Overall Q3 GPU Shipments Increased 9% On-Quarter

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Year-to-year total GPU shipments decreased -19% -desktop graphics decreased -13%, notebooks decreased -22%.

Although the PC graphics semiconductor industry continues to decline, shipments increased in the third quarter, reflecting the overall global increase in consumer confidence. GPU sales, integrated and discrete, desktop and notebook were up significantly from the last quarter.

Graphics processors, stand-alone discrete devices, and embedded processor-based GPUs are ubiquitous and essential components in all systems and device today from handheld mobile devices, PCs, and workstations, to TVs, servers, vehicle systems, signage, game consoles, medical equipment, and wearables. New technologies and semiconductor manufacturing processes are taking advantage of the ability of GPU power to scale. The GPU drives the screen of every device we encounter-it is the humane-machine interface.

The third quarter is typically the strongest in the seasonality cycles of the past and was above the ten-year average of 7.02%.

Quick highlights:

• AMD's overall unit shipments increased 15.87% quarter-to-quarter, Intel's total shipments increased 5.08% from last quarter, and Nvidia's increased 21.39%.
• The attach rate of GPUs (includes integrated and discrete GPUs) to PCs for the quarter was 138% which was up 1.24% from last quarter and 29.95% of PCs had discrete GPUs, which is up 3.51%.
• The overall PC market increased 7.55% quarter-to-quarter, and decreased -8.94% year-to-year.
• Desktop graphics add-in boards (AIBs) that use discrete GPUs increased 27.59% from last quarter.

The third quarter is, on average, usually up from the previous quarter, and the PC industry seems to have recovered its seasonal rhythms after the economic shock of 2009 to 2011. The 10-year average to 7% and makes the 9% this year above average.

Since a GPU goes into every system before it is shipped, GPUs are traditionally a leading indicator of the market. Most of the PC vendors are guiding cautiously for Q4'15.

The Gaming PC segment, where higher-end GPUs are used, was a bright spot in the market in the quarter. Nvidia's new high-end Maxwell GPUs sales were strong, lifting the ASPs for the discrete GPU market.

The Quarter in General

AMD's shipments of desktop heterogeneous GPU/CPUs, i.e., APUs, increased 15.0% from the previous quarter, and were down -1.0% in notebooks. AMD's discrete desktop shipments increased 33.33% from last quarter, and notebook discrete shipments increased 17.6%. The company's overall PC graphics shipments increased 15.9% from the previous quarter.

Intel's desktop processor embedded graphics (EPGs) shipments increased from last quarter by 6.9%, and notebooks increased by 4.2%. The company's overall PC graphics shipments increased 5.1% from last quarter.

Nvidia's desktop discrete shipments were up 26.35% from last quarter; and the company's notebook discrete shipments increased 14.1%. The company's overall PC graphics shipment increased 21.4% from last quarter. Nvidia had an exceptionally strong quarter.

Total discrete GPU (desktop and notebook) shipments from the last quarter increased 21.86% and decreased -15.69% from last year. Sales of discrete GPUs fluctuate due to a variety of factors (timing, memory pricing, etc.), new product introductions, and the influence of integrated graphics. Overall, the CAGR from 2014 to 2017 is now -4%.

Ninety nine percent of Intel's non-server processors have graphics, and over 66% of AMD's non-server processors contain integrated graphics; AMD still ships integrated graphics chipsets

Because Graphics chips (GPUs) and chips with graphics (IGPs, APUs, and EPGs) GPUs shipments 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 1.55 GPUs per PC.

In order to understanding the complex PC industry, it is very helpful to have an understanding of the dynamics of the GPU market and understand its future direction.

This detailed 53-page report will provide you with all the data, analysis and insight you need to clearly understand where this technology is today and where it's headed.

Our findings include discrete and integrated graphics (CPU and chipset) for Desktops, Notebooks (and Netbooks), and PC-based commercial (i.e., POS) and industrial/scientific and embedded. This report does not include the x86 game consoles, handhelds (i.e., mobile phones), x86 Servers or ARM-based Tablets (i.e. iPad and Android-based Tablets),or ARM-based Servers. It does include x86-based tablets, Chromebooks, and embedded systems.

The report contains the following content:

• Major suppliers: Detailed data-on the shipments of AMD, Intel, Nvidia, and others.
• Financial results for the leading suppliers: Analysis of the quarterly results of the leading GPU suppliers
• Market Forecasts: You will also be able to download a detailed spreadsheet and supporting charts that project the supplier's shipments over the period 2001 to 2018. Projections are split into platforms and GPU type.
• GPUs: History, Status, and Analysis.
• Financial History from for the last nine quarter: Based on historic SEC filings, you can see current and historical sales and profit results of the leading suppliers.
• A Vision of the future: Building upon a solid foundation of facts, data and sober analysis, this section pulls together all of the report's findings and paints a vivid picture of where the PC graphics market is headed.
• Charts, graphics, tables and more: Included with this report is an Excel workbook. It contains the data we used to create the charts in this report. The workbook has the charts and supplemental information.

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 a variety of fields including graphics development, multimedia for professional applications and consumer electronics, high-end computing, and Internet-access product development. Jon Peddie's Market Watch is a quarterly report focused on the market activity of PC graphics controllers for notebook and desktop computing.