AMD Gains Share as Graphics Card Shipments Grow

The number of graphics add-on cards sold grew sequentially in the third quarter, a good sign for both the PC market in general and Advanced Micro Devices in particular, according to analyst firm John Peddie Research.

In a report issued Aug. 26, John Peddie Research said that 16.81 million graphics cards were shipped in the second quarter, up 3 percent from the first quarter but down 15 percent over the same period last year, when 19.78 million units were sold.

The research firm noted that the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter this year were particularly bad, as the global recession hit the hardest. Echoing what other analyst firms and technology vendors have said about the PC market, the second-quarter numbers for graphics cards “demonstrated some much-needed firmness in Q2’09, adding more evidence that demand has bottomed and a recovery is in the offing,” John Peddie Research said in a statement.

AMD took a somewhat larger share of the overall market, rising to 34 percent for the quarter. Nvidia continued to dominate the market, with 64 percent, a four-point drop.

The analyst firm noted that AMD began making strides in the market when it released its Radeon graphics cards in the summer of 2008. The move forced Nvidia to slash prices in order to protect its market share.

However, with prices settling and AMD rolling out its RV770 GPU and follow-on cards in its Radeon line, AMD began grabbing share.