GPU boom, shipments up 39% in the first quarter

A jump of almost 39% from one year to the next for a total of 119 million units. These are the overall data of the GPU market in the first quarter of 2021, therefore consisting of dedicated video cards but also CPUs with integrated graphics. Jon Peddie Research analysts hatch a situation of stability in the balance of power between CPU manufacturers, with AMD and Intel losing 0.12% and 0.5% respectively compared to Q4 2020, while Nvidia rises by 0.62%.

If we compare Q1 2020 with Q1 2021, we see a substantially stable share of AMD, an Intel that has gained ground in Q4 thanks to its ability to market CPUs with integrated graphics – especially in the mobile sphere – and an Nvidia that has lost ground.

“Overall, units delivered fell 0.3% from last quarter, AMD’s shipments fell 1%, Intel’s as well while Nvidia’s were up 3.9%,” analysts write.

Among other interesting data, the report talks about a 7% increase in dedicated video card shipments over the previous quarter. In terms of market share, as far as dedicated GPUs are concerned Nvidia is confirmed as the leader with 81%, with the remaining 19% in the hands of AMD. The odds last year saw Nvidia at 75% and AMD at 25%.

Despite the shortage of chips and the resulting demand, JPR warns manufacturers against overreacting to current market conditions. “The risk is that semiconductor vendors are lured into an overreaction and believe that suddenly hundreds of millions of new users have appeared and demand remains high,” said President Jon Peddie. “Not only is it not realistic, it is not even true”, he added, recalling that this level of demand cannot last forever, but it is linked to the pandemic and smart working, a phenomenon that in the future – unforeseen permitting – should be reduced.