Jon Peddie Research says first quarter 2011 graphics chip shipments up 10%, PC shipments down 5%.

Graphics chip specialist Nvidia lost market share to rivals AMD and Intel in the first quarter of 2011, according to new market research published by Jon Peddie Research. The results are an indication that the new trend of embedding graphics processing inside the CPU—something both AMD and Intel are pursuing—is having an effect in the marketplace.

As shown in the table below, Nvidia market share dropped eight percentage points year-over-year, from 28% to 20%, while AMD’s share of the graphics chip market rose three percentage points, and Intel’s share was up just shy of five percentage points.

Graphics chips (GPUs) and chips with graphics (IGPs, HPUs, and EPGs, definitions at end of article) are the leading indicator of the PC market. At least one, and often two GPUs are present in every PC shipped. It can take a form of a discrete chip, integrated in the chipset or embedded in the CPU. The average has grown from 115% in 2001 to almost 145% GPUs per PC.

Over 125 million graphics chips and CPUs with graphics shipped in Q1 2011. Intel was the leader in unit shipments for the quarter, elevated by the success of its Clarksdale CPU, continued Atom CPU sales for netbooks, and the release of a new generation of CPUs with embedded graphics, known as Sandy Bridge.

Around 83 million PCs shipped worldwide in Q1’11, a drop of 5.4% compared to Q4’10, (based on an average of reports from Dataquest, IDC, and iSuppli) causing speculation that the 10% up-swing in graphics could be inventory buildup and will have a negative impact on Q2.

The information above comes from the The Q1 2011 edition of Jon Peddie Research’s Market Watch, now available in both electronic and hard copy editions for $995. Included with the report is an Excel workbook with the data used to create the charts, the charts themselves, and supplemental information.

For more information: Jon Peddie Research.

Definitions:

IGP: Integrated Graphics Processor

HPU: Heterogeneous Processing Units

EPG: Embedded Processor Graphics