Plummeting PC sales expose fiction of Windows 8 numbers

When major PC manufacturers report that first-quarter sales are down or flatlined, one has to wonder: Where are all the supposed Windows 8 licenses going?

Hewlett-Packard posted its quarterly results late last week, and the results paint yet another horrendous picture for the future of Windows. Lenovo posted first-quarter results last week as well, and while the picture from China isn't as dire, it's far from comforting. Windows 8 is in a nosedive, no matter how you look at it, in spite of Microsoft's remonstrations to the contrary.

Read more at: Plummeting PC sales expose fiction of Windows 8 numbers | Microsoft windows - InfoWorld
 
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Thanks. That is what I get for RDPing into too many systems and not paying attention to what I'm doing!
 

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    Windows 8, 2012, 7, 2008R2, 2008, 2003, XP,SUSE
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While there are many contributing factors to the traditional PC business getting the stuffing knocked out of it, the Windows 8 train wreck has certainly accelerated the industry's hurtle into the abyss.

OK.

Lenovo benefits from an enlightened attitude toward installing and supporting Windows 7 on new machines

Yep

We're just starting to see the devastating effect Windows 8 has had, not only on Microsoft but on the industry as a whole.

OK.

And I wouldn't bet a feathered farthing that windows blue will make the situation any better.

For pcs he may be right. I think they may do better in tablets with the new much cheaper ranges.
 

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Interesting article but no real figures. Assuming that many of the tablet sales were sold to folks that just wanted to read their emails, bit of web browsing and some social networking then it's fair that they never required a desktop or laptop in the first place. Plus of course it's no longer necessary to continually upgrade the hardware as (apart from gamers) we've probably reached the peak of what is required on the traditional level.

Personally I doubt if I'll build another desktop rig. Currently waiting to see when/if Intel launch a mk2 version of their NUC idea with USB3 so i can attach it on the back of the monitor - that's probably my next hardware upgrade.

I'm no lover of W8, I've tried it and tried it and it's just not for me. Cannot see the point of a third party app to simply get W8 to look and operate like W7. And, I'm certainly not going to fall in love with paid for apps or cloud computing if that's the MS gameplan. All personal stuff though and what direction MS decide upon is their business.

But I also believe there's far to much blame being sent the way of MS from the OEM's. The market has moved on in some areas and they've been caught napping by the cheapish Androids and the fashion must have buy from the fruit company.
 

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    Logitech Illuminated wired
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    MS Optical wireless
    Antivirus
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It's what we've been saying all along.
 

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    Win8.1 Pro, Desktop Mode
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    Me
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    1x1TB Western Digital WDC WD1001FALS-00J7B1 ATA Device Caviar Black -

    4 x 2TB Seagate ST32000542A -
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    Antec
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    Noctua NH-D14
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    60meg cable
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    AVG Security Suite
It's what we've been saying all along.

So the question really is can MS compete in the marketplace against those cheapo tablets and/or build itself as a must have fashion accessory like the fruit company has managed to do.

It would be interesting to see where MS were now regarding market share (including those tablets). Okay, it used to be 90% plus (pre-tablet era) but doubt if it was anything like that now - but figures are figures and easily manipulated eh?
 

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    Win7 & 8 64bit / Linux Mint 14
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    i5 2400
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    Gigabyte
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870
    Sound Card
    On-board
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    Asus
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    1920x1280
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    128gb SSD, 500gb SATA
    PSU
    Coolermaster
    Case
    Zalman Z7
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    Air
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    Logitech Illuminated wired
    Mouse
    MS Optical wireless
    Antivirus
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Not really.

Ironically, Stevie S himself said:

Black cars are still popular, they are just not the only cars.

Just because lots of other colours are available - does not mean you should stop making black. It sells well. It is not 100% of the market as it once was- but lots of people buy them.

Right now, I think all other colours together outsell black cars. As far as I know all makers still offer black cars, and they sell well.


There will likely be about 300m pcs sold this year. There should be around that number next year, too. At some stage there will be more tablets sold in a year.

The current difficulty for MS appears to be that in addition to those who would be moving to tablets anyway - some those who would have bought laptops are reluctant to do so.

Even of those who are buying tablets - not many are 8 tablets.
 

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    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
This 'death of the desktop' will end up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy unless people stop deliberately talking desktops down in favour of toys...oops, tablets and phones.

When the 'desktop. dies, so will home/hobby computing as we know it. We'll become a world of computer-illiterate Farce-bookers and Twits using low-powered devices with limited functionality in a walled-off system (we're already well on the way). And I really have no desire to be part of that kind of 'computing'.

