News

GPU market declined seasonally in Q4; cryptocurrency provides smaller offset as AIB prices rise

Year-to-year total GPU shipments decreased -4.8%

Robert Dow

Jon Peddie Research the industry’s market research firm reported that overall GPU shipments in the fourth quarter of 2017 decreased -1.5% from last quarter following normal seasonal shipments.

Year-to-year total GPU shipments decreased -4.8%, desktop graphics decreased -2%, notebooks decreased -7%. Over 363 graphics units shipped in 2017.

AMD increased its market share 8.1%, Nvidia decreased -6%, and Intel decreased -2%.

Table 1: Graphics Chip Market shares

 

Over three million add-in boards (AIBs) were sold to cryptocurrency miners worth $776 million in 2017. AMD was the primary benefactor of those sales.

Table 2: Graphics Chip Market 

 

The fourth quarter is typically flat to slightly up from the previous quarter in the seasonal cycles of the past. For Q4'17, it decreased -1.5% from last quarter and was above the ten-year average of -3.40%.

“Gaming has been and will continue to be the primary driver for GPU sales, augmented by the demand from cryptocurrency miners.,” said Dr. Jon Peddie, President of Jon Peddie research. We expect demand to slacken from the miners as margins drop in response increasingly utilities costs and supply and demand forces that drive up AIB prices. Gamers can offset those costs by mining when not gaming, but prices will not drop in the near future.” 

Quick highlights

  • AMD’s overall unit shipments increased 8.08% quarter-to-quarter, Intel’s total shipments decreased -1.98% from last quarter, and Nvidia’s decreased -6.00%.
  • The attach rate of GPUs (includes integrated and discrete GPUs) to PCs for the quarter was 134% which was down -10.06% from last quarter.
  • Discrete GPUs were in 36.88% of PCs, which is down -2.67%.
  • The overall PC market increased 5.93% quarter-to-quarter, and decreased -0.15% year-to-year.
  • Desktop graphics add-in boards (AIBs) that use discrete GPUs decreased -4.62% from last quarter.
  • Q4'17 saw no change in tablet shipments from last quarter.

GPUs are traditionally a leading indicator of the market, since a GPU goes into every system before it is shipped, and most of the PC vendors are guiding cautiously for Q1’18. 

JPR’s detailed 82-page Market Watch report, which is supplied with a massive in depth spreadsheet will provide you with all the data, analysis and insight you need to clearly understand where this technology is today and where it's headed.

Our findings include discrete and integrated graphics (CPU and chipset) for Desktops, Notebooks (and Netbooks). It does not include iPad and Android-based tablets, or ARM-based Servers, or x86-based servers. It does include x86-based tablets, Chromebooks, and embedded systems.

GPUs are traditionally a leading indicator of the market, since a GPU goes into every non-server system before it is shipped, and most of the PC vendors are guiding cautiously for Q4’14. The Gaming PC segment, where higher-end GPUs are used, was a bright spot in the market in the quarter.

For those who wish to understand the PC market, an understanding of the highly complex technology and ecosystem that has been built around the GPU is essential to understanding the market’s future directions.

The report contains the following content:

  • Worldwide GPU and PC Shipment Volume, 1994 to 2020.
  • Detailed worldwide GPU Shipment Volume, 1Q 2001 to 2Q 2016, and forecast to 2020.
  • Major suppliers: Detailed market share data-on the shipments of AMD, Intel, Nvidia, and others.
  • Financial results for the leading suppliers: Analysis of the quarterly results of the leading GPU suppliers
  • Market Forecasts: You will also be able to download a detailed spreadsheet and supporting charts that project the supplier’s shipments over the period 2001 to 2018. Projections are split into platforms and GPU type.
  • GPUs: History, Status, and Analysis.
  • Financial History from for the last nine quarter: Based on historic SEC filings, you can see current and historical sales and profit results of the leading suppliers. 
  • A Vision of the future: Building upon a solid foundation of facts, data and sober analysis, this section pulls together all of the report's findings and paints a vivid picture of where the PC graphics market is headed. 
  • Charts, graphics, tables and more: Included with this report is an Excel workbook. It contains the data we used to create the charts in this report. The workbook has the charts and supplemental information.

JPR also publishes a series of reports on the PC Gaming Hardware Market, which covers the total market including system and accessories, and looks at 31 countries. More information can be found here: 

https://www.jonpeddie.com/store/market-watch​

Bonus Report in this issue

Market Watch subscribers will also receive an updated Cryptocurrency report. 

Table of Contents

All about cryptocurrency mining’s use of, and effect on the AIB market .5
Cryptocurrency mining use of AIBs .5
Raw power .5
How many AIBs used in mining? .10
Methodology .10
Consequences of crypto mining .11
Is it all worth it? .11
And now this .12
Epilog .13
The future of GPUs in crypto mining .13
Looking forward .16
What do we think? .17
How many AIBs have been bought for mining? .19
Get ready for a shock—AIB shipments down .23
Macro dynamics .25
Selling shovels .30

 

Pricing and Availability
The Jon Peddie Research's Market Watch is available now in both electronic and hard copy editions, and sells for $2,500. Included with this report is an Excel workbook with the data used to create the charts, the charts themselves, and supplemental information. The annual subscription price for JPR's Market Watch is $5,000 and includes four quarterly issues. Full subscribers to JPR services receive Tech Watch (the company's bi-weekly report) and a copy of Market Watch as part of their subscription. 

Click here to learn more about this major report, or to download it now. Or, for more information call 415/435-9368 or visit the Jon Peddie Research website at www.jonpeddie.com.
Contact Robert Dow at JPR ([email protected]) for a free sample of TechWatch. 

About Jon Peddie Research
Dr. Jon Peddie has been active in the graphics and multimedia fields for more than 30 years. Jon Peddie Research is a technically oriented multimedia and graphics research and consulting firm. Based in Tiburon, California, JPR provides consulting, research, and other specialized services to technology companies in a variety of fields including graphics development, multimedia for professional applications and consumer electronics, high-end computing, and Internet-access product development. Jon Peddie's Market Watch is a quarterly report focused on the market activity of PC graphics controllers for notebook and desktop computing.

Company Contact:
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Robert Dow, Jon Peddie Research 
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