PC shipments in 2024 increased by 1% compared to 2023 and amounted to about 262.7 million units, according to an IDC report. At the same time, sales of integrated and discrete graphics processing units (GPUs) also increased by 6% year-on-year. GPU shipments exceeded 251 million units, according to Jon Peddie Research.
GPU shipments usually outpace client processor shipments, as the vast majority of desktop and laptop processors include an integrated GPU. In addition, companies such as AMD and Nvidia typically sell tens of millions of discrete graphics cards for client PCs per year, which end up in systems that also have integrated GPUs. In 2024, shipments of both CPUs and GPUs increased.
In the first half of 2024, the industry shipped 18.2 million graphics cards for desktop systems, which is 46% more than in the same period in 2023. However, shipments of graphics cards in the third quarter of 2024 amounted to 8.1 million units, compared to 8.9 million in the third quarter of 2023. It is believed that this is the result of inventory adjustments at AMD, as well as the completion of life cycles for both Ada Lovelace and RDNA 3 architectures. While sales of discrete GPUs typically increase in the fourth quarter as gamers prepare for the launch of new games, this may not have been the case last year. The final figures for 2024 have not yet been released. Even if the 2024 GPU shipments are at the same level as in 2023 or even higher, it is unlikely that they will come close to the sales of GPUs in 2022 or 2021.
The difference in PC and graphics card shipments in 2024 is easy to explain. The fact is that PC manufacturers buy processors and GPUs several months before they sell their systems with these components. That is why there is a gap in the supply of PCs and GPUs. In the fourth quarter, manufacturers tend to slow down their purchases despite strong sales, as the first quarter is usually a weak quarter for customer PC sales.
Source: tomshardware
