While Microsoft has already put an end to its Windows XP platformlast April, Intel have reasons to believe that their move is not helping the PC industry very much. The fact that the software giant has already released 4 platforms after XP, with update 2 for Windows 8.1 coming out this August, many XP users are still stuck with their old operating systems and are exposed to various threats.

According to Intel vice president and general manager for business platform division Tom Garrison, “Windows XP [end-of-life] is a relatively small factor in the growth that we’re seeing in the commercial PC business now and in the near future.”

For now, about 25% of desktop users still run Windows XP, according to the statistics presented by Net Applications. Therefore, we see here that the new PC market only has a small recovery factor after putting an end to the Windows XP support.

In order to make more sales and further promote the use of the new operating systems, Microsoft worked with several partners to make their devices more available to the consumers, with newer and more powerful specs at very competitive prices. The company has also decided to offer Windows 8.1 free of charge to some OEMs building devices with a price below $250 (€180) in an effort to bring more affordable products to the market.

Additionally, Microsoft continues its efforts to stress out that sticking to an old operating system already poses a lot of risks for everyone, as cybercriminals could use unpatched flaws to compromise computers and access private data.

According to Microsoft, the risk of having a very vulnerable security is five times higher. Meaning hackers can work their way to sensitive data more easily. Also, new devices may no longer work with XP, as they are no longer have the drivers that would go with the operating system.

As always, upgrading old computer systems still depends on user discretion. However, to ensure data security and faster PC performance, Microsoft encourages XP users to make the switch.