Jon Peddie Research (JPR) is reported to have estimated that Nvidia held about 94% of the desktop add-in-board (AIB) market in 2025, while AMD had about 5% and Intel roughly 1%. That is a striking gap, but it does not mean Nvidia sold 94% of every kind of GPU—or that it took 94% of consumer retail purchases. The figures concern desktop graphics-card shipments, and the exact annual split is reported by secondary coverage rather than printed in JPR’s publicly visible Q4 release.
What the 94% figure measures
An add-in board, or AIB, is a discrete graphics card installed in a desktop PC. JPR’s AIB market tracking concerns cards moving through the desktop PC channel, including those supplied to system builders. Depending on the methodology, shipments can reflect channel inventory as well as products ultimately bought by consumers. They are not a direct count of checkout transactions.
The measure excludes or treats separately integrated graphics built into CPUs, notebook GPUs, console chips, workstation products, and data-center accelerators. It is also a unit-share figure: one high-priced card and one budget card each count as one board. It does not establish revenue share, profit share, installed-base share, or Nvidia’s share of all graphics processing.
JPR’s historical descriptions distinguish AIB shipments from broader PC graphics measurements. Its Q4 2024 shipment report and explanation of the add-in-board market provide that context.
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What is confirmed—and what is reported
| Measure | Figure | What the source establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Reported 2025 vendor split | Nvidia 94%, AMD 5%, Intel about 1% | Secondary coverage attributes these rounded figures to JPR’s 2025 data; the exact split is not printed in the visible text of JPR’s public release. Yahoo Finance report |
| Reported 2025 AIB shipments | 44.28 million boards | Reported by the same secondary coverage, not reproduced in the visible JPR release. It is a shipment figure, not verified retail sell-through. |
| Q4 2025 global AIB shipments | 11.48 million | JPR’s public release reports this figure, down 4.4% quarter over quarter and up 36.0% year over year. JPR Q4 2025 release |
| Q4 share movement | Nvidia +1.6 percentage points; AMD −1.6; Intel flat | JPR’s public release confirms the quarter-over-quarter direction, but not the exact 94%/5% split in its visible text. |
| Q4 2025 AIB attach rate | 55% | JPR’s reported desktop-PC attach-rate figure; it is not a measure of vendor share. |
The distinction between a full-year result and a quarter-end result matters. Secondary coverage describes Nvidia’s share as 94% for 2025 and says it rose from 92% at the beginning of the year to 94% by year-end. JPR’s publicly visible release is specifically about Q4 and confirms Nvidia gained 1.6 percentage points from the preceding quarter. It does not print the exact annual split. The careful description, then, is that the 94% figure is reported as a 2025 or year-end estimate, while JPR’s public release independently confirms the direction of movement late in the year.
The secondary report also says AMD shipped about 0.57 million AIBs in Q4, versus about 0.74 million at the start of 2025. Those figures—and the characterization of AMD’s approximately 5% share as a historic low—should be understood as claims attributed to the underlying JPR data through that report, not as numbers shown in the public JPR release. Without the historical series and methodology in view, “historic low” should not be read as a fully documented comparison across every period.
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How Nvidia gained ground while the market weakened
JPR’s Q4 data illustrates how market share and total demand can move in different directions. AIB shipments fell 4.4% from the previous quarter, yet Nvidia’s share rose 1.6 percentage points as AMD’s fell by the same amount. A vendor can gain share in a shrinking quarter if competitors lose a larger portion of shipments or if the product mix favors its cards.
Secondary coverage points to momentum from Nvidia’s RTX 50-series and weaker RX 9000-series availability and pricing as explanations for the reported split. These are plausible contributors, not causes established by the public shipment figures. Brand recognition, system-builder and retailer coverage, software compatibility, and features such as ray tracing, upscaling and frame generation can also affect buyer and channel preferences. The cited figures do not isolate how much each factor contributed.
