Are the days of big flashy computers coming to an end?

[Loozher]

As technology advances, bigger things fit in smaller packages, we've all heard that

But we're starting to see more and more powerful computers, in smaller and smaller cases

Almost cheese grader size

 

Apples already close to creating a insanely powerful computer inside of a super small case?

 

So are the days of the Big Beefy RGB Leave No Room On Your Desk Sized PC's Gone?

 

I wanna hear what the community thinks

[da na]

Personally I agree.

Laptops are becoming enough for most users. Gamers will stick with customizable upgradable desktops for a while, servers of course will remain big, and power users will still want big heavy workstations. But for the general public, laptops, even tablets/2 in ones, and phones are becoming more generally used. None of my friends have desktops at home (excluding one with a family iMac) and all just have laptops. Those small PC builds are friggin expensive and impractical for most people but smaller solutions are definitely becoming more widely adopted. Take for example the exclusion of drive bays.

[RONOTHAN##]

For most people, yeah probably. That said, there will always be a small subset of people (including me) that want the biggest and baddest towers they can have. The smallest case I've had my main system in since I got into building computers ~6-7 years ago was the Corsair 800D. The big towers allow for more niche things like water cooling and more fans. As long as they're making big, over the top parts like the 12900k, 3090, and 6900XT, there will always be people making big, over the top computers with them in it. 

 

For most people, including most gamers, that isn't really necessary, and an mATX case is about the biggest you really need to go if you want to fit a ton of hardware in and run really fast GPUs. 

[whm1974]

11 minutes ago, Mel0nMan said:

Personally I agree.

Laptops are becoming enough for most users. Gamers will stick with customizable upgradable desktops for a while, servers of course will remain big, and power users will still want big heavy workstations. But for the general public, laptops, even tablets/2 in ones, and phones are becoming more generally used. None of my friends have desktops at home (excluding one with a family iMac) and all just have laptops. Those small PC builds are friggin expensive and impractical for most people but smaller solutions are definitely becoming more widely adopted. Take for example the exclusion of drive bays.

That is in part due to smaller sized Storage Devices. Gone are the days of 5 1/4" ODD, since Flash Memory became a great deal cheaper. SD/MicroSD, SSDs, FlashUSB Sticks. And of course you have to Internet where you simply D/L  and Install Applications.    

[Loozher]

13 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

For most people, yeah probably. That said, there will always be a small subset of people (including me) that want the biggest and baddest towers they can have. The smallest case I've had my main system in since I got into building computers ~6-7 years ago was the Corsair 800D. The big towers allow for more niche things like water cooling and more fans. As long as they're making big, over the top parts like the 12900k, 3090, and 6900XT, there will always be people making big, over the top computers with them in it. 

 

For most people, including most gamers, that isn't really necessary, and an mATX case is about the biggest you really need to go if you want to fit a ton of hardware in and run really fast GPUs. 

Seems that GPU's have gone from Huge, to small, now going back to huge,

Guessing in the future we will have GPU's many times the power of a 30 series in the size of a SSD

[Arika]

1 hour ago, Loozher said:

So are the days of the Big Beefy RGB Leave No Room On Your Desk Sized PC's Gone?

hope so.

 

Even when i built my current PC, i made no considerations for looks. I cared about size and airflow. i personally hope we get to a point where full on gaming PCs are the size of consoles. there are some cases that can currently do it, but they are quite expensive.

 

I highly considered getting the MSI trident 3 arctic before i did my current upgrade. Who knows what will happen in the next n years

[Radium_Angel]

As with everything, fads/trends/etc come and go.

What was once old is new again, and vice versa.

Small and powerful is nothing new (look at the shuttle XPC for a prime example) large and flashy, also nothing new (Alienware has been doing that since forever)

Personally what I'm hoping will be the next big thing, is a truly elegant PC case, something that doesn't look out of place in an expensive home, that I have yet to see.

[Quackers101]

I love small but portable enough desktops.

where I want mATX or smaller, just wish they got a bit more love at times in design to fit in the smaller areas they are going to be used for.

