Nvidia should maintain its edge in the high-end of the graphics processing unit (GPU) market in the second half of this year, as the launch schedule for ATI Technologies’ flagship processor is way behind the launch of the Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX, which hit the market in June, sources at Taiwan graphics card makers expect. The delayed launch of the ATI R520 has caused several PC OEMs to instead choose the Nvidia GeForce 7800 series for their high-end systems slated for volume shipments in the fourth quarter, sources at Taiwan PC manufacturers indicated. According to data released by Mercury Research, Nvidia grabbed 73% of the high-end DirectX9 GPU market in the second quarter of this year, while ATI slid two-percentage points to 27%. However, despite its dominance in the high-end GPU segment, Nvidia’s market share of the overall GPU market dropped two-percentage points to 16% in the second quarter, trailing ATI at 26% and Intel at 43%, the market research firm said. ATI outpaced Nvidia in the mainstream DirectX9 GPU market by eight-percentage points in the second quarter, in spite of losing momentum in the high-end segment, Mercury Research stated. Source: DigiTimes
