Advanced Micro Devices' graphics business unit, previously known as ATI, announced on Thursday that it had shipped 25 million of graphics processing units (GPUs) that support DirectX 11 application programming interface (API). Unfortunately, even advanced product line did not help the company to keep its sales in-line with the previous quarter.

Approximately a year after the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 5800-series graphics cards, the first to support DirectX 11 API in the industry, AMD said that it had sold 25 million of graphics cards in different price ranges supporting the DX11 technology. Shipments of the Radeon HD 5000 family of  GPUs have been limited by undersupplies of TSMC, who has had major issues with its 40nm process technologies. Without constraints of contract maker of semiconductors, shipments of the DirectX 11-supporting products would have been higher.

But even with limitations in terms of shipments, the ATI Radeon HD 5000-series of products allowed the company to regain market share from Nvidia Corp., partly because the latter failed to deliver its code-named Fermi products on time. According to Mercury Research, for the first time in years ATI shipped more discrete graphics products than Nvidia in Q2 2010.

Nonetheless, overall softness of the well-developed consumer markets significantly reduced AMD's graphics revenues in the third quarter. Graphics segment revenue decreased 11% sequentially to $390 million, but increased 33% year-over-year. Operating income was $1 million, compared with $33 million in Q2 2010 and $2 million in Q3 2009. The sequential decrease was driven by decreased mobile GPU unit shipments and decreased average selling price (ASP).  The year-over-year increase was driven by an increase in GPU unit shipments and ASP.

AMD on Thursday announced revenue for the third quarter of 2010 of $1.62 billion, a net loss of $118 million, or $0.17 per share, and operating income of $128 million. The company reported non-GAAP net income of $108 million, or $0.15 per share, and non-GAAP operating income of $144 million.

Tags: ATI, AMD, Radeon, Evergreen, 40nm