IHS iSuppli analysts say that in 2011, half of all notebooks and 45 percent of desktops will ship with graphics-enabled chips, such as Intel's "Sandy Bridge" and AMD's Fusion processors.
The adoption of computer processors with graphics capabilities continues to
grow rapidly, with 2011 being the biggest year yet for the technology,
according to market research firm IHS iSuppli.
In
a March 16 report, the analysts at IHS iSuppli said GEMs (graphics-enabled
microprocessors) will find their way into half of the notebooks and 45 percent
of the desktop PCs this year, with worldwide penetration in the notebook space
jumping 11 percent over 2010. GEMs will be in about 115 million for the
predicted 230 million notebooks shipped this year.
Desktop
penetration of the graphics-enabled chips-such as Intel's
2nd Generation Core "Sandy Bridge" processors and Advanced
Micro Devices' Fusion APUs (accelerated processing units)-will right 9
percentage points, with GEM-powered desktops
hitting more than 63 million units in 2011. IHS iSuppli analysts said desktops
sales are seeing an upswing, thanks to corporate demand for new systems to
replace aging ones.
The
numbers will only go up, the analysts said. By 2014, 83 percent of all
notebooks and 76 percent of all desktops shipped worldwide will come with
graphics-enabled processors. Chips that offer both graphics and CPUs on the
same piece of silicon are increasing in popularity as the use of video and
multimedia applications increases.
"With
GEMs capable of generating the total graphic output of a PC, no additional
graphics processor or add-in graphics card is needed," Peter Lin, principal
analyst for compute platforms at IHS iSuppli, said in a statement. "Computers
today are serving up ever-richer multimedia experiences, so the graphics capabilities
of PCs have become more important, driving the rising penetration of GEMs."
Officials
with both Intel and AMD hope this trend
continues. AMD has been working in this
direction since buying graphics card-maker ATI
in 2006 for $5.4 billion. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, AMD
officials unveiled the first of their long-awaited Fusion APUs, which combines
the CPU and graphics technology on the same die.
"We
believe that AMD Fusion processors are,
quite simply, the greatest advancement in processing since the introduction of
the x86 architecture more than 40 years ago," Rick Bergman, senior vice
president and general manager for AMD's
Products Group, said in a statement at the time. "In one major step, we
enable users to experience [high-definition] everywhere as well as personal
supercomputing capabilities in notebooks that can deliver all-day battery
life. It's a new category, a new approach, and opens up exciting new
experiences for consumers."
The
day before the AMD Fusion debut, Intel introduced
the first of its Sandy Bridge
processors, which also integrate the CPU and GPU.
"Basically,
we are very much putting together all that is required on a single piece of
silicon," David "Dadi" Perlmutter, executive vice president and
general manager of the Intel Architecture Group, said during a speech at the
Intel Developer Forum in September 2010.
IHS
iSuppli analysts noted that Via Technologies offers GEM
products for embedded and industrial operations.
However,
while GEMs are rising in popularity, they still are unable to offer the same
level of performance as discrete graphics cards, which IHS iSuppli analysts
said will continue to be the popular choice for leading-edge graphics
applications, such as gaming. The graphics-enable chips will be used for
mainstream PC applications, which means that the rise in the use of GEMs will
lead to some degradation of the discrete graphics market, the impact will not
be significant in the short- to medium-term, they said.
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