Chips are up for microprocessors

Both AMD and Intel increased their share in the global microprocessor market, according to research from iSuppli, buoyed by stable prices and the easing of the price war in the third quarter.

AMD have enjoyed the largest growth, taking 13.9 per cent of global chip sales, a rise of 0.6 per cent over quarter two. Whereas Intel have increased its share from 78.4 to 78.7 per cent in the same period. However, the smaller rivals saw their collective share of global chip revenues fall from 8.2 per cent to 7.4 per cent.

"The combination of strong PC and server demand, combined with stable microprocessor prices led to a prosperous quarter for both Intel and AMD," said iSuppi’s principal analyst, Matthew Wilkins. "Pricing trends were influenced by many variables, including the consistent strength in computing markets, Intel’s rapid migration to its new Core 2 architecture microprocessors, and the increasing penetration of multi-core products in the market,"

The Semiconductor Industry Association has also seen a rise, with global sales of semiconductors increasing by five per cent over the same period last year. The SIA also believe that the increase was fuelled by the strong demand for Personal Computers:

"Strong unit demand for PCs has driven a 15 per cent increase in unit sales of microprocessors for the first 10 months of 2007 compared to the same period of 2006," the group said in its monthly report. "At this point, it does not appear that reported declines in consumer confidence or other concerns have affected sales of electronic products."