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GPU shipments soar again in Q3

A strong quarter: Jon Peddie Research reports that PC GPU market shipments increased 10.3% sequentially from last quarter

Robert Dow

As part of its ongoing research on the PC graphics market, Jon Peddie Research (JPR) has released its Market Watch report for the third quarter of 2020. Before 2020, the PC market was showing signs of improvement and settling into a new normal. The pandemic has distorted all models and predictions. JPR’s Market Watch report confirms that trend for the third quarter of 2020, but with mixed results for this very unusual year. 

AMD's market share from last quarter increased by 1.3%, Intel's decreased by -1.4%, and Nvidia's market share increased by 0.09%, as indicated in the following chart.

Quarterly market share, and year-to-year results

 

Overall GPU shipments increased by 10.3% from the last quarter, AMD shipments increased 18.7%, Intel's shipments rose 7.8%, and Nvidia's shipments increased 10.8%.

Quick highlights

  • AMD’s overall unit shipments increased by 18.7% quarter-to-quarter, Intel’s total shipments rose by 7.8% from the last quarter, and Nvidia’s increased 10.8%.
  • The GPU's overall attach rate (which includes integrated and discrete GPUs, desktop, notebook, and workstations) to PCs for the quarter was 122%, up 0.6% from last quarter.
  • The overall PC market increased by 9.75% quarter-to-quarter and increased by 9.47% year-to-year.
  • Desktop graphics add-in boards (AIBs that use discrete GPUs) increased by 13.44% from the last quarter.
  • Q3'20 saw an increase in tablet shipments from last quarter.

 

The third quarter is typically the strongest compared to the previous quarter. Q3'2020 was no exception, showing healthy growth.

GPUs are traditionally a leading indicator of the market since a GPU goes into every system before the suppliers ship the PC.

PC dGPU shipment market shares

 

The third quarter behaved seasonally as it has in the past, with the quarter-to-quarter change of 10.3% outperforming the ten-year average growth for graphics shipments of 9.7%.

The quarter saw shifts in market shares from the previous quarter and year-to-year. This quarter AMD and Nvidia showed outstanding results, with Intel remaining steady.

Jon Peddie, President of JPR, notes, “Factors influencing the robust sales of AIBs in the past two quarters have clearly been increasing growth in gaming, and the need to outfit home offices due to COVID. There has been speculation that there might be a renewal in demand for AIBs due to crypto-mining. Anything is possible, but the power consumption of AIBs greatly diminishes the payoff for crypto-mining. Ethereum, the best-suited coin for GPUs, will fork into version 2.0 very soon, making GPUs for mining obsolete. A person would be very foolish to invest in a high-end, power-consuming AIB for crypto-mining today.”

Most of the semiconductor vendors are guiding up for the next quarter by an average of 1.25%.  Some of that guidance is based on normal seasonality, but there is also a Coronavirus impact factor.

JPR also publishes a series of reports on the graphics Add-in-Board Market and PC Gaming Hardware Market, which covers the total market including system and accessories, and looks at 31 countries.

Pricing and availability

JPR’s Market Watch is available in both electronic and hard copy editions and sells for $2,750. This report includes 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 $5,500 and includes four quarterly issues. Full subscribers to JPR services receive TechWatch (the company’s bi-weekly report) and a copy of Market Watch as part of their subscription.

Click here to learn more about this significant report or to download it now. For more information, call 415/435-9368 or visit the Jon Peddie Research website at www.jonpeddie.com.

Contact Robert Dow at JPR ([email protected]) for a free sample of TechWatch.

About Jon Peddie Research

Dr. Jon Peddie has been active in the graphics and multimedia fields for more than 30 years. Jon Peddie Research is a technically oriented multimedia and graphics research and consulting firm. Based in Tiburon, California, JPR provides consulting, research, and other specialized services to technology companies in various fields, including graphics development, multimedia for professional applications and consumer electronics, high-end computing, and Internet-access product development. JPR’s Market Watch is a quarterly report focused on PC graphics controllers’ market activity for notebook and desktop computing.

 

Company Contact:
Jon Peddie, Jon Peddie Research
415/435-9368 
[email protected]

Robert Dow, Jon Peddie Research 
415/435-9368
[email protected]

Media Contact
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