GPUs are one of the most sought-after PC components in today's market, with the best graphics cards perpetually sold out. The launches of AMD, Nvidia, and Intel's recent GPU efforts have shown that the market is very big, and today we found out just how large it is. According to the most recent Jon Peddie Research data, the GPU market has experienced substantial growth in Q2 2021, with over 123 million units sold.
Out of all PC components, graphics cards are perhaps one of the most demanded ones. With the current scarcity of GPUs still present, consumers are buying every GPU they can get their hands on. Of course, that assumes they can even find one, as retailers sell out every stock they receive.
Jon Peddie Research, a research and market analyst firm that specializes in the technology field, has published its latest report about the GPU growth in the second quarter of 2021. And the data is showing some pretty interesting numbers.
When it comes to the total number of GPUs sold in Q2, the report notes that the sales were equal to 123 million units. That is 123 million chips being distributed across the globe. Compared to the same period of Q2 2020, this year's saw a 37% increase Year-over-Year (YoY). Overall, it is estimated that the annual GPU compounding rate will grow 3.5% during 2020-2025 to reach the total number of 3,318 million units shipped in that period.
Breaking down the GPU market share by the vendor, AMD's share declined by 0.2%, Intel grew by 0.1%, and Nvidia also experienced growth of 0.06%. For the number of units shipped, the overall market shows a 3.4% growth. AMD increased its shipments by 2.3%, Intel's shipments rose by 3.6%, and Nvidia soared the highest with a 3.8% increase.
The above figures account for all GPUs, including integrated graphics. Since virtually all Intel desktops and laptops include processor graphics, that skews things in Intel's favor. In the table below, you can find a comparison of the discrete GPU market, where only AMD and Nvidia are competing for now. It will be interesting to see how Intel does in this area once its Arc GPUs start shipping next year.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Q2'20 | Q1'21 | Q2'21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| Nvidia | 80% | 81% | 83% |
As far as PC CPUs are concerned, the research shows a 42% growth year-over-year. However, no further data is provided, as this report mostly focused on the GPU side of the story. The GPUs themselves represent a market in high demand, with no signs of slowing down.
Total share of the market has skewed toward Nvidia slightly compared to last quarter, and more so compared to last year. As we've noted elsewhere, the Steam Hardware Survey along with units sold via eBay, which we track in our GPU price index, both indicate Nvidia has sold far more Ampere GPUs than AMD has sold RDNA 2 GPUs. The above table includes previous generation GPUs as well, with no way to track exactly what's being sold, but right now Nvidia accounts for 83% of the dedicated GPU market.
What we'd really like to know is just how many GPUs from the latest generation have been sold. The full JPR report might contain that data, but it wasn't provided to the public. It also doesn't give any indication of how many of the GPUs have gone to cryptocurrency miners vs. gamers and other users. We suspect it's far more than AMD or Nvidia would care to admit.