 

sadly as with some hardware and software, some parts are getting quite demanding yet again, requiring more airflow and bigger components.

At least we see a lot of new tech to reduce the power draw and being faster. We might see more current desktop performance in smaller builds in future.

Still some issues as with "gaming" laptops that might overheat or is not quite there in some aspects, then having a supported PSU or power needed. But they have gotten more powerful no doubt, but so have the demand for more powerful hardware as well.

[Tamesh16]

There used to be a time when a desktop computer was essential for school and work, now both at home and at my previous job I use Laptops. My previous Job started giving only laptops because of the convenience and the fact that everything is in one package and I would agree. 

Making things smaller and more compact is more convenient and easier to manage so the industry will tend towards it

[Jaesop]

Not while GPUs are massive. Prebuilts may shrink, but people making their own will likely stick to normal cases.

[Heliian]

47 minutes ago, Caroline said:

except for some high end models most don't come with an ethernet port

I haven't seen a laptop without one.  Tablets and 2in1s usually don't have one though.  

Intel has those nuc things though, they're nearly at console size.  

 

 

[BondiBlue]

10 minutes ago, Heliian said:

I haven't seen a laptop without one.  Tablets and 2in1s usually don't have one though.  

You must be seeing some old laptops then. The newest laptop I've got around here that has an ethernet port (without being a high end laptop) is from 2015. Since then they simply haven't included it. 

[MultiGamerClub]

5 hours ago, Loozher said:

So are the days of the Big Beefy RGB Leave No Room On Your Desk Sized PC's Gone?

With my Lian Li Dynamic having 9x A-RGB fans, a 360mm rad for the 5900x and (hopefully soon) get my 3080ti back from RMA fixed.. Its eating 30% desk space on my 3xmonitor desktop table.. For most people i feel like people prefer their machines smaller and smaller.. But between friends and earlier co-workers, doesnt seem to matter if its a rack-sized server with UPS at the bottom or a bigtower eating a meter square in a corner..

 

Now im probably gonna move my pc so its behind my monitors at some point so i can have 3 monitors.. but for now it eats my half the mouse space i have left.

[Laborant]

I think, it's a matter of possibility and cost.
As numerous tech-Youtubers have shown, there is the possibility to put a high end desktop CPU with a high end GPU into a small case, but as I know from my 5800x CPU, making that entirely silent and passively cooled is an entirely different story. A modern x86 CPU sips about 240W, a modern high end GPU is at over 300W - that power needs to go away.

As for today, it is still cheaper and more reasonable to build large PCs. Maybe if Apple is able to create a "Mac Mini Pro" or so, people start to question the terrible efficiency of standard desktop components. 

 

[Sauron]

I doubt they're coming "to an end" any time soon, in fact the industry trend seems to be trying to cram as much RGB lighting as humanly possible into every component. Most people aren't buying custom PCs anyway, it's been a relative niche for decades. It's not just a matter of power, it's also about customizability and upgrade potential.

[adarw]

schools are already starting to use chromebooks instead of pcs.

 

workplaces are now more than ever useing vms with laptops. 

 

people are now more than ever buying gaming laptops instead of pcs.

 

m1 max and m1 pro are power efficient enough for laptop use. 

 

convenience always wins. 

 

the fact that i can go on my sofa or bed and sit down/lay down whenever i want is nice. 

 

im not sure if pcs will stay here, but i do know laptops are more convenient, only time will tell.

Edited December 22, 2021 by adarw

[8tg]

8 hours ago, Caroline said:

As the rest have stated, the normie users tend to use laptops while enthusiasts -or just people who enjoy them- stick to desktops and pros to workstations. I know several corporate drones people who don't even have a computer at home, all they use is a smartphone. Not like they care about privacy.

 

I don't like laptops due to overheating, lack of upgradeability, batteries and dongles, also except for some high end models most don't come with an ethernet port which is essential to me as I don't have a wireless router. 

 

Hope the bs RGB and gaming trend ends soon though.

Have you heard of our lord and savior, Lenovo?

