People everywhere are abuzz about the recent news that AMD just barely slipped past NVidia to achieve the position as #1 provider of discrete graphics chips.
AMD’s ATI graphics unit took 51 percent of the standalone, or “discrete,” graphics chip market compared to Nvidia’s share that was just shy of 49 percent, according to Mercury Research, a Cave Creek, Arizona firm that tracks graphics chip shipments. This is a sharp reversal from the same period a year ago when Nvidia had about 59 percent of the market and AMD had just under 41 percent.
If you recall, this is pretty much what I predicted in my “Predictions for 2010“, that ATI would gain some pretty significant market share while NVidia was ‘rallying the troops’ in preparation of Fermi. Now that Fermi is out and shipping, I think we’ll see things return to the state of before as NVidia regains it’s previous position as #1.
via AMD tops Nvidia in graphics chip shipments | Nanotech – The Circuits Blog – CNET News.
Mhh – just my two cents, but seeing as ATI focuses only on consumer-grade products, It would not be surprising to see them keep the lead in that market segment, especially as they have been consistently providing better bang for the buck since their 9800 (the first time they were competing with nvidia on an equal to equal basis).
Again, I’ve had both brands and if I had half a million to spend on a computer i’d pick nvidia today, but whenever I have to advise someone, I take a look at the charts and ooh surprise ATI is cheaper for the same 3d benchmark scores… That this reality has influence on the consumers is unlikely, but over time ATI has become more and more known as another valid option (and since the 9800 they have already made a lot of new followers, the 5-series totally put them at the top again for 6 months.