Intel rules as PC graphics chip market declines

An estimated 57.5 million PC graphics devices were shipped from eight suppliers in the first quarter, a 7.4 percent decline from the previous quarter and a 12.9 percent increase over the same period the previous year, according to market watcher Jon Peddie Research.

The mobile graphics segment saw a 12.7 percent quarterly decline in shipments but achieved 29.1-percent growth year-over-year, outpacing a 9.9 percent annual growth rate in the desktop segment.

"Quarterly shipment declines were fairly typical in the first quarter with the exception of desktop GPUs, which were about flat as compared to Q4'03," said Lisa Epstein, a senior analyst at the research company.

"The discrete desktop segment exhibited surprising resilience during the period with shipments of discrete versus IGC desktop graphics about numerically even. Intel will not offer its new Grantsdale IGC until the second quarter and a small window has opened for discrete graphics as a result," Epstein said.

Intel Corp. recorded a moderate 3.8 percent quarterly decline in graphics shipments during the first quarter but saw its market share jump from 31.7 percent in the fourth quarter 2003. to 33 percent in the first quarter.

Nvidia Corp. was the second largest supplier during the first quarter with a 2 percent increase in graphics shipments. Nvidia's share went from 24.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003 to 27.2 percent in the first quarter.

ATI Technologies Inc. ranked third with an 11.5 percent decline in graphics shipments. ATI's share went from 25.2 percent in the previous quarter to 24 percent in the first quarter.

ATI was followed by Via Technologies Inc. (7.8 percent) and Silicon Integrated Systems Corp. (6.9 percent).

Silicon Strategies