Shipments beat forecasts of 13.5%, thanks to strength in the U.S. and Europe and boosted by business demand. Aggressive pricing and continued portable adoption were also drivers, IDC said in a statement.

Dell had year-on-year growth of more than 28% and sequential growth of 6.1%, with shipments of nearly 7.7 million units. Dell's share rose 1.7 points sequentially, to 18.6%, giving the Texas-based computer maker the lead in total worldwide shipments. HP grew 15.8% during the quarter yet slipped to No. 2 worldwide, with 15.6% of unit sales.

"This quarter's results reveal a robust market and the improving business demand we've been looking for," said Loren Loverde, director of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. "A number of factors, including an aging installed base, rapid portable adoption, and aggressive pricing, should continue to drive growth into 2005."

"This quarter's results ratify the economic recovery," said Roger Kay, vice president of Client Computing at IDC. "We have nearly a year of double-digit growth in the PC industry, which is a concurrent indicator of economic activity. With U.S. business finally beginning to participate in the PC market in earnest, the only weak segments remain state and local public sector institutions, which are suffering from constrained budgets due to lower recession-era tax receipts."

All regions showed improvement, with Europe growing the fastest (over 20%) and Japan lagging (single digit growth).