Research firms Gartner and International Data Corp (IDC) said worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 7.7 percent and 10.8, respectively in the third quarter, as a stronger dollar made them costlier. A total of 73.7 million personal computers were shipped during the third quarter of this year, down 7.7 percent from the same period last year, according to Gartner figures. The category includes desktop, laptop and notebook computers, but not devices in the booming mobile market.

The global PC market has been hit with price increases of around 10 percent throughout the year due to the sharp appreciation of the US dollar against local currencies, according to Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa.

Regions where the strong dollar curtailed PC shipments included Europe, Japan, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, according to Gartner.

PC shipments in the US and Asia/Pacific were more stable, Gartner added.

The launch of Microsoft's new Windows 10 operating system in the quarter appeared to have a minimal impact on PC shipments, according to Gartner.

Gartner's analysts expect a "soft recovery" for PC sales to begin in the current quarter and a more stable year ahead.

Chinese computer maker Lenovo had a leading 20.3 percent share of the PC market in the third quarter, while US-based Hewlett-Packard is second with 18.5 percent, according to Gartner estimates.