Warning to PC Refresh Cycle Believers: Average PC Not as Old as You Think
One of the tech sector’s great hopes is that sometime in 2010, there will be a major PC refresh cycle, driven in part by by the arrival of Microsoft Windows 7, new Intel (INTC) processors but even more by the general perception that the installed base of PCs is rapidly aging. The conventional wisdom is that the average PC is about five years old.
But what if that’s wrong? Microsoft (MSFT) has been stressing that Windows 7 actually has lower hardware requirements than Vista, the bulky piece of code it replaces. Given still-tight corporate IT budgets, the much discussed refresh cycle could be delayed, which would be bad news for anyone anticipating a major pick-up in PC demand next year.
