AMD jumps 11% in GPU shipments in Q2, Intel up 4%, Nvidia slips

Jon Peddie Research says quarter-to-quarter total GPU shipments were up 3.2% in the second quarter of 2014.

Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry’s research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, announced estimated graphics chip shipments and suppliers’ market share for 2014 2Q. Graphics chips are without doubt one of the most powerful, exciting, and essential components in tech today: not only does every computer require one (or more), but the technology is entering into major new markets like supercomputers, remote workstations, and simulators almost on a daily basis. New technologies and compute programs are taking advantage of the ability of GPU power to scale. On top of that, PC gaming momentum continues to build. It would be no exaggeration to say that GPUs are becoming the 800-pound gorilla in the room.

The big drop in graphics shipments in Q1 has been partially offset by a small rise this quarter. Shipments were up 3.2% quarter-to-quarter, and down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Quick highlights:

AMD’s overall unit shipments increased 11% quarter-to-quarter, Intel’s total shipments increased 4% from last quarter, and Nvidia’s decreased 8.3%.
The attach rate of GPUs (includes integrated and discrete GPUs) to PCs, for the quarter was 139% (up 3.2%) and 32% of PCs had discrete GPUs, (down 3.6%) which mean 68% of the PCs are using the embedded graphics in the CPU.
The overall PC market increased 1.3% quarter-to-quarter, and decreased 1.7% year-to-year.
Desktop graphics add-in boards (AIBs) that use discrete GPUs declined 17.5%.

Q2 is, on average, usually mixed, up slightly some years, down others. There was an abnormal spike in 2009 after the massive market decline which warps the 10-year average to 7.1% and makes the 3.2% this year appear to be below average. If the anomalous 2009 spike is ignored, the 9-year average is just 0.5%, which would make the 3.2% increase for Q2 2014 a significant increase.

GPUs are traditionally a leading indicator of the market, since a GPU goes into every system before it is shipped, and most of the PC vendors are guiding cautiously up to flat for Q3’14.

The Gaming PC segment, where higher-end GPUs are used, was a bright spot in the market in Q1. Nvidia and AMD high-end GPUs sales were strong, lifting the ASPs for the discrete GPU market.

Q2 2014 saw the first decline in tablet sales, and one of the few increases in PC sales. The CAGR for total PC graphics from 2014 to 2017 is basically flat. We expect the total shipments of graphics chips in 2017 to be 418 million units. In 2013, 438.3 million GPUs were shipped and the forecast for 2014 is 414.2 million.

The quarter in general

AMD’s shipments of desktop heterogeneous GPU/CPUs, i.e., APUs increased 16.7% from the previous quarter, and increased 10.3% in notebooks. AMD’s discrete desktop shipments decreased 10.7% and notebook discrete shipments increased 30.6%. The company’s overall PC graphics shipments increased 11%.

Intel’s desktop processor embedded graphics (EPGs) shipments increased from last quarter by 7.2%, and notebooks increased by 1.9%. The company’s overall PC graphics shipments increased 4.1%.

Due to its strong push into integrated graphics, Intel is now the leading vendor in graphics chips.

Nvidia’s desktop discrete shipments decreased 21% from last quarter; and the company’s notebook discrete shipments increased 6.9%. The company’s overall PC graphics shipments decreased 8.3%.

Year-to-year this quarter AMD’s overall PC shipments decreased 22%, Intel increased 4.2%, Nvidia decreased 12.7%, and others essentially went away.

Total discrete GPU (desktop and notebook) shipments from the last quarter decreased 3.6%, and decreased 13.3% from last year. Sales of discrete GPUs fluctuate due to a variety of factors (timing, memory pricing, etc.) and the influence of integrated graphics. Overall, the trend for discrete GPUs has increased with a CAGR from 2014 to 2017 now of -5.6% (from -10%).

Ninety nine percent of Intel’s non-server processors have graphics, and over 65% of AMD’s non-server processors contain integrated graphics; AMD still ships integrated graphics chipsets (IGPs).

Year-to-year for the quarter, the graphics market decreased. Shipments were down 3.2 million units from this quarter last year, which is a smaller decline than last quarter and suggests the big declines may be leveling off.

Graphics chips (GPUs) and chips with graphics (IGPs, APUs, and EPGs) are a leading indicator for the PC market. At least one and often two GPUs are present in every PC shipped. It can take the form of a discrete chip, a GPU integrated in the chipset or embedded in the CPU. The average has grown from 1.2 GPUs per PC in 2001 to almost 1.35 GPUs per PC.

After peaking in 2011, graphics chips shipments are poised to rise again in 2015.

Pricing and Availability

The Jon Peddie Research’s Market Watch is available now in both electronic and hard copy editions, and sells for $2,500. Included with this report is an Excel workbook with the data used to create the charts, the charts themselves, and supplemental information. The annual subscription price for JPR’s Market Watch is $4,000 and includes four quarterly issues. Full subscribers to JPR services receive Tech Watch (the company’s bi-weekly report) and a copy of Market Watch as part of their subscription. For information about purchasing Market Watch, please call 415/435-9368 or visit the Jon Peddie Research website atwww.jonpeddie.com.