Discrete GPUs continue to slip as embedded GPUs in the CPU and APU bring better performance for free. The erosion of the low end of the market by tablets seems to have subsided, and even tablet sales were off for the second quarter in a row, according to Jon Peddie Research (JPR). The second quarter is typically down in the seasonality cycles of the past and was below the ten-year average of 6.86%.

AMD’s overall unit shipments decreased -25.82% quarter-to-quarter, Intel’s total shipments decreased -7.39% from last quarter, and Nvidia’s decreased -16.19%, JPR found.

The attach rate of GPUs (includes integrated and discrete GPUs) to PCs for the quarter was 137% which was down -10.82% from last quarter, and 26.43% of PCs had discrete GPUs, which is down -4.15%.

The overall PC market decreased -4.05% quarter-to-quarter, and decreased -10.40% year-to-year.

And desktop graphics add-in boards (AIBs) that use discrete GPUs decreased -16.81% from last quarter.

The second quarter is typically a down quarter as OEMs and the channel clear out older inventory, and get ready for the fall back to school and holiday sales season.

The quarter in general

AMD’s shipments of desktop heterogeneous GPU/CPUs, i.e., APUs, increased 25.0% from the previous quarter, and were down -53.5% in notebooks. AMD’s discrete desktop shipments decreased -33.33% from last quarter, and notebook discrete shipments decreased -9.1%. The company’s overall PC graphics shipments decreased -25.8% from the previous quarter.

Intel’s desktop processor embedded graphics (EPGs) shipments decreased from last quarter by -7.4%, and notebooks decreased by -7.3%. The company’s overall PC graphics shipments decreased -7.4% from last quarter.

Nvidia’s desktop discrete shipments were down -12.03% from last quarter; and the company’s notebook discrete shipments decreased -21.6%. The company’s overall PC graphics shipment decreased -16.2% from last quarter. The company saw strength in gaming from Western Europe and China which helped it buck a down quarter for the industry.

Total discrete GPU (desktop and notebook) shipments from the last quarter decreased -17.07% and decreased -26.27% from last year. Sales of discrete GPUs fluctuate due to a variety of factors (timing, memory pricing, etc.), new product introductions, and the influence of integrated graphics. Overall, the CAGR from 2014 to 2017 is now -6%.

Ninety nine percent of Intel’s non-server processors have graphics, and over 66% of AMD’s non-server processors contain integrated graphics; AMD still ships integrated graphics chipsets (IGPs).