The recently released market share numbers by Jon Peddie Research clearly show that ATI, graphics product group of Advanced Micro Devices, is starting to fight back market share from the arch-rival Nvidia. According to another market tracking firm, NPD, the latest products by ATI – Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 – are indeed gaining popularity in the U.S. retail market.

Even though 7 out of top 10 spots are still occupied by Nvidia GeForce graphics cards, the best selling graphics board in the U.S. retail in September was Visiontek Radeon HD 4850 512MB, reports TG Daily web-site citing NPD Group. The whole list looks as follows:

1. Visiontek 512MB GDDR3 ATI Radeon HD 4850 PCIE-X16 2.0: 4197 (units)
2. PNY 512MB DDR2 Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT PCIE-X16: 4106
3. PNY 512MB GDDR3 Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT PCIE-X16 2.0: 3080 
4. BFG 512MB GDDR3 Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS PCIE-X16: 3079
5. Visiontek 512MB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCIE-X16 2.0: 3052
6. EVGA 384MB GDDR3 Nvidia GeForce 9600 GSO PCIE-X16: 3011
7. EVGA 256MB GDDR3 Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT PCIE-X16: 2670
8. EVGA 512MB GDDR3 Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT PCIE-X16 2.0: 2634
9. EVGA  512MB GDDR3 Nvidia 8800 GT PCIE: 2561
10. Asustek 512MB GDDR3 ATI Radeon HD 4850 PCIE-X16 2.0: 2509

It should be noted that the majority of advanced graphics cards are acquired from online stores due to their lower pricing. However, since retail buyers are not usually as technically savvy as those who use electronic stores, the success of rather expensive graphics cards based on ATI Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 may be an indicator that gamers begin to feel confidence in ATI’s performance-mainstream products.

Tags: ATI, AMD, Radeon, Nvidia, Geforce