Microsoft's AI PC push meets a wall of RAM prices, but Redmond is still beating the drum

Microsoft wants enterprise customers to start thinking about PC refreshes using the same mindset – and line in the budget – as AI investments. The problem? Rising component costs caused by the proliferation of AI datacenters mean many clients are delaying client refreshes.

In a call to arms, Microsoft became the headline sponsor of the Canalys Forum in Barcelona early last month for the first time ever. Redmond needs distributors and resellers that convene at the event annually to get behind Copilot, Cowork and, more generally, AI computers.

Mark Linton, corporate veep for Windows and Device Sales, took to the stage to preach to a room he is hoping to convert.

"What we're seeing is the tokenomics of [AI] is getting very challenging," he said. "Having agents working on frontier models quickly becomes very expensive."

Redmond's proposed solution is to use those massive LLMs where most needed, "the right model for the right job," running smaller models locally at the …