The drop-off in demand for personal computers is hitting the graphics chip market hard. Jon Peddie Research has issued a report showing that total GPU shipments fell to 72.4 million in the fourth quarter — down 2 percent year-over-year and 35 percent from the third to the fourth quarter. This is the first time fourth-quarter shipments have fallen sequentially since 2000. Maybe people are buying netbooks and smartphones rather than PCs. (Check out the chart for market share by clicking on the image. Nvidia and VIA eked out some gains.)
