PC outlook murky for 2009

Worldwide PC microprocessor shipments in the third calendar quarter of 2008 (3Q08) reached record levels again, according to new data from IDC. However, the outlook for the processor market in 4Q08 and 2009 is very murky.

Worldwide PC processor unit shipments grew 14.0% quarter over quarter and 15.8% year over year; market revenue grew 7.6% QoQ and 4.1% YoY to $8.3 billion. Intel's new Atom processor for ultra low-cost mobile PCs (which Intel calls "Netbooks") made a notable difference in the overall market performance; without Atom, unit shipments grew 8.3% QoQ and 8.7% YoY.

"Not considering the effects of Atom, the overall market still grew at a decent pace in the third quarter," said Shane Rau, director of Semiconductors: Personal Computing research at IDC. “Intel's and AMD's shipments grew at a rate only slightly slower than typical for a third quarter, and seasonal demand appeared reasonable up until September. By segment, while the mobile processor segment grew aggressively, the server segment was soft."

In terms of processor vendor shares, on an overall unit basis, Intel earned 80.8% market share, a gain of 1.1%, AMD finished with 18.5%, a loss of 1.2%, and VIA Technologies earned 0.6%. By form factor, in the mobile PC processor segment, Intel earned 87.4% share, a gain of 0.8%, AMD finished with 11.5%, a loss of 1.1%, and VIA earned 1.2%, a gain of 0.3%.