GPU sales are experiencing a boom thanks to a 'slight' drop in price

A new report from Jon Peddie Research indicates that GPU shipments from AIB partners, which include cards from companies like ASUS, MSI, and GIGABYTE, for Q2 2024 increased compared to the previous quarter and the same quarter last year. This is surprising because Q2 is generally quieter, and sales dip compared to Q1.

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NVIDIA dominates the GPU market, chart credit: Jon Peddie Research.

GPU shipment increased by 9.4% compared to the previous quarter, dramatically higher than the 10-year average of -7.1% for Q2. This figure represents around 9.5 million units, with NVIDIA and AMD benefiting from the increased interest in GPUs.

NVIDIA's quarter-to-quarter shipments increased by 9.7%, and a massive 61.9% compared to last year. AMD's quarter-to-quarter shipments increased by 9% while increasing by 3% compared to the previous year. As expected, NVIDIA continues to dominate the market with a whopping 88% market share.

C. Robert Dow, an analyst at JPR, attributes the "surge" in GPU sales to new cards hitting the market and a "slight drop in prices." Interestingly, the report summary doesn't mention AI, which we'd assume would be a factor thanks to the impressive AI performance of desktop GeForce RTX 40 Series cards.

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CPU versus GPU shipments, chart credit: Jon Peddie Research.

That said, with several high-profile PC game releases and recent Steam Hardware Surveys showcasing cards like the GeForce RTX 4070 and RTX 4060 climbing up the charts, this data indicated that PC gamers are upgrading their GPUs as the increase doesn't carry over to the CPU market.

The report also notes that this rise in GPU shipments will flatten until the next generation of graphics cards arrives in late 2024 or early 2025. Based on rumor and speculation, both AMD's Radeon 8000 Series of mid-range cards and the full suite of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series cards are expected to start arriving early next year, with CES 2025 looking to be the venue where we'll get a full reveal.