 

[Quackers101]

2 hours ago, 8tg said:

Have you heard of our lord and savior, Lenovo?

that is clearly len owo vo. it's going to end.

[IPD]

I think the tipping point is reduction of physical storage size and the advent of cabling bandwidth that can allow for top-end GPU performance--remotely.

 

I for one, welcome mini-STX and sincerely hope that it becomes far more mainstream in the future.  Mini-ITX doesn't even need to be a thing--if GPU's are going to be plugged in externally.  That means that the only cooling solution in the "desktop tower" itself is whatever is required to keep the CPU happy.  Expect to see NUC-box size PC's become more common in the future--especially since 6-core+ low-power CPU's are now commonplace, and these are usually sufficient for the vast majority of users.

 

For gamers, external GPU cases are still shockingly pricey in many cases.  I hope to see increased boutique offerings of "pick your case, pick your GPU, pick your cooling--we build it for you".

 

I can envision tomorrow's future multi-purpose rig being a 5"x5"x1" PC in a 2" tall case that features an 8x USB4 hub built in.  All you need to do (as a gamer) is source an external GPU that suits you, and plug it in.

[wasab]

ultrawide montitor and full size keyboard cant fit inside a phone case. you always need bigger spaces for these. 

[creesch]

15 hours ago, Loozher said:

As technology advances, bigger things fit in smaller packages, we've all heard that

But we're starting to see more and more powerful computers, in smaller and smaller cases

Almost cheese grader size

 

Apples already close to creating a insanely powerful computer inside of a super small case?

 

So are the days of the Big Beefy RGB Leave No Room On Your Desk Sized PC's Gone?

 

I wanna hear what the community thinks

 

15 hours ago, Mel0nMan said:

Personally I agree.

Laptops are becoming enough for most users. Gamers will stick with customizable upgradable desktops for a while, servers of course will remain big, and power users will still want big heavy workstations. But for the general public, laptops, even tablets/2 in ones, and phones are becoming more generally used. None of my friends have desktops at home (excluding one with a family iMac) and all just have laptops. Those small PC builds are friggin expensive and impractical for most people but smaller solutions are definitely becoming more widely adopted. Take for example the exclusion of drive bays.

 

I feel like grandad talking but both of these comments could just as easily have been posted 5, 10 and possibly even 15 years ago. In fact, it already has been a reality for the majority of people as in many households you will not find a desktop PC at all and very often not even laptops as people just use their phones or tablets. To me these discussions are more interesting because the perspective they offer as they are somewhat cyclical and also based on context. 

 

Desktop computers have been a very specific market for a while now and that market basically boils down to a few demographic groups 

 

• Gamers (obviously), specifically those who don't want to pay the premium you pay for gaming laptops and/or want the upgradability that desktop computers offer. 
• Professionals/hobbyists who need the sort of hardware/performance that is still difficult to fit in a small form factor box. This combined with the same reasoning that also applies to the gamers group.  

And yeah smaller form factor PCs have been getting populair but those actually aren't new. When I first went to college in 2003 one of my fellow students actually brought a small form factor PC with him which was on par with full sized desktop PCs of the time. 

 

As far as the M1 argument goes, yes it packs a punch but it is also very expensive compared to a regular modular PC for a variety of reasons that are not just limited to the Apple premium. It also lacks any upgrade path in regards to the various components. And finally, the M1 stuff isn't as far ahead or insanely powerful as people hype it up to be. Don't get me wrong, it is still pretty powerful but some of that is due to dedicated hardware for specific tasks (which makes it extra expensive) and part of it is simply because it was mostly compared to AMD and Intel offerings from a year earlier. 

 

As far as smaller form factory PCs in general go I see some people arguing about. I think those are only relevant for a subsection of the desktop users to begin with: those who care about looks and those with very limited desktop space available. But for those people that simply are interested in using the hardware rather than seeing the computer itself as a style element smaller form factor PCs only offer more hassle for very little in return. 

 

2 hours ago, IPD said:

I think the tipping point is reduction of physical storage size and the advent of cabling bandwidth that can allow for top-end GPU performance--remotely.

