While the rest of the PC market is pretty much pants, the high-end and gamer desktop PC area is doing well for channel partners, according to a study from TECHnalysis
TECHnalysis principal analyst Bob O’Donnell said the high end of the desktop market where enthusiasts like to build their own systems and where businesses will buy custom-built white box systems from companies like Falcon Northwest are doing well.
Gamers and enthusiasts will build their own systems with components – including CPUs from Intel and AMD – bought through the channel, O’Donnell said. Some organisations looking for customised and specialised white box systems also will turn to the channel.
Others will look to their local computer stores for desktops, he said.
“They’re not running out to buy an HP at Best Buy”, O’Donnell said. “They go to the local guy… Small businesses want to work with their local PC partners.”
Those local companies can help organisations optimise the systems for their businesses, from choosing the right CPU and motherboard to configuring the memory, he said.
A reinvigorated AMD emerging as a rival to Intel – which has dominated the PC chip market for years – and the channel has a lot to choose from, O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell added that for the channel, this competition and the innovation that will result will prove beneficial.
“Anything that can spark interest in high-performance desktops and gives [users] the ability to upgrade…gets people fired up and going”, he said.
