X-bit labs

AMD to Regain Their Share in Graphics Market.

Category: Video

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

[ 03/11/2008 | 10:43 AM ]

According to the latest report from Jon Peddie Research consulting company, AMD continues to lose their share in the graphics accelerators market. According to the recently published data, Nvidia increased its lead in market share in Q4 2007 to 71% of all units shipped, up from 64% the previous quarter. It means that the graphics accelerators based on AMD chips make less than 30% of the market.

Nevertheless, AMD intends to regain the lost market by the end of the year and at least reach the parity with Nvidia. According to Digitimes web-site, AMD has recently notified its partners that the company expects its share in the discrete graphics card market to rise after its next generation RV770 GPU that should be announced in the end of Q2 2008. RV770-powered Radeon HD 4800 cards are expected to be about 40% faster than contemporary RV670 GPU based solutions.

Moreover, AMD responded to Intel’s decision to integrate graphics cores into their inexpensive and mobile processors in early 2009. They confirmed that they will stick by promising Swift micro-architecture (part of the Fusion concept), which also implies integrating a graphics core into a CPU. Hybrid Swift processors are claimed to exist in two modifications: dual-core called Black Swift and single-core called White Swift. It implies that Black Swift will have two classical processor cores with K10 micro-architecture and one graphics core, while White Swift will have one processors and one graphics core. These processors should come out in second half of 2009.

Swift modifications will be manufactured with 45nm process and will support DDR3 SDRAM. They should first of all be positioned for mobile solutions that is why they will also boast additional energy efficient technologies.