Just yesterday, we observed how motherboard manufacturers issued an ultimatum to Intel after months of persistent issues with the Core 13 and Core 14 series. This situation has become so critical that sales of Arrow Lake might be adversely affected in the coming months. However, today we will discuss the current scenario. It’s evident that gamers are swiftly transitioning from Intel CPUs to AMD, and there are clear data points from specific regions and globally that substantiate this trend.
The issue at hand isn’t trivial; a brand-new CPU from Intel shouldn’t encounter electromigration within a week. Both users and industry colleagues have reported this issue, putting Intel in a challenging spot. This is exacerbated by the fact that Intel’s firmware to adjust the eTVB isn’t functioning correctly, and as we noted, no immediate solution appears to be on the horizon.
Mass Migration of Gamers from Intel to AMD
The shift isn’t driven merely by AMD offering the fastest gaming CPU with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, nor is it solely because of competitive pricing for its performance. Intel is losing market share rapidly because putting together a PC is a costly and time-consuming endeavor. Users are not willing to invest their money and hours of effort only to find their CPU failing after numerous BSOD and CTD errors within days or months.
The situation is dire enough that Intel is providing refunds to gamers experiencing issues and witnessing their CPUs die, even with replacement units. This scenario makes it unsurprising that gamers are switching from Intel to AMD in large numbers, as we shall explore further.
Global Trends Highlight AMD’s Ascendancy
Looking at global data, few sources are as reliable as Steam’s hardware survey. From January of this year, AMD has been steadily varying its CPU market share against Intel. Specifically, in May, the latest available statistic, AMD gained an impressive 1.23% market share, reaching a 34.69% overall share compared to Intel’s 66.84%, which is declining.
South Korea and Germany: Stark Realities for Intel
In South Korea, statistics from ZDNET reveal an even harsher reality for Intel. The ongoing issues have caused Intel’s market share in the national assembled PC market to continue declining. As of last week, AMD, Intel’s biggest competitor, surpassed them with a 55% market share.
This means Intel currently sells 45% of CPUs in that country, and the number is falling. However, the situation in Germany is even worse. As briefly mentioned yesterday, data from Germany shows that AMD accounts for nearly 90% of CPU sales from MindFactory. This staggering figure is likely alarming for Intel, leaving them cornered in a significant market like Germany.
Spain: Reflecting the Global Shift
What about Spain? Data from Amazon Spain shows that only 3 of Intel’s CPUs are among the top 10 best-sellers, indicating that gamers are switching from Intel to AMD at a rate that falls between the trends observed in South Korea and Germany.
Will Intel’s market share on Steam drop below 50%, and fall below 20% in Europe? Given AMD’s current sales momentum, this isn’t unlikely. Such an outcome could be a significant blow to Intel, which is now pinning its hopes on Arrow Lake and its most ambitious architectural change in 16 years.
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