More suppliers, higher performance, and a roller coaster of a market certainly made for an interesting year.
This article was contributed by Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research.
Jon Peddie Research (JPR) just wrapped up its annual GPU summary report, and boy, what a year it was.
The 319-page report, which covers GPU shipment data by quarter, benchmarking results, new companies, and detailed descriptions of new GPU instructions from intellectual property (IP) to mobile devices to supercomputers, summarizes the GPU whirlwind that was 2022.
In 2022, AMD introduced its RDNA 3 GPU, Nvidia introduced its Lovelace RTX 4000 and Hopper family of GPUs, and Intel introduced its long-awaited Arc A750 and A770. Apple introduced its M2 SoC with a new GPU. Qualcomm introduced real-time ray tracing in its Snapdragon SoC, and MediaTek did the same with its Arm-based Immortals SoC. MetaX promised a consumer gaming GPU, and Moore Threads and Nvidia released new GPUs that meet U.S. Department of Commerce limitations, while the plans of China’s Biren were thwarted.
IP suppliers that serve the PC, console, and mobile markets increased to five in 2010 and have remained at that level since. In addition, there are two mobile SoC suppliers, Apple and Qualcomm, that design and manufacture GPUs; all other mobile SoC suppliers used IP from other companies like Arm and Imagination Technologies.
Counting PC, mobile, and IP, there are 19 companies worldwide designing and producing GPUs. Some of the companies make GPUs for various categories. For example, AMD and Intel make GPUs that are integrated with a CPU, AMD makes GPUs and provides IP, Nvidia makes GPUs for the datacenter, PCs, and automobile; and Qualcomm makes SoC used in VR, smartphones and cars.
JPR tested the AMD RX 6500 XT and 7900 XTX, Intel’s A750 and 770, the Nvidia Ampere 3050, RTX 3090 Ti, and RTX 3060, 4090, and 4080 (the 4090 proved to be the winner in price-performance). The big news in the add-in-board (AIB) market was EVGA quitting Nvidia.
Meanwhile, the market saw dramatic changes in shipments as the COVID surge ended simultaneously with the end of cypto mining on GPUs.
All in all, a lot happened in 2022 with regard to GPUs and their ecosphere. The number of suppliers increased, the market went through a roller coaster ride that isn’t over yet, the levels of performance were pushed to new highs (as were the prices for AIBs), and the pace of new development never slowed.
If you would like additional information about the report or to obtain a sample TOC, contact Robert Dow at Robert@jonpeddie.com. This informative report in its entirety can be purchased for $995 from the JPR website.
