The PC hardware slump is real. So is the reason to keep caring

Is PC building cooked? The hardware news as of late might make you think so, what with the latest headlines about “collapsing” motherboard sales—as much as 37 percent for individual vendors.

A Digitimes report (h/t Tom’s Hardware) paints a grim picture. Among the biggest four Taiwanese companies hawking mainboards—Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock, and MSI—all have seen steep drops in sales compared to 2025. Asus shipped 15 million mobos in 2025, but has only 5 million in 2026 so far. All four companies have revised their projections for this year, with ASRock facing as much as a 37 percent decline, Asus around 33 percent, and Gigabyte and MSI just shy of 25 percent.

But is this a reflection of a substantial decrease in PC building? Perhaps one that bodes ill for the future? On this week’s show, The Full Nerd crew and I dug into that thought, both from the perspective of what surprised us and what we expect for the future. Frankly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the numbers were a full 50 to 60 percent lower, given the pain of memory and SSD prices right now. Perhaps in part because it’s not the news that’s lingered on my mind this past week. An announcement that my colleagues didn’t even comment much on: the latest draft of the PCIe 8.0 specification, which is slated for a full release in 2028.

In fairness, discussing a specification makes more sense when it appears in actual hardware (e.g., a graphics card…or even a new motherboard). And in better times, my mind likely wouldn’t lock in on an incremental milestone, especially since nothing’s set in stone yet. I like looking over these numbers, though:

• 256GT/s raw bitrate, with up to 1TB bidirectionally over x16
• Possible new connector support
• Bandwidth upgrades through protocol improvements
• Reduction of power consumption

Jon Martindale / Foundry

Because as it stands currently, I could bite my fingers nervously, anticipating a partial collapse of PC building. Or I could also keep in mind the silver linings living within the forecasts of the future.

So sure, the PCI-SIG consortium has explicitly stated that this advancement will aid use cases like data centers and AI, as well as quantum computing. That may not relate to DIY PC building, but when have we enthusiasts ever followed technology’s progression only for what will land in our hands immediately? I sure haven’t—though sometimes it means an excruciating wait that never pans out. (I’m glad OLED didn’t turn out that way, even if it took 15 years to finally become an affordable consumer option.)

I want smaller, faster, cooler, and more efficient hardware to look forward to, even if I don’t immediately benefit; the thought is lifting my spirits during these confusing and chaotic times. I’d love for more enthusiast conversations to include these tiny sparks of light and hope, where we geek out about technology just for sheer love of it. 

Don’t get me wrong—application to daily life matters. But you know, even if I’ll never be an astronaut, it’s special to watch a space shuttle launch. At least, this is what I tell myself, so that it’s more bearable when I get itchy to build a new PC and know that it’s just not in the cards right now.

In this episode of The Full Nerd

In this episode of The Full Nerd, Adam Patrick Murray, Brad Chacos, Alaina Yee, and Will Smith discuss the decline in motherboard sales, our hopes for Steam Controller accessories, and thoughts on desk setups. I expected feisty takes on Lian Li’s new wood sit-stand desks (which also double as a dual-PC chassis), but the tone was surprisingly live-and-let-live…no matter your desk setup.

(Mine is currently a mix of multiple PCs squeezed around my monitors. Is it messy? Perhaps. But I’ve left my floor PC days behind me and I’m not looking back.)

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This week’s sprinkle of nerd news

AMD

Despite a quiet stretch, a couple of pleasant surprises rose to the surface—like AMD’s plans to release FSR 4 for older Radeon graphics cards. A new GPU could be on the horizon, too.

Less pleasant, though? An exploit that neuters BitLocker protection in Windows 11, among other things.

• Hooray: Don’t love the wait, but do like that AMD will support FSR 4 on Radeon 6000 and 7000 series cards. (As you might guess, the older your card is, the longer the wait.)

• No more flop: I didn’t know triangular zippers were a problem to solve. Now I do. (And that 3D printing has apparently taken care of the issue.)

• Check their work: Many doctors’ offices now use AI to help with transcription. Seems like we’d all be wise to check over the notes after the fact, to make sure they’re accurate.

• Uh oh: Internet archive sites like the Wayback Machine are having greater difficulty preserving the internet, due to increased prices on storage and measures taken to block AI scraping.

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

• A new GPU? In this economy, it looks like our best hopes for a graphics card launch will be in the form of a budget card from AMD. We always wanted the budget end to get fleshed out, but somehow this feels bad.

• Yikes: A security researcher discovered a workaround for BitLocker in Windows 11. So much for “Windows 11 is the most secure Windows ever built.”

• Another wrinkle: Drama around memory production just shot higher, with Samsung’s employees threatening to strike over their share of the company’s massive profits.

• Respect: Turns out, Neanderthals had a modern approach to dentistry…without modern interventions like lidocaine. (Ouch.)

Speaking of milestones—we’ve now reached one full year of this newsletter! (Woot.) Also, not to be outdone, The Full Nerd show will hit episode 400 at the end of this month. I’m biding my time to see what throwbacks will fluster Adam once more. 

: )

Catch you all next week!

Alaina

This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and executive editor of hardware at PCWorld.