<P> In the second quarter of 2018, PC sales grew for the first time since the first quarter of 2012 . According to research firm Gartner, the growth mainly came from the business market while the consumer market experienced decline . </P> <P> Selling prices of personal computers steadily declined due to lower costs of production and manufacture, while the capabilities of computers increased . In 1975, an Altair kit sold for only around US $400, but required customers to solder components into circuit boards; peripherals required to interact with the system in alphanumeric form instead of blinking lights would add another $2,000, and the resultant system was only of use to hobbyists . </P> <P> At their introduction in 1981, the US $1,795 price of the Osborne 1 and its competitor Kaypro was considered an attractive price point; these systems had text - only displays and only floppy disks for storage . By 1982, Michael Dell observed that a personal computer system selling at retail for about $3,000 US was made of components that cost the dealer about $600; typical gross margin on a computer unit was around $1,000 . The total value of personal computer purchases in the US in 1983 was about $4 billion, comparable to total sales of pet food . By late 1998, the average selling price of personal computer systems in the United States had dropped below $1,000 . </P> <P> For Microsoft Windows systems, the average selling price (ASP) showed a decline in 2008 / 2009, possibly due to low - cost netbooks, drawing $569 for desktop computers and $689 for laptops at U.S. retail in August 2008 . In 2009, ASP had further fallen to $533 for desktops and to $602 for notebooks by January and to $540 and $560 in February . According to research firm NPD, the average selling price of all Windows portable PCs has fallen from $659 in October 2008 to $519 in October 2009 . </P>

The term pc once referred only to personal computers that ran windows.​