A PC ‘recession’ could make hardware way more expensive, says researcher
Proposed tariffs on China and Mexico could lead to a PC market recession, according to a GPU market researcher.
JimMin
By Jacob Roach Published December 4, 2024 6:38 AM
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Get ready to spend big if you plan on scoring one of the best graphics cards or best processors. According to Jon Peddie Research, the PC market could be headed for a “recession” due to proposed tariffs on several countries, which are said to go into effect shortly after Donald Trump becomes president on January 20.
The quote comes from JPR’s third-quarter GPU market study. Market share has shifted a bit, CPU shipments are up by 12%, but there really isn’t much to write home about — short of the tariffs. “AMD and Intel released new CPUs, and there was some pent-up demand for them. However, looking forward, we think that if the proposed tariffs are imposed, the PC market will suffer a recession due to increased prices and unmatched increases in income,” wrote Dr. Jon Peddie.
The speculation is hardly surprisingly, as we’ve been looking at the proposed tariffs for a while now. The situation might be worse than expected, though. Projections about prices show that laptops and tablets could increase by as much as 45% in price, but even those estimates — put out by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) — don’t capture the full scope of what prices could look like next year.
Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Originally, the Trump administration proposed a sweeping tariff on China as high as 60%. The CTA’s report is based off of those tariffs. Since the report, the incoming Trump administration has proposed tariffs on both Canada and Mexico as well. Tariffs on Mexico would be a particular pain point, as many desktop brands moved manufacturing from China to Mexico during the first Trump administration in order to avoid the tariffs.
PC hardware companies are privy to what the tariffs could mean. Just recently, Intel revealed its Arc B580 desktop graphics card, and the company says its Limited Edition model — the model made by Intel — will be manufactured in Vietnam, hopefully dodging any tariffs. Vietnam has become a hotbed for PC hardware over the last several years due to the trade war between the U.S. and China. The Harvard Business School says that integrated circuits (ICs) — the bedrock of all electronics — are the most common export rerouted from China to Vietnam to be exported to the U.S.
The vast majority of PC hardware isn’t built in the U.S. Although U.S.-based companies like AMD and Nvidia design their chips domestically, manufacturing happens overseas, be it in China, Mexico, or Vietnam. If the proposed tariffs go into effect, it’ll have large implications for PC hardware pricing.
Jacob Roach is the lead reporter for PC hardware at Digital Trends. In addition to covering the latest PC components, from…
This HP Chromebook is just $199 at Best Buy in last minute Cyber Week sales
Despite Black Friday and Cyber Monday being behind us, there are still some great Chromebook deals going on right now. That means you can buy an HP 15.6-inch Chromebook at Best Buy for 50% off. The basic but good looking Chromebook normally costs $399, but right now, you can save $200 and snag it for $199. Perfect for typing up documents while on the move or browsing the web, it’s good for any student on a tight budget. Here’s why you might want it.
Why you should buy the HP 15.6-inch Chromebook
HP makes some of the best Chromebooks around, and while the HP 15.6-inch Chromebook in question here isn’t exactly high-end, it’s well-designed and sturdily built. The specs are predictably low-end, but it does the job with ChromeOS working well with minimal hardware. There’s an Intel N200 CPU with 8GB of memory and 64GB of eMMC storage. Basic stuff, sure, but just what’s needed at this price point. Read up on the differences between a Chromebook and laptop and you’ll soon see what we mean and why this level of hardware will be just fine.
ChatGPT explores ads as it works toward 1 billion users
More users and more profit -- that's the aim for ChatGPT going into 2025.
ChatGPT has broken into the top 10 websites on the internet according to some statistics, and a new report says it's pursuing the lofty 1 billion user milestone in the coming year. The company plans to do this primarily by investing in its own data centers, in addition to deploying several advertising strategies, according to the Financial Times.
The ever popular Lenovo ThinkPad is under $1,000 right now
Lenovo is prolonging Cyber Week deals by offering a huge discount on the Lenovo ThinkPad E16. Usually priced at $1,649, the laptop is down to $989 for a limited time only. Now, regular readers will know that Lenovo is a little generous with its original prices. Oftentimes, the estimated value is overly optimistic so the true discount may be less. However, whatever the original price, we do know that $989 for this specification of laptop is a good deal. If you’re looking for a new workhorse of a laptop, read on while we take you through it.
Why you should buy the Lenovo ThinkPad E16
Lenovo is one of the best laptop brands, especially when it comes to designing sturdy business-focused laptops. The Lenovo ThinkPad E16 is a good example of that. It has an Intel Core Ultra 7 155U processor teamed up with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. For work purposes, I’d prefer to see 1TB at this price, but there’s always cloud storage if you deal with a lot of large files.
