Intel's story Tuesday was similar, in that officials suggested they may have seen the worst this year. Though the company declined to provide specific guidance for the rest of the year, CEO Paul Otellini that "We believe PC sales bottomed out during the first quarter and that the industry is returning to normal seasonal patterns."

Revenue for the quarter was $7.1 billion, down 26 percent from a year earlier, while profit was $647 million, down 55 percent. Earnings per share were $0.11, beating out expectations of analysts, who had forecast $0.03 per share.

Both Gartner and IDC this week released PC market reports for the first quarter and expressed cautious optimism. Of the two firms, Gartner was a little more cautious. It said worldwide PC shipments totalled 67.2 million units, a 6.5 percent decline from last year.