To me, the big, powerful desktop or laptop equipped with powerful, functional software that I own the hard-copies of, and capable of 100% functionality without the need to be connected to the 'net, IS computing, I have no interest in a world of mobile content consumption or social networking. Take my desktop/laptop away, and you've taken away everything I love about computing. I may as well throw it away and go buy a book (and I probably will).

Wenda.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 'Ultimate' RTM 64 bit (Pro/WMC).
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    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer AS8951G 'Desktop Replacement'.
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    i7-2670QM@2.2/3.1Ghz.
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB@1366Mhz.
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    GeForce GT555M 2GB DDR3
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    Realtek HD w/Dolby 5.1 surround.
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    Built-in. Non-touch.
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    18/4" 1920x1080 full-HD.
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    Toshiba 750GBx2 internal. 1x2TB, 2x640GB, 1x500GB external.
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    Stock.
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    Laptop.
    Cooling
    Stock.
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    Full 101-key
    Mouse
    USB cordless.
    Browser
    IE11, Firefox, Tor.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro.
    Other Info
    BD-ROM drive.
Unfortunately, it does seem 8 is making the situation worse.
I am not entirely surprised.

The new launch and much cheaper 8.1 tablets should help MS get a bigger piece of the tablet action.

I am not convinced that will help the laptop side. Depending on what MS do to 8.1 it might continue to get worse.
 

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  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
the Windows 8 train wreck has certainly accelerated the industry's hurtle into the abyss.

The Train Crash metaphor is how it is with me with Windows 8. I can see the disaster coming, I know it is going to hurt, but I can't stop myself from watching.
 

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  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
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    Intel Core i7 3930K
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    Gigabyte X79s
    Memory
    16.0GB Corsair Dominator DDR3-1866
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    MSI GTX 680
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    Sound Blaster ZxR
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    Dell U2711 and 2407WFP
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    2560x1440 and 1920x1200
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    3 x SSD
    Mix of 2, 3 and 4 TB Hard Drives
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    Corsair HX1050
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    Lian Li Diamond Series PC-Z70 Full Tower, Black
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    Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU cooler
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    Logitech MX Revolution
    Internet Speed
    20mbs
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    Firefox
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    Avast Free and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro
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    Win 8.1.1 and Office 2013 via Virtualbox
Windows 8 is better than Vista, but at least Vista didn't destroy PC sales like Win 8 is doing. I'm glad I was given a choice of operating system with my latest laptop, but then I would have done the same thing I did with Vista on my last laptop. I would have formatted the HDD and installed what I wanted.
 

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  • OS
    Win 7 Pro x64
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    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware M18xR2
    CPU
    i7 3820qm
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    Alienware / Dell
    Memory
    16gb Corsair ddr3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Dual GTX 675m
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 120gb SSD
    1tb storage drive
    Internet Speed
    Not nearly fast enough
I predict a huge backlash if Microsoft puts a Start button on the old-fashioned desktop and ties it into the Metro Start screen. That kind of wretched experience and its concommitant bad publicity, like Chris Pirillo's iconic "Dad Test," will only make Windows 7 and XP users more cynical.

I am wondering how bad the train wreck will be when that happens.
 

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  • OS
    Win7/8 Mint
    System Manufacturer/Model
    lenovo W530
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    intell i7
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    Lenovo
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    16gb
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    512 gb ssd
    Other Info
    Around 13 million employes
Would it be that big a deal if a few manufacturers stopped making desktop PC's? I personally wouldn't lose any sleep if Dell or HP or Toshiba decide to not build desktop PCs anymore. It might actually work out better for companies like ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, Biostar etc. I build my own and hope to build one or two more in my lifetime. Obviously if they all jumped ship that would be bad, but if only a couple of retailers ditched prebuilt desktop PC's I don't think it would be earth shattering. Just my 2 cents worth.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
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    PC/Desktop
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    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
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    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
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    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
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    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
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    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
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    Stock heatsink fan
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    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
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    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
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    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
I'll confess to not knowing what's selling and what's not. At one time I was wanting to buy a tablet. I've never owned one. One thing I was sure about was I didn't want an RT device. I also wanted at least a 10 inch screen. The hybrids with the detachable keyboards/docks were what appealed to me. The price didn't though. I just couldn't help but compare that to what I could get in a laptop for the same price. I don't travel much if any so portability wasn't that big a deal for me. As long as I can carry it out to my deck without getting a hernia I'm OK with a big laptop versus a little tablet. I went big and bought an ASUS K75DE. The trade off for having a touch screen just wasn't worth it to me. The younger generation would likely go the other way though and buy the tablet.
 

