably a tad high for this system, but having some upgrade room isn't the worst idea) and for ~$1250, you have a massive, powerful gaming system ready to go that's extremely upgradable.

/If you think this is a good idea, go post your build request on Hardforum's general hardware subforum, and fill out their little questionaire, and they'll get you set up better than I can.
//All prices are approximate.
///And if you don't want to build it yourself, find a geek friend and pay him 10%, or go through a boutique where you can pick your own hardware. Check reviews and return policies first though. 30 day, no questions asked, no restock fees are the golden place.

omeganuepsilon: PC's market share of the general populace, however, is being outstripped by other devices that suit RandomNeedX

This statement is a bit of a half-truth. As the linked article says, PC sales are 20% higher than anytime in history (after growing 27% last year). It looks like they're comparing sales in dollars vs. units sold - they also note that PC prices have dropped 5% over the past year, deflating their revenue model a bit. Considering how many decades the PC has been out there, that's a pretty big increase in sales. While growth of other devices are climbing, the desktop/laptop isn't going anywhere for another couple decades.

You're also saying that buying one device means that you won't buy another. I'm not sure about you, but I bet almost every smartphone owner has a laptop or desktop computer at home (let alone at work). They're not outstripping any sales, they're complementing. The same goes for ~90% of tablet owners. Hell, up until most recently, you needed a desktop/laptop to even sync or update your iPad.

While I'm an outlier, most of the other 20-30 something households I know have (in order of prevalence):

-a laptop or desktop
-a smartphone
-an additional netbook
-a wii
-an xbox 360 or PS3
-a tablet