 

I for one, welcome mini-STX and sincerely hope that it becomes far more mainstream in the future.  Mini-ITX doesn't even need to be a thing--if GPU's are going to be plugged in externally.  That means that the only cooling solution in the "desktop tower" itself is whatever is required to keep the CPU happy.  Expect to see NUC-box size PC's become more common in the future--especially since 6-core+ low-power CPU's are now commonplace, and these are usually sufficient for the vast majority of users.

 

For gamers, external GPU cases are still shockingly pricey in many cases.  I hope to see increased boutique offerings of "pick your case, pick your GPU, pick your cooling--we build it for you".

 

I can envision tomorrow's future multi-purpose rig being a 5"x5"x1" PC in a 2" tall case that features an 8x USB4 hub built in.  All you need to do (as a gamer) is source an external GPU that suits you, and plug it in.

 

Which is why I think comments like this are not really a general prediction of the future but more wishful thinking based on your own wishes. They likely will happen, in fact you already see people do pretty much this with PCI extension cables or thunderbolt. But that only offers something extra for people that care about a certain minimal aesthetic which is a niche user group within greater group of desktop PC users.  Most desktop users don't want to deal with two cases as it doesn't offer anything extra for them and is in fact more hassle than a simple mid tower case tucked away in a corner. 

 

Basically if you are a gamer then generally speaking there is not really any added value to having an external GPU unless you actually want to use it in combination with a laptop so you have one single machine with all your stuff on it. If you are not a gamer the small form factor PC already has been a thing for two decades and already is of the size that you can tuck it away about anyway. The intel compute stick is over half a decade old at this point  as an example on the extremer side of the spectrum. But even more reasonable capable small form factor computers capable of fitting monitor VESA mounts (to give you size impression) have been a thing for a long time now. 

 

There is nothing new in what you propose, it is just that it isn't generally something that most people do have a reasonable use case making it a bit of a niche use case for even within the already relatively small group that is PC gamers (small compared to the entire PC market). 

[aDoomGuy]

Well I got the Phanteks P400s and it's the smalles size I would ever want. After all I'm gonna work inside it from time to time and I'd like to do that without ripping everything out of it.

 

ITX? No thank you. Can't say I digg it.

[whm1974]

12 hours ago, BondiBlue said:

You must be seeing some old laptops then. The newest laptop I've got around here that has an ethernet port (without being a high end laptop) is from 2015. Since then they simply haven't included it. 

You can buy USB to Ethernet adapters. How well they work I wouldn't know. On Smartphones? No Clue.

[IPD]

26 minutes ago, creesch said:

 

 

I feel like grandad talking but both of these comments could just as easily have been posted 5, 10 and possibly even 15 years ago. In fact, it already has been a reality for the majority of people as in many households you will not find a desktop PC at all and very often not even laptops as people just use their phones or tablets. To me these discussions are more interesting because the perspective they offer as they are somewhat cyclical and also based on context. 

 

Desktop computers have been a very specific market for a while now and that market basically boils down to a few demographic groups 

 

• Gamers (obviously), specifically those who don't want to pay the premium you pay for gaming laptops and/or want the upgradability that desktop computers offer. 
• Professionals/hobbyists who need the sort of hardware/performance that is still difficult to fit in a small form factor box. This combined with the same reasoning that also applies to the gamers group.  

And yeah smaller form factor PCs have been getting populair but those actually aren't new. When I first went to college in 2003 one of my fellow students actually brought a small form factor PC with him which was on par with full sized desktop PCs of the time. 

 

As far as the M1 argument goes, yes it packs a punch but it is also very expensive compared to a regular modular PC for a variety of reasons that are not just limited to the Apple premium. It also lacks any upgrade path in regards to the various components. And finally, the M1 stuff isn't as far ahead or insanely powerful as people hype it up to be. Don't get me wrong, it is still pretty powerful but some of that is due to dedicated hardware for specific tasks (which makes it extra expensive) and part of it is simply because it was mostly compared to AMD and Intel offerings from a year earlier. 

