In a recent research note, analyst Gus Richard, at investment bank Piper Jaffray, has expressed the opinion that the year 2012 will be a hard one for chip-maker Intel, and it will be some time before the company gets to reap the benefits from Microsoft's Windows 8 software.

With Intel conventionally accumulating gains from the upgrade cycles of the Microsoft operating system, since consumers as well as companies largely go in for new Intel-based PCs along with the new OS, Richard said in the research note that the calendar year 2012 will shape up to be a "difficult year" for Intel.

Richard further elaborated: "We expect 2H12 (second half 2012) to be weak ahead of the launch of Windows 8, the most significant upgrade to the operating system since Windows 3.0"; an upgrade which marked Microsoft's transition from DOS to a graphical user interface.

As per Richard, the fact that a new OS - Windows 8 - will be in the offing will apparently result in the consumers deferring their purchases of PCs till the new software comes aboard.

Adding that the rollout of Windows 8 itself may be problematic, given the indications that the upgrade will comprise a challenging product transition and that the Windows 8 beta has already slipped, Richard said that the growth of PCs in CY12 will be notably affected by the "significant demand pause" which Windows 8 is likely to create "for multiple quarters."