IDC statistics say that last year, PC shipments increased by 1% to 262.7 million units, and Jon Peddie Research indicates that shipments of PC graphics solutions grew at a faster pace, although they were inferior in volume. In total, 251 million PC graphics solutions were shipped last year, which is 6% more than the 2023 total.
Image source: NVIDIA
The statistics take into account both discrete and integrated graphics, and the latter predominates due to the presence of a standard graphics subsystem in most PC processors. In the first half of last year, 18.2 million desktop discrete graphics cards were shipped, which corresponds to a 46% increase in shipment volumes compared to the same period in 2023. In the third quarter, their supply volumes decreased year-on-year by 9% to 8.1 million units. Apparently, the correction of AMD’s inventory and the end of the life cycle of AMD graphics solutions with RDNA 3 and Nvidia Ada Lovelace architecture had an impact. Typically, the discrete graphics card market picks up in the fourth quarter, but last year risks breaking that trend.
Taking into account the high indicators for the first half of the year, video card market statistics for the entire 2024, according to representatives of Tom’s Hardware, will probably show a result no lower than 2023, but it will still be far from the indicators of 2021 or 2022. PC manufacturers usually purchase graphics solutions well in advance. The fourth quarter in this sense shows a decline in their activity, since in the first quarter of the next year, PC sales traditionally remain low. For this reason, the number of PCs sold during the year significantly exceeds the number of graphics solutions sold during the same period, although every personal computer is equipped with graphics in one form or another.