AMD Seemingly Tightens its Grip on the German DIY PC Market

Last month, we reported that AMD's market share in the Benelux region (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) was due to surpass that of Intel's in the CPU DIY (Do It Yourself) segment, reflecting what seems to be a wider market shift in favor of AMD.

Recently, hardware enthusiast Ingebor updated the market share data coming from German retailer Mindfactory, which he had not updated since November when Intel's 9th-gen processors launched. Unfortunately for Intel, the 9th-gen chips did not deliver the boost it needed in Germany.

Though CPUs like the Core i9-9900K, i7-9700K, and i5-9600K helped boost Intel up to 36% in February from a low of 31% in November, AMD struck back in March and forced Intel back down to 31% yet again. The popularity of AMD's mid-range Ryzen 5 2600 and low-end 2200G and 2400G APUs rose significantly while interest in Intel's premium -9900K and the more affordable -9600K waned. The -9700K did sell more than it had previously, though. The new Core i5-9400F also captured significant market share, though seemingly at the expense of Intel's own i5-8400 which the -9400F succeeded.

AMD also leads Intel in total revenue, though only by a few percent. This is somewhat remarkable for both sides. Though AMD's CPUs are heavily discounted, AMD is winning through sheer volume, and while Intel is selling far fewer processors at the German retailer, the company can hang on thanks to higher prices. Margins may be worsening for Intel, however, as the -9900K's heyday seems to be ending and lower-margin CPUs like the -9700K and the -9400F seem to be taking over.

The situation will likely not improve for Intel with the arrival of Ryzen 3000 CPUs this summer. Ryzen 3000 is expected to allow for up to 12 or even 16 cores, significantly increased clock speeds (thought to be no more than 25%), and a similar pricing structure to what currently exists or what existed during the first generation of Ryzen. Though the DIY PC market is a small segment, Intel faces challenges because enthusiasts that shop at Mindfactory are opting for AMD's more value-oriented processors over Intel's higher-end and premium offerings.