Discrete graphics market plunges in Q4

Understandable caution

Graphics market researcher Jon Peddie Research (JPR) has published its figures for the graphics add-in board (AIB) market in Q4 2008 and few will be surprised to hear they showed a big year-on-year drop.

In fact the AIB market fell a lot more than the overall market for PCs and for workstations. But rather than this being due to greater demand for integrated (as opposed to discrete) graphics, JPR attributed it primarily to the running down of existing AIB inventories by OEMs and the channel.

The 15.2 million graphics cards shipped in Q4 '08 were 42.7 percent less than in Q4 '07 (see table). Revenues fell 43.8 percent accordingly. Demand for integrated graphics in desktop PCs remained pretty much static, however, at 40.6 percent in Q4 '08 compared to 40.2 percent a year ago.

The conclusion is that stocks of graphics cards held by OEMs and the channel were extensively run-down in that quarter as companies erred on the side of caution and adopt a wait and see approach to the 2009 market. This adds further weight to the possibility of significant growth in the graphics market when things do start to pick up.

                 AIB market value history, by quarter