As a result, AMD is gaining market share in the x86 space. This is hardly surprising given the sheer volume of next-gen consoles that will be produced over the next few quarters, although AMD still lacks competitive x86 parts in the mid-range and high-end segments.
Mercury Research principal analyst Den McCarron told IDG that millions of new consoles will sell in the coming weeks, boosting AMD’s numbers in the process. Intel on the other hand still relies on shipments of PC and server parts, so the PC slump is taking its toll.
McCarron argues AMD’s long-term goal is to get outside the PC market. AMD is already seeing growth thanks to custom chips in the non-PC space. Meanwhile Intel is hoping to seize more tablet market share with Bay Trail parts. Neither AMD nor Intel have any smartphone at this point, although Intel is slowly getting there.
Intel ended Q3 with an 80.2 percent market share, down from 83.3 percent a year ago. AMD went up to 19.3 percent, up from 16.1 percent. However, in the PC space Intel actually gained share, while AMD’s share dropped from 16.1 to 15.8 percent.
AMD is unlikely to score big design wins for custom chips in the short run, but with emerging technologies like HSA its upcoming APU-based server parts and their custom derivatives could become a bit more interesting.
