Intel will stop making desktop PC motherboards after the next generation of its chip technology arrives, the company has announced. The fourth-generation Core processors, codenamed "Haswell," will be the last line of chips for which Intel will build desktop motherboards, and it will fully wind down the business over the next three years.

To clarify, Intel is halting the manufacturing of motherboards — the component of a PC that holds the CPU, RAM and connectivity elements — not desktop processors themselves. Various manufacturers — such as Asus and Gigabyte — will continue to make desktop motherboards, AnandTech reports, and enthusiasts who build their own PCs already have many third-party suppliers to choose from.

Still, the move can only be interpreted as an acknowledgment that desktop PCs are dying off (a key trend my colleague Lance Ulanoff predicted for 2013). The desktop market has been declining for years, mirroring the shrinking of the overall PC market as consumers shift their digital lives to smartphones and tablets.

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However, recent numbers show demand for desktop computers hasn't declined as fast as the demand for PCs in general, according to reports from research groups Gartner and NPD. The desktop market is likely being helped by the rise of all-in-one designs such as Apple's iMac. Also, the laptop market has been hurt by the implosion of netbooks, the mild demand for ultra-thin designs and the public's lukewarm reaction to Windows 8.

Besides weak desktop-PC demand, Intel has other reasons for halting its desktop motherboard business. The trend in chip design — particularly at Intel — is toward system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs, with the CPU, RAM and graphics all on one chip. In addition, the market for motherboards has consolidated to a few very competent manufacturers, and the need for Intel to introduce a "reference" design is less necessary.

Finally, there's the most obvious reason: The margins are thin on the products, and it's difficult to make money on them. As Intel gears up to expand its presence on mobile devices with its Atom processors, getting out of low-performing businesses should improve its focus.

Will you miss Intel's desktop PC motherboards? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, silverjohn