The latest report from Jon Peddie Research shows that global client PC CPU shipments reached 66 million units in the fourth quarter of 2024, increasing both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. The PC processor market has improved significantly. Data suggests that PC makers have depleted CPU inventories and resumed processor purchases from Intel during the quarter. It may also highlight the positive business outlook PC makers now have.
Client PC processor shipments from AMD, Intel and other vendors in the fourth quarter of 2023 were 66 million units, an increase of 7% from the previous quarter (62 million units) and an increase from the same period last year (54 million units) twenty two%. Despite a challenging global environment, the CPU market is showing signs of strong health.
70% of client PC CPUs sold in Q4 2023 were targeted at laptops, which is a significant increase from 63% of laptop CPUs sold in Q4 2022. In fact, laptop sales have outpaced desktop sales for years, so it’s no surprise that the industry is shipping more laptop processors than desktop processors. Perhaps surprisingly, desktop CPUs accounted for 37% of Q4 2022 shipments.
“Client CPU shipments increased in the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter, which is a positive addition to the overall discouraging news,” said Jon Peddie, president of JPR. “Although U.S. CPU shipment inflation is down and GDP is up, but growing troubling news from the Middle East, coupled with the ongoing war in Ukraine, the trade war with China, and layoffs at many organizations, has added to a string of bad news. Showing continued growth, And it’s a leading indicator.”
At the same time, integrated graphics processing units (iGPU) also experienced growth, with shipments reaching 60 million units, a month-on-month increase of 7% and a year-on-year increase of 18%. Since most client CPUs now have some form of built-in GPU, it is reasonable to expect iGPU shipments to grow along with client CPU shipments.
Jon Peddie Research predicts that iGPU will dominate the PC field, with penetration expected to soar to 98% in the next five years. This prediction may indicate that integrated graphics will become ubiquitous, but we don’t think discrete graphics will disappear.
At the same time, JPR data shows that the server CPU field showed a different picture in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a slight increase of 2.8% from the previous quarter, but a sharp decline of 26% year-on-year.
Despite these challenges, Jon Peddie Research reports that the overall positive momentum in the CPU market shows that the industry is adapting and thriving even amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty.