Intel is still king of the desktop CPU. That’s the clear message from the latest CPU sales figures from industry analyst Canalys. It reports that Intel sold 50 million desktop and notebook CPUs compared to just 8 million by AMD and 6 million by Apple.
Clearly, not all of those chips are high-end models, the likes of which find a place on our best gaming CPU guide, but instead the majority will be lower-end desktop chips and notebook models. While Apple sells plenty of Macbooks, Intel-based Windows laptops still dominate the market, with AMD still only making small inroads in this sector. Again, most of those won’t be best gaming laptop contenders but will be lower-cost and everyday productivity devices for general users.
Other details revealed by the report include that the top Intel-based PC vendors are Lenovo (25%), HP (23%), Dell (19%), Acer (7%), and Asus (6%), which tallies with what Intel executive vice president for client computed Michell Holthaus remarked on when on stage at CES this year. She was joined by the CEOs of Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Microsoft to discuss the burgeoning AI PC market and commented on how the four CEOs represented 60% of the PC market.
AMD’s CPU sales to these vendors mostly followed a similar pattern though notably Dell represented a tiny proportion of AMD sales, despite the likes of its Alienware brand being well-placed to tap into the best gaming CPU status of AMD’s latest processors.
Another take away is that Canalys reports the desktop PC market as being vibrant in APAC (Asia Pacific) and EMEA (Europe & Middle East / Africa) while the PC notebook sector is strong in the Chinese & Latin America markets but for North America it’s the tablet market that has seen growth. There sadly isn’t a sector dedicated to the latest gaming handhelds, though, like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally.
Nevermind what the wider PC market is suggesting, though. What we want to know is which CPU you’ve bought for your gaming PC. Have you opted for the widely recommend AMD Ryzen 7 7800 X3D or has the Intel Core i5 14600K proven more tempting? Be sure to let us know on the PCGameN Facebook or Twitter/X pages.