CPU shipments down 8.8 percent in Q4 2008

Mercury Research estimates CPU shipments were down 8.8 percent last quarter and this quarter won't be much better, the firm predicts sales will drop 15 percent which is twice as much as the average seasonal decline.

Intel's marketshare rose from 81.2 percent to 82.1 percent, while AMD and VIA declined by 0.7 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, last quarter. Analysts Dean McCarron explains the Intel Atom is one of the main reasons for Intel's gains.

Compared to 2007, Intel managed to increase its marketshare in the x86 processor market from 77.1 percent to 80.4 percent, while AMD declined from 22.1 percent to 18.5 percent. VIA also saw its marketshare rise, from 0.8 percent to 1.1 percent.

eWeek says the x86 processor market saw "unusually strong" performance in the third quarter, but shipments plunged by a massive 18% between the third and fourth quarters. That also mirrors the situation on the GPU front, where shipments declined 35% sequentially after an unusually good Q3.

The situation may only get worse this quarter. Mercury Research reportedly predicts, "Leading indicators are that the first quarter will be much worse than the seasonal average decline of 7.4 percent, with our forecast currently at 15 [percent] for the first quarter based on market conditions in mid-January."