The past couple of years have been rough and PC sales are still plummeting despite the fact that PCs were never cheaper, or more powerful for that matter.

However, AMD is reporting that the British system builder market is actually expanding. AMD EMEA channel director Andrew Buxton told Microscope.co.uk that things are changing for the better. He pointed out that local system builders are “holding up really well” as they are very responsive and willing to build to order. Buxton added that some players are coming back to the market which they left years ago.

Buxton added that the desktop market is doing well, presumable when compared to the notebook space. He also argues that strong tablet sales could in fact help desktop sales, as users start to store more content on their PCs.

Last but not least, Microsoft will discontinue support for Windows XP in early 2014 and this move is expected to generate more demand for replacement desktops.