 

As far as smaller form factory PCs in general go I see some people arguing about. I think those are only relevant for a subsection of the desktop users to begin with: those who care about looks and those with very limited desktop space available. But for those people that simply are interested in using the hardware rather than seeing the computer itself as a style element smaller form factor PCs only offer more hassle for very little in return. 

 

 

Which is why I think comments like this are not really a general prediction of the future but more wishful thinking based on your own wishes. They likely will happen, in fact you already see people do pretty much this with PCI extension cables or thunderbolt. But that only offers something extra for people that care about a certain minimal aesthetic which is a niche user group within greater group of desktop PC users.  Most desktop users don't want to deal with two cases as it doesn't offer anything extra for them and is in fact more hassle than a simple mid tower case tucked away in a corner. 

 

Basically if you are a gamer then generally speaking there is not really any added value to having an external GPU unless you actually want to use it in combination with a laptop so you have one single machine with all your stuff on it. If you are not a gamer the small form factor PC already has been a thing for two decades and already is of the size that you can tuck it away about anyway. The intel compute stick is over half a decade old at this point  as an example on the extremer side of the spectrum. But even more reasonable capable small form factor computers capable of fitting monitor VESA mounts (to give you size impression) have been a thing for a long time now. 

 

There is nothing new in what you propose, it is just that it isn't generally something that most people do have a reasonable use case making it a bit of a niche use case for even within the already relatively small group that is PC gamers (small compared to the entire PC market). 

That's why I think the next wave is going to be SFF PC's that duplicate or add-on the benefits of other peripheral devices.  Agreed that most consumers won't care to have 2 cases for their PC.  However, if the SFF built into a USB-hub, a mechanical keyboard, or includes Qi charging for something else (eg. dock for wireless headphones)--I think this would be more appealing.  You aren't dealing with "Extra" gear, and actually saving space by having a case that also serves an extra function besides just housing the SFF guts.

 

Yes, all-in-1 PC's have existed for years.  They are also lackluster on virtually every aspect and nearly impossible to repair/upgrade.  What if instead of this, you could pick a case for your SFF that also functioned as a powered USB hub, a mouse bungee, a 2.1 receiver (i.e. left, right & sub 3.5mm jacks), AND the top also had a Qi pad that could charge your phone wirelessly.  And if you decided later on to upgrade the internals, it would be as simple as getting another mini-stx mobo, cpu and ram.  Or what if the case came with a holster that could be adhered to the back of a monitor (adhesively or with VESA mount) thereby freeing up desktop space?

 

I foresee 35"+ screens becoming standard-fare, and if the industry adopts methodology to holster/cradle both E-GPU and SFF to the back of the display (or to mount arms/etc)--it could result in a very "clean" looking setup. 

 

--

 

Imagine a wall-mounted monitor.  The E-GPU is cradled on the side of the hydraulic/spring-loaded articulating arm running between the wall and the display's VESA mount.  USB4 cable runs between the E-GPU and display.  Display and E-GPU are powered off an outlet strip integrated into the top of the articulating arm--with a single power cord extending from the base of the mount to feed it.

 

Now you can either choose to mount the SFF to the opposite side of the display arm from the E-GPU (with a short USB4 between) or you can run it down to the desk and use it for a USB hub for various plug/play storage devices or peripherals.  If you don't need a USB hub and mount it to the display arm, you could have 1 power cord coming off the mount arm (with 3 devices plugged in via it--2 if USB4 can simultaneously power the display).  BT 2.1 audio (or wireless headphones) and 2.4ghz mouse/keyboard for peripherals.  That's a very clean setup; something you would have to "hide" an existing PC tower to come close to matching.  Cable management becomes virtually zero apart from the power cord on the mount itself.

 

TLDR: all it takes is some creative imagining and combining existing devices/ideas in different ways--and you have revolutionized the desktop as we have traditionally known it.

[Giganthrax]

I think it's the opposite. With larger monitors, multiple monitor setups, huge GPUs, huge cpu cooling towers, and 2-3 140mm fan AIOs becoming increasingly more affordable and available, large rigs definitely arent going anywhere.