Windows PC makers slashed prices to historically low levels in the U.S. during the last three weeks of October, damaging the consumer business just as Microsoft tries to push Windows 10 as its salvation, a retail analyst said last week.

“The implications of a much more price aggressive PC market are enormous, and while many of them are positive, many are not,” said Stephen Baker of the NPD Group in a good news-bad news post to his company’s blog on Friday.

In the span from Oct. 5 to Oct. 25, the ASP (average selling price) of Windows-powered personal computers was $430, down 10% from the year before, according to NPD’s data. During the week of Oct. 5, the Windows notebook ASP was even less: $415.

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