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AMD tops Nvidia in graphics chip shipments

AMD passed Nvidia in graphics chip shipments in the second quarter, according to a marketing research firm.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers

Advanced Micro Devices passed Nvidia in graphics chip shipments in the second quarter, according to a report from a marketing research firm on Wednesday, adding to Nvidia's woes.

AMD's ATI graphics unit took 51 percent of the standalone, or "discrete," graphics chip market compared to Nvidia's share that was just shy of 49 percent, according to Mercury Research, a Cave Creek, Arizona firm that tracks graphics chip shipments. This is a sharp reversal from the same period a year ago when Nvidia had about 59 percent of the market and AMD had just under 41 percent.

Total market figures for the second quarter of 2010 had Intel with a 54.3 percent share, AMD with 24.5 percent, and Nvidia with 19.8 percent. This, also, is a setback for Nvidia: in the second quarter of last year, Nvidia had a 29.6 percent share compared to AMD's 18.2 percent.

Nvidia warned Wednesday that revenue would fall short of earlier projections. The warning came a day after Apple moved its iMac and Mac Pro lines to AMD graphics chips, dropping Nvidia.