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    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
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    PC/Desktop
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    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
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    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
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    Stock heatsink fan
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    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
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    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
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    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Unfortunately, it does seem 8 is making the situation worse.
I am not entirely surprised.

Agreed but also the OEM's and the so called 'expert' retailers are not helping matters either. Looking at my local PC superstore they have rows upon rows (or that's how it appears to me) of laptops with W8 on them. Don't think any of them are touchscreen and the sales staff aren't much help!! Just maybe though many people did not need or require a laptop in the first place and a tablet works just fine for them. But the tablet market is highly price sensitive unless you want the fruit company fashion accessory iPad so it will be interesting to see how MS reacts.

Okay so maybe MS should have been more proactive in this area with training and leaflets but so could the OEM's as well. We all know tablets are limited for what is often described as real work and I couldn't live with one - I need a desktop for business use and a laptop when away from base. But those tablets have a market and MS want a slice of the action. Whether they have left it too late we will wait and see.

The immediate problem that MS has is they need to sort out the reputation that W8 seems to be gaining by the day which they could easily do. Fortunately most folks that are not going to use W8 (myself included) have a perfectly good W7 system running. Hopefully MS will continue to pursue the tablet/smartphone market but also acknowledge the requirements or preferences of their existing W7 users. Whether W8.1 will be the answer is still pure speculation IMO.
 

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    Win7 & 8 64bit / Linux Mint 14
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    i5 2400
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    Gigabyte
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870
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    On-board
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    Asus
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    1920x1280
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    128gb SSD, 500gb SATA
    PSU
    Coolermaster
    Case
    Zalman Z7
    Cooling
    Air
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    Logitech Illuminated wired
    Mouse
    MS Optical wireless
    Antivirus
    Avast
This 'death of the desktop' will end up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy unless people stop deliberately talking desktops down in favour of toys...oops, tablets and phones.

When the 'desktop. dies, so will home/hobby computing as we know it.
Wenda.

I really can't see the death of the desktop any time soon. What I do see happening is a far smaller footprint than what we traditionally have now. The Intel NUC is a good example (shame about the lack of USB3 but that will come). Once other manufacturers jump on this bandwagon then who knows, maybe desktop sales will start to move again upwards on the graph as there will be a serious reason to upgrade. Just my thoughts.
 

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  • OS
    Win7 & 8 64bit / Linux Mint 14
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5 2400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870
    Sound Card
    On-board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1280
    Hard Drives
    128gb SSD, 500gb SATA
    PSU
    Coolermaster
    Case
    Zalman Z7
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Logitech Illuminated wired
    Mouse
    MS Optical wireless
    Antivirus
    Avast
the PC is dead, long live the PC.

just because HP as a maker of crap PC loses sales we use this as evidence that all PCs will die? the article also said Lenovo has 10% growth in PC sales. It is like saying Chrysler lost sales and went bankrupt, so the car itself must die.

Windows 8 barely has anything to do with lower sales. If someone needs a new PC they don't postpone that purchase just because of W8. It is just that in most cases the old PC still is good enough. More and more games are played on consoles, making PC upgrades less important. Most people don't know the difference between Windows 8 and XP anyway. Msot people don't even know that windows refers to the OS, not the hardware and when they call support and get asked what version of Windows they have they just say "windows of course, the windows version, why do you ask?".

I also notice privately how I use my home desktop and laptop less. Consequently an upgrade is less important to me. I used to use a laptop to read the news on the couch and at some point I planned to buy a new laptop. however, now I got my 5.5" cellphone and just use that. Same with iPads, etc.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 7 Pro 64
    CPU
    Core i3 3.3 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB 1600 MHz
    Hard Drives
    SSD Samsung 830 128 GB
Your Mileage May Vary

I use my desktop more than ever before:
  • Editing pictures
  • Editing video
  • Running VMs
  • Creating TAFE assignments (e.g. Flash animations, MySQL, web pages and writing reports)
  • Browsing the Internet
  • Listening to music
  • Record keeping
  • etc.
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Linux Mint 18.3 MATE (64 bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    n/a
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Ares F3-1333C9D-8GAO (4GB x 2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD6450
    Sound Card
    Realtek?
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA), Western Digital 2 TB (SATA), Western Digital 3 TB (SATA)
    Case
    Tower
    Mouse
    Wired Optical
    Other Info
    Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit) - 2014-05-17
    Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-11-13
    Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-01-14
    RAM & Graphics Card Upgraded - 2013-01-13
    Monitor Upgraded - 2012-04-20
    System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
    HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11, 2011-08-24,
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