The world's largest chip maker lowered its revenue forecast from an expected $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion for the quarter to $13.2 billion, plus or minus $300 million. The company blamed a reduction in supply chain inventory, a sluggish enterprise PC market and waning demand in emerging markets.

None of that is good news for a PC industry that has been repeatedly hammered by the growing popularity of small, cool tablets and several years of a slow economy.

It's also not good news for the overall tech industry, since analysts generally agree that Intel itself is a .

"Intel is a bellwether of the overall health of the PC market and the cut of its revenue estimate certainly isn't a good sign," said Dan Olds, an analyst with The Gabriel Consulting Group. "Chips are the bellwether for tech. Right now, however, it looks like it's the PC segment that's sick, not the industry overall."

He was quick to point out that server demand, for instance, is reasonably solid.