Intel, Nvidia show graphics chip shipment growth in Q1
While AMD and some smaller graphics chip makers saw shipments and market share decline in Q1 compared to Q4 2008, Intel and Nvidia increased shipments and share, according to data from Jon Peddie Research.
By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- EDN, April 28, 2009
Estimated graphics chip shipments and supplier market share for Q1 showed solid growth for both Intel and Nvidia, according to a report out this morning from Jon Peddie Research.
In an upbeat statement, the market research company reminded that graphics chips (GPUs and IGPs) are a leading indicator of the PC market. Jon Peddie Research noted that in Q3 and Q4 of 2008 the channel stopped ordering GPUs and depleted inventory in anticipation of a long, drawn out worldwide recession. But the company said that by Q1 2009, inventories were depleted and the PC channel and OEMs "had to start buying."
On a sequential basis, shipments rose from Q4 to Q1, breaking an eight-year trend that showed sales declines from the December to March quarter. According to Jon Peddie Research, graphics shipments were up 3.29% quarter over quarter in Q1. For comparison, Q1 2008 showed a 5.59% graphics shipment decline on Q4 2007 numbers, according to the company.
To be true, Q1's year-over-year data isn't as rosy. Total graphics chip shipments dropped to 74.87 million units, down 21.1% from Q1 2008. While Intel and Nvidia increased Q1 graphics shipments on Q4, they both saw a decrease in shipments year over year, down 8.2% and 25% respectively. While Intel gained market share year over year, Nvidia's market share slipped. Intel and Nvidia both showed sequential market share increase, according to Jon Peddie Research's data.(See table below.)
The company continues to predict an upturn in the PC market in Q3/Q4. In addition to being optimistic on possible graphics shipment growth in the two PC-industry seasonally favorable quarters, Jon Peddie Research noted that it expects new designs from ATI and Nvidia, as well as GPUs based on 40 nm, to encourage gains.
The company further noted inventories depletion will need to be restocked for the back-to-school and the holiday seasons, and that new operating systems including Apple's Snow Leopard and Windows 7, will help stimulate new purchases in the fall.
"Things probably aren't going to get back to the normal seasonality till Q3 this year, and we won't hit the levels of 2008 until 2010, and people still need to buy things. Old computers will fail, new employees will be hired and need machines, and of course software upgrades like Windows 7 will be coming along," Jon Peddie Research said in a statement.
The company continued to estimate that the cleaning out of old graphics chip inventory should be near completed by the end of the summer.
| Vendor | Q1 shipments | Q1 market share | Q4 shipments | Q4 market share | Q/Q growth | Q1 2008 shipments | Q1 2008 market share | Y/Y growth |
| AMD | 12.81 | 17.1% | 14 | 19.3% | -8.5% | 17.67 | 18.6% | -27.5% |
| Intel | 37.20 | 49.7% | 34.59 | 47.7% | 7.5% | 40.52 | 42.7% | -8.2% |
| Nvidia | 23.26 | 31.1% | 22.2 | 30.6% | 4.8% | 31.02 | 32.7% | -25% |
| Matrox | 0.07 | 0.1% | 0.06 | 0.1% | 8.3% | 0.11 | 0.1% | -40.9% |
| SiS | 0.70 | 0.9% | 0.80 | 1.1% | -12.5% | 1.65 | 1.7% | -57.6% |
| VIA/S3 | 0.84 | 1.1% | 0.84 | 1.2% | 0.0% | 3.91 | 4.1% | -78.6% |
| Total | 74.87 | 100% | 72.48 | 100% | -32.7% | 94.88 | 100% | -21.1% |
