Loads of GPUs were shipped in Q2 – and Nvidia is dominating AMD

The number of GPUs being shipped has just shot up according to the latest report from an analyst firm detailing Q2 shipments for 2021.

This comes from Jon Peddie Research, which continuously keeps tabs on the graphics arena, and found that in Q2 of this year, GPU shipments (including integrated graphics as well as discrete cards) went up by no less than 37% compared to the same quarter in 2020. Shipment numbers also increased slightly since Q1 2021, with a 3.4% uptick quarter-on-quarter.

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In total, 123 million GPUs were shipped, and Jon Peddie further observes that there was also major growth in terms of CPU shipments for PCs which increased by 42% year-on-year.

However, what Jon Peddie calls desktop graphics add-in boards – in other words, traditional graphics cards that you fit into your PC – actually slipped by 2.9% in Q2. That said, a decline is usually expected as we head from Q1 to Q2.

The current overall balance of discrete GPUs – both desktop and laptop models – witnessed Nvidia increasing its grip on the market, extending its share to 83% this quarter, with AMD of course having the remaining 17%.

Analysis: Nvidia slowly squeezing the life out of Big Navi?

Going back to that final breakdown of all discrete graphics cards, Nvidia really is making serious headway against its rival according to Jon Peddie’s stats. It now stands with 83% of market share, compared to 81% in Q1. And if we go back further to Q1 of 2020, Team Green held a 75% share, so the company is up pretty strongly with a full 8% gain over the last year-and-a-half. Territory which, let’s face it, AMD can’t afford to cede…

Despite the strong growth in GPU shipments compared to 2020, the analyst firm is cautious about the current quarter (Q3 2021), observing that: “In a year like no other, suppliers reported shortages of component parts, capacitors, substrates, and other items … No one was happy about it, and unfortunately, the upcoming inventory build-out for the holiday season that usually takes place in the third quarter will be constrained until the supply chain catches up with demand.”

What we’ve been hearing of late elsewhere has been more positive, though. Namely that China’s crypto crackdown is helping ease demand from miners, and Nvidia RTX 30-series graphics card prices are dropping at last. Not that this anything like marks the end of the GPU stock shortage, and also sadly, the most recent buzz from the grapevine – only yesterday – is that the prices of some GPUs could be on the rise in the future.

It’s choppy waters for predictions of both graphics card stock and pricing, let’s face it.