Intel, AMD Gain In Graphics Market, Nvidia DeclinesIntel, AMD Gain In Graphics Market, Nvidia Declines

Advanced Micro Devices and Intel grew their graphics processor shipments in the second quarter at the expense of Nvidia, with AMD the biggest winner, a market researcher says.

Intel remained the market leader, but AMD had the biggest gains for both discrete and integrated desktop chips, Jon Peddie Research reported Friday. Nvidia, however, had double-digit losses in every segment, except notebook integrated graphics.

Overall, graphics chip shipments rose 4.3% from the first quarter, while shipments were flat year-to-year, Peddie said. Desktop discrete GPUs fell 21.4% quarter-to-quarter, reflecting "tremendous growth" in laptops. For the first half of the year, shipments were up 38.6% from the same period last year.

Second-place AMD had a strong second quarter with shipments rising 32.6% from the same quarter a year ago and 19.1% from the first quarter, Peddie said. AMD's overall market share increased three percentage points from the first quarter to 24.4%, which was six percentage points higher than a year ago.

In terms of revenue, AMD reported that sales within its graphics segment in the second quarter increased 8% sequentially and 87% year over year to $440 million.

Intel shipments rose 7.6% year to year and 15.3% from the first quarter. The company's graphics shipment piggybacked on strong sales of the company's Core i3 and i5 CPUs, Atom chips for netbooks and mobile processors for laptops. Intel's overall share of the graphics market rose 5.2 percentage points from the first quarter to 54.9%, and 3.8 points year to year.

Number three Nvidia was the biggest loser, as unit growth fell 26.6% quarter to quarter and 32.4% year to year, Peddie reported. The company's market share fell to 19.7% from 28% in the first quarter and 29.2% a year ago.

Nvidia's fiscal quarter straddles calendar quarters. Its next quarter ends July 31. Revenue estimates have been lowered to between $800 million to $820 million. The company had predicted a range of $950 million to $970 million on May 13.