The recent surge of cryptocurrency mining seem to have impacted the GPU market in a big way. A report published by Jon Peddie Research stated that overall GPU shipments in Q2 2017 saw an increase of 7.2% (quarter to quarter) – something that apparently has never happened for over 20 years.
It’s worth noting that before the birth of the “digital currency mining craze” the GPU market had a somewhat repetitive and predictable quarterly pattern: stagnant in Q1, drop in Q2, increase in Q3, and slight increase to stagnant in Q4. When it comes to the manufacturers themselves, companies like AMD, Nvidia, and Intel saw a Q2 GPU shipment increase of 8%, 10%, and 6% respectively.
The increase in GPU shipment, however, isn’t something that PC gamers and enthusiasts would take too positively. The uptick in GPU shipments is, again, caused primarily by cryptocurrency miners buying graphics cards in bulk. This, of course, leaves very little stock for casual consumers. So, while GPU shipments have increase in Q2 2017, the demand for them is still significantly higher than what manufacturers can currently supply.
Putting aside the “PC gamers vs digital currency miners issue”, the recent boom in GPU shipment will indeed be beneficial to GPU manufacturers; especially AMD who managed to obtain a Q2 2017 GPU market share of 29.4% – an increase of about 1.9% when compared to Q1 2017. That said, let’s hope that these companies can somehow figure out a way to increase their GPU stocks so that both gamers and miners can be equally happy.
(Source: Jon Peddie Research)
