Graphics card sales are defying all forecasts. In the second quarter of 2026, the global market for dedicated graphics cards for desktop PCs reached 12.5 million units shipped. And yes, we’re talking about units sold, not prices.
Contrary to popular belief… customers are buying even more graphics cards
It took several readings—and even a pinch—to be sure I’d understood the analysis from Jon Peddie Research correctly. In the second quarter of 2026, the global market for dedicated desktop PC graphics cards reached 12.5 million units shipped. This volume represents a 10% increase from the previous quarter and a 1.1% increase year-over-year. This is obviously quite a surprise—and not exactly good news for the PC industry as a whole. But all things considered, the figures are hard to dispute: even as GPU prices continue to climb and memory prices keep skyrocketing, gamers and PC enthusiasts seem to be continuing to upgrade their hardware, with particularly strong demand in the high-end segment.
Fewer purchases of complete PCs, but more GPUupgrades
Another figure to consider in this analysis is the adoption rate of dedicated graphics cards for desktop PCs, which reached 89%, up 23% from the previous quarter. At the same time, shipments of desktop PC processors fell to approximately 14 million units, a 10.5% decline over three months and a 33% decline year-over-year. This contrast shows that demand is not coming solely from new builds. A significant portion of sales likely corresponds to upgrades of existing machines. In other words, many gamers are keeping their existing platforms but replacing their GPUs. Given these circumstances, there’s no need to keep you in suspense… The big winner is Nvidia, which captured 90% of the 12.5 million graphics cards sold.
Rising Graphics Card Sales: Why Is This Still a Cause for Concern?
The figures show that rising prices have not yet dampened demand. In fact, the opposite is true for the second quarter of 2026. The market has reached its highest level in several years, while Nvidia chips power roughly nine out of every ten graphics cards sold. Under these circumstances, how could brands possibly decide to change their strategy? Finally, for GPU manufacturers, the signal can also be interpreted another way: the budget allocated to graphics cards continues to rise… At the expense of other components, particularly processors and motherboards. Of course, one could also argue that this second-quarter spike does not reflect a trend, but is perhaps the result of a general rush by the market to buy before another price hike…
Finally, since we’re talking about prices—with volumes on the rise and prices as sky-high as they are—revenue is literally skyrocketing. Are we racing toward an “ultra-premiumization” of the PC?
