There were 79.2 million PCs shipped in Q3 2020, which included 64 million laptops. Further analysis of the desktop/laptop split reveals that laptops sales were up 28.3 per cent with desktop PC sales shrinking by 26.0 per cent.

Not surprising when laptops are more convenient,and the costs of desktops are starting to get a bit sillier in comparison(especially if people build them too) and you need to add periphery costs(monitors,keyboards,etc).

CAT-THE-FIFTH
Not surprising when laptops are more convenient,and the costs of desktops are starting to get a bit sillier in comparison(especially if people build them too) and you need to add periphery costs(monitors,keyboards,etc).

True enough. You can also get pretty powerful laptops (at a price) or ‘average’ ones petty cheaply.

They're not always more convenient, though, and the cost comparison should reflect that upgrading a laptop more than minimally gets expensive because you end up replacing all of it, at once. One of the biggest single advantages of a desktop/tower is only replacing what you need, like video board.

The other is spec'ing the machine to your specific wishes, not what manufacturers want to sell. I'm writing this on an MS Surface Pro, with a 17" Dell laptop five feet away, having just been researching chip, mono, GPU (maybe), drive options etc, because my old PC has been kept going with a change here, upgrade there, since Q6600's were state of the art.

In other words, don't buy a Ferrari when you need a 4x4, and don't buy a 6.6L V8 Rolls when you want an EV.

Defo not suprising given the present situation. Yes lappys have convienience and portability as a major factor but as a personal choice give me a desktop everytime. I hate keyboards on laptops and a limited screen size plus the upgradability and customisation on a desktop far out weighs a lappy for me. Given also that you can a good decent desktop for less than a mediocre laptop compounds it depending on your needs of course.

I wonder why? *covid cough*

CAT-THE-FIFTH
Not surprising when laptops are more convenient,and the costs of desktops are starting to get a bit sillier in comparison(especially if people build them too) and you need to add periphery costs(monitors,keyboards,etc).

Not to mention for a ‘home user’ there hasn't really been a reason to upgrade a desktop pc for close to a decade…. gamers and ‘creatives’ might want to upgrade though but home office workers shouldn't need to.

The worst part of a laptop (unless a business grade one bought with a dock), is the lack of ergonomics.
Adjust the screen and keyboard is badly positioned, or vice versa.

Saracen999
True enough. You can also get pretty powerful laptops (at a price) or ‘average’ ones petty cheaply.

They're not always more convenient, though, and the cost comparison should reflect that upgrading a laptop more than minimally gets expensive because you end up replacing all of it, at once. One of the biggest single advantages of a desktop/tower is only replacing what you need, like video board.

The other is spec'ing the machine to your specific wishes, not what manufacturers want to sell. I'm writing this on an MS Surface Pro, with a 17" Dell laptop five feet away, having just been researching chip, mono, GPU (maybe), drive options etc, because my old PC has been kept going with a change here, upgrade there, since Q6600's were state of the art.

In other words, don't buy a Ferrari when you need a 4x4, and don't buy a 6.6L V8 Rolls when you want an EV.

I meant in terms of portability and not requiring as much space. A desktop will require a big enough table,etc to house it. Laptops work out much better if you live in a flat where space is at a premium.

Desktops are fine as long as you assemble them yourselves,and don't go cutting edge to keep price/performance decent. That means you can do a series of rolling upgrades as required instead of doing it on one go. The prebuilt route starts to get more expensive. Also price fluctuation in desktop parts can affect DIY PC builders worse. I remember last year when mining was a thing,you could get a GTX1660 laptop with a 6C Intel CPU,cheaper than a similarly specced desktop!!

LSG501
Not to mention for a ‘home user’ there hasn't really been a reason to upgrade a desktop pc for close to a decade…. gamers and ‘creatives’ might want to upgrade though but home office workers shouldn't need to.

That too because even a £100 APU is more than enough for normal tasks,and a SB Core i5 still does the job fine for a lot of home tasks. The A6 3670K I won on here nearly a decade ago,is still working and in use for home office tasks.

Also in the same token price escalation of desktop component parts isn't really helping too,and I have seen friends simply keep their desktops for longer. The moment gaming or enthusiast is mentioned,price/performance goes out the window. So it wouldn't surprise me if there are quite a few people who now stick with what they have for longer or buy a desktop replacement laptop,and then use a console in front of their TV