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Why AMD’s desktop position may have suffered
A weak shipment result does not by itself show that Radeon hardware is technically uncompetitive. Shipments can reflect whether cards are available in volume, how they are priced at retail, whether products cover the segments where most buyers shop, and what system builders choose to offer. The available reporting raises launch timing, uneven RX 9000-series supply and pricing as possible issues, but it does not quantify their individual effects.
- Product coverage and timing: Gaps in high-volume entry-level or mainstream tiers can matter more to unit share than strength in a narrow slice of the market.
- Street prices and stock: A product’s suggested positioning does not guarantee a compelling purchase if retail prices or availability differ.
- Features and ecosystem: Buyers who rely on particular creator tools, software compatibility, ray tracing or frame-generation features may favor Nvidia, even when another card competes on other measures.
- Broader market pressure: When card prices are high, some buyers defer an upgrade rather than switch brands.
These observations concern Radeon desktop add-in boards only. They do not establish that AMD’s entire graphics business—including integrated, embedded, data-center and console-related products—has collapsed, and the AIB figures do not reveal how AMD allocated silicon among those businesses.
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Why the total AIB market is under pressure
JPR reports that Q4 2025 shipments were below the prior quarter but above the year-earlier quarter. That combination describes a market that had a strong year-over-year comparison while still losing momentum at year-end; it does not mean every manufacturer or buyer experienced the same conditions.
JPR attributes pressure partly to memory costs, tariffs and unstable supply-and-demand conditions, saying buyers may delay PC or graphics-card replacements as prices rise. It also describes pressure at the low end from more capable notebook and integrated graphics, and at the high end from pricing. Those forces can reduce demand for discrete desktop cards without showing which vendor would have won each deferred purchase.
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JPR’s public release forecasts nearly a 10% decline in the AIB/PC market in 2026 and gives a longer-term AIB forecast of a −5.9% compound annual growth rate through 2029. These are forecasts, not observed outcomes. The release does not provide a detailed breakdown that would support attributing a particular share of the outlook to any single tariff, component cost or product.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the statistic does not prove
- It does not mean Nvidia holds 94% of laptop, integrated, console, workstation or data-center GPUs.
- It does not show Nvidia’s share of all gaming PCs, consumer retail purchases, revenue or profits.
- It does not prove that Radeon cards are universally inferior or identify one cause for AMD’s reported decline.
- It does not establish a permanent market structure. Product launches, supply, pricing and system-builder decisions can change share.
- It does not prove Nvidia can raise prices without limits. Competition, inventory, exchange rates, retailer decisions and consumer demand still affect what buyers pay.
Steam Hardware Survey figures, if consulted, answer a different question: they describe hardware among participating users, not current AIB shipments. They therefore cannot directly confirm or refute JPR’s channel estimate.
What desktop GPU buyers should do with the news
A concentrated shipment market is relevant to competition, but it is not a buying recommendation. Choose a card against the workload and the actual model price available to you—not a vendor’s market share. Since the cited reports do not establish current retail prices or compare specific cards, no blanket recommendation between Nvidia, AMD and Intel follows from the 94% figure.
- If your current PC is struggling: Compare specific cards at the resolution and refresh rate you use. Check game-specific performance, VRAM, power draw, case clearance, required power connectors, cooling, warranty and return terms.
- If you prioritize ray tracing, frame generation, creator software or CUDA-related compatibility: Check whether a particular Nvidia card supports the features and applications you need, then compare its price and performance with alternatives.
- If you prioritize raster performance, VRAM or open standards: Evaluate current AMD options model by model; the market-share estimate alone does not determine whether one is better value for your use.
- If you are shopping at the budget end: Compare an entry-level discrete card with the integrated graphics in a potential CPU or system, especially if you do not need high settings or high frame rates.
- If your present card is adequate: Waiting is reasonable if you are not facing an immediate performance problem. JPR’s forecast and shipment data do not guarantee that prices will fall, so reassess using live availability and pricing rather than assuming a particular outcome.
For a model-by-model check, start with the manufacturers’ official GeForce, Radeon RX 9000 and Intel Arc product pages. Specifications do not replace independent performance testing or a check of current local stock.
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