The GPU market and the PC market in general, seems to have found its new normal. The Gaming PC segment, where higher-end GPUs are used, was once again the bright spot in the overall PC market for the quarter. Overall Year-to-year total GPU shipments decreased -14% —desktop graphics decreased -9%, notebooks decreased -17%, according to Jon Peddie Research.

The GPU market is rebounding and outperforming the PC market, which is stabilizing.

The fourth quarter is typically flat to up in the seasonality cycles of the past. For 2015, the 4th quarter saw a 2.4% increase from last quarter, and was above the ten-year average of -3.4%.

Quarter highlights

• AMD’s overall unit shipments increased 5.16% quarter-to-quarter, Intel’s total shipments increased 0.73% from last quarter, and Nvidia’s increased 8.41%.
• The attach rate of GPUs (includes integrated and discrete GPUs) to PCs for the quarter was 139% which was up 0.59% from last quarter.
• Discrete GPUs were in 31.28% of PCs, which is up 1.34%.
• The overall PC market increased 2.01% quarter-to-quarter, and decreased -10.27% year-to-year.
• Desktop graphics add-in boards (AIBs) that use discrete GPUs decreased -4.87% from last quarter.

Although neither AMD nor Nvidia introduced new GPUs in the second half in 2015, the chips they did introduce in Q1 and Q2 2015 were solid performers. That, combined with the introduction of a half dozen really terrific, and processor-intensive games in the second half of 2014 fed a buying frenzy that drove the GPU sales in desktop add-in boards (AIBs) and the new gaming notebook sales in Q4.

Quarter in general

• AMD’s shipments of desktop heterogeneous GPU/CPUs, i.e., APUs, for desktops decreased 4.3% from the previous quarter, AMD’s shipments were up 30.3% in notebooks. Desktop discrete GPUs increased 6.69% from last quarter, and notebook discrete shipments decreased 1.3%. AMD’s total PC graphics shipments increased 5.2% from the previous quarter.
• Intel’s desktop processor embedded graphics (EPGs) shipments increased from last quarter by 6.1%, and notebook processors decreased by -1.7% increased 0.7% from last quarter.
• Nvidia’s desktop discrete GPU shipments were down -7.56% from last quarter; and the company’s notebook discrete GPU shipments increased 34.2% increased 8.4% from last quarter.
• Total discrete GPU (desktop and notebook) shipments increased 6.57% from the last quarter and decreased -7.01% 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 -4%.
• 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).