NVIDIA is still the clear powerhouse in the discrete graphics card business, but the latest numbers show AMD and Intel are slowly carving out a bit more space. A new Q3 2025 add-in board (AIB) market share report from Jon Peddie Research (JPR) highlights a market that’s growing again quarter over quarter, even as buyers and retailers react to pricing pressure and lingering tariff uncertainty.
In Q3 2025, discrete GPUs on add-in boards generated an estimated $8.8 billion in revenue and reached roughly 12 million units shipped. That’s a 2.8% increase compared to the previous quarter, signaling steady demand despite a quieter period with no major new GPU launches.
Looking at market share, AMD posted the biggest gain. Its share rose by about 0.8 percentage points, bringing AMD to 7% of the discrete GPU market in Q3 2025. Intel also edged upward, increasing by around 0.4 percentage points to reach 1%. NVIDIA, meanwhile, saw a notable slip of about 1.2 percentage points, falling from 94% to 92%. While that decline may sound dramatic on paper, NVIDIA remains overwhelmingly dominant in discrete GPUs—still controlling more than nine out of every ten AIB graphics card shipments.
The report also points to broader desktop market conditions that help explain the shifting dynamics. The attach rate for AIB cards in desktop PCs was reported at 162% for the quarter, a slight decline of 0.6% compared to last quarter. Desktop PC CPU market activity was mixed: down 7.6% year over year, but up 3.9% quarter over quarter. JPR also notes desktop CPU shipments climbing to 19.2 million units in Q3 2025.
Even though shipments improved quarter to quarter, they didn’t meet the typical seasonal momentum. Total AIB shipments increased 2.8% from Q2 to about 12.02 million units, which is below the 10-year historical average growth rate of 11.4% for this quarter. The report suggests Q2 2025 was unusually strong, likely boosted by panic buying tied to pending tariffs—pulling some demand forward and leaving Q3 looking more modest by comparison.
JPR’s longer-term outlook remains bullish on the installed base of discrete graphics cards. At the current pace, the firm estimates the installed base of AIBs could reach 152 million units by 2029, with discrete GPU penetration at 120%.
The bigger story heading into the end of 2025 may be pricing rather than product launches. Q2 2025 appears to have been the standout quarter partly because price hikes and tariff concerns encouraged faster purchases. Now, despite the lack of brand-new GPU releases, multiple companies have reportedly been raising prices—even in situations where some cards have been seen selling below MSRP at major retailers. If higher prices become more widespread and fully hit retail in early 2026 as expected, Q4 2025 could see another wave of panic buying as shoppers try to lock in better deals before increases become the norm.
Overall, Q3 2025 reinforces the same theme: NVIDIA is still out in front by a massive margin, but AMD and Intel are finding incremental opportunities—especially when market conditions push buyers to reconsider price-to-performance and availability.
