IDC has cut its prediction of PC growth this year from 5% to 0.9% or about 367 million units.

It will be the second consecutive year of growth below 2%. The researcher figures US shipments will drop 3.7%.

Dell last week reported quarterly sales off 14% year-over-year, HP was down 10%.

It remains to be seen if Windows 8 makes a difference. It arrives October 26 to a "more competitive environment" and consumers confused by the new products. Merchants have cut prices - well, they are trying to clear Windows 7 inventory - but IDC says the back-to-school season is pretty much a bust.

Longer term it estimates worldwide shipments (think emerging markets, notebooks and Ultrabooks) will work out to about 6.5% in 2013, 7% in 2014 and 7.1% in 2015.

Earlier it figured the average would be more like 8.4%.

Wall Street is expecting Intel to pre-announce.