A laptop graphics card topped Valve’s hardware survey for the first time in June 2026, with the RTX 4060 Laptop GPU at 4.02% of surveyed systems. The shipment data underneath tells a stranger story: desktop graphics shipments rose 11% year over year while desktop PC shipments themselves fell roughly 25%, meaning the shrinking pool of desktop buyers is attaching discrete cards at a far higher rate. Nvidia holds 90% of the add-in board market, and the share it lost last quarter went to Intel rather than AMD. The figures below come from Jon Peddie Research quarterly shipment data and Valve’s Steam Hardware Survey.
TL;DR
- PC GPU shipments reached 70.3 million units in Q1 2026, down 7.5% quarter over quarter (Jon Peddie Research)
- That was up 2% year over year despite the sequential decline (Jon Peddie Research)
- Add-in board shipments were 11.82 million units, down just 0.6% sequentially (Jon Peddie Research)
- Nvidia holds 90% of add-in board shipments, AMD 8%, Intel 1% (Jon Peddie Research)
- Desktop graphics shipments rose 11% year over year (Jon Peddie Research)
- Notebook GPU shipments fell 1.5% year over year (Jon Peddie Research)
- Desktop PC shipments dropped roughly 25% year over year (Jon Peddie Research)
- Overall GPU attach rate reached 123%, up 5.6% sequentially (Jon Peddie Research)
- Add-in board attach rate reached 76% (Jon Peddie Research)
- CPU shipments were 57.6 million, down 14% sequentially and 7.2% year over year (Jon Peddie Research)
- The RTX 4060 Laptop GPU leads Steam at 4.02%, a first for a mobile part (Valve)
- RTX 40 and 50 series combined remain under 30% of discrete GPUs on Steam (Valve)
- GPUs are forecast at negative 3% CAGR from 2025 to 2029 (Jon Peddie Research)
1. Shipments: The Quarter in Units
Sequential declines in the first quarter are normal, but the composition this time was not. PC GPU shipments hit 70.3 million units, down 7.5% quarter over quarter yet up 2% year over year, while CPU shipments fell harder at 14% sequentially and 7.2% annually. GPUs outgrowing CPUs on an annual basis is the clearest single indicator of where PC spending has shifted.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total PC GPU shipments, Q1 2026 | 70.3 million | Jon Peddie Research |
| Change quarter over quarter | down 7.5% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Change year over year | up 2% | Jon Peddie Research |
| CPU shipments, Q1 2026 | 57.6 million | Jon Peddie Research |
| CPU change quarter over quarter | down 14% | Jon Peddie Research |
| CPU change year over year | down 7.2% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Add-in board shipments | 11.82 million | Jon Peddie Research |
| Add-in board change versus Q4 2025 | down 0.6% | Jon Peddie Research |
| GPU to CPU shipment ratio | approx. 1.22 to 1 | Derived from JPR figures |
The derived ratio is arithmetic on the two reported totals and reflects that many systems ship with both integrated and discrete graphics. Source: Jon Peddie Research Q1 2026 PC GPU shipments.
2. Discrete Board Market Share
The add-in board segment is where the competitive question actually lives, and it has stopped being competitive. Nvidia holds 90% of discrete board shipments against AMD’s 8% and Intel’s 1%, and the roughly one point Nvidia gave up last quarter went to Intel rather than AMD. A challenger holding 8% after multiple generations of price-competitive products is a structural result, not a cyclical one.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nvidia add-in board share | 90% | Jon Peddie Research |
| AMD add-in board share | 8% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Intel add-in board share | 1% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Nvidia share change from prior quarter | down approx. 1 point | Jon Peddie Research |
| Beneficiary of that shift | Intel | Jon Peddie Research |
| Total add-in board units | 11.82 million | Jon Peddie Research |
| Nvidia implied units | approx. 10.6 million | Derived from JPR figures |
| AMD implied units | approx. 0.95 million | Derived from JPR figures |
Implied unit rows are share applied to the reported total and are not separately disclosed. Component context sits in our PC gaming hardware statistics. Source: Igor’s Lab on Q1 2026 GPU shipments.
3. Desktop and Notebook Went Opposite Ways
The divergence between form factors is the quarter’s most useful finding. Desktop graphics shipments rose 11% year over year while notebook GPUs fell 1.5%, and desktop PC shipments themselves dropped roughly 25%. Those three numbers can only coexist if the remaining desktop buyers are overwhelmingly enthusiasts and workstation purchasers who attach a discrete card, which is exactly what the attach rate confirms.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop graphics shipments, year over year | up 11% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Notebook GPU shipments, year over year | down 1.5% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Desktop PC shipments, year over year | down approx. 25% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Desktop PC shipments, quarter over quarter | down approx. 24% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Add-in board attach rate | 76% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Change in add-in board attach rate | up 33.2% quarter over quarter | Jon Peddie Research |
| Overall GPU attach rate | 123% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Change in overall attach rate | up 5.6% quarter over quarter | Jon Peddie Research |
An overall attach rate above 100% simply reflects systems carrying both an integrated and a discrete GPU, so it is a mix indicator rather than a percentage of machines. Broader shipment context sits in our PC market statistics. Source: TweakTown on Q1 2026 desktop GPU share.
4. What Gamers Actually Own
Shipment share describes what is selling; Valve’s survey describes what people have, and the two diverge sharply. The RTX 4060 Laptop GPU leads at 4.02%, the first time a mobile part has topped the chart, ahead of the desktop RTX 3060 at 3.88%. No single card exceeds 5%, which is the real headline: the installed base is extraordinarily fragmented.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| RTX 4060 Laptop GPU share, June 2026 | 4.02% | Valve Steam Hardware Survey |
| RTX 3060 share | 3.88% | Valve |
| RTX 4060 share | 3.65% | Valve |
| RTX 5070 share | 3.29% | Valve |
| RTX 3050 share | 3.23% | Valve |
| DirectX 12 capable systems | 91.74% | Valve |
| RTX 40 and 50 series combined share of discrete GPUs | under 30% | Valve |
| RTX 3060 share in April 2026 | 3.99% | Valve |
| RTX 4060 Laptop share in April 2026 | 3.78% | Valve |
The April to June swap between the 3060 and the 4060 Laptop is small enough to sit within normal survey drift, so treat the leadership change as a milestone rather than a step change. Platform context sits in our Steam statistics. Sources: Valve Steam Hardware Survey and XDA on the laptop GPU milestone.
5. The Forecast Is Flat to Down
Unit forecasts for this segment have been negative for a while, and the latest is no different. Jon Peddie Research projects a compound annual growth rate of negative 3% for GPUs from 2025 to 2029, with discrete GPU penetration settling around 12% of the PC market. Declining units alongside rising average selling prices has been the pattern since the crypto era ended, and nothing in the Q1 data breaks it.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| GPU CAGR forecast, 2025 to 2029 | negative 3% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Forecast discrete GPU penetration of PC market | 12% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Q1 2026 position versus historical average | still below | Jon Peddie Research |
| Q1 seasonality | decline is normal for the quarter | Jon Peddie Research |
| Total PC GPU units, Q1 2026 | 70.3 million | Jon Peddie Research |
| Add-in board units, Q1 2026 | 11.82 million | Jon Peddie Research |
| Add-in boards as share of all PC GPUs | approx. 17% | Derived from JPR figures |
| Handheld and alternative form factors | tracked separately | Jon Peddie Research |
The 12% penetration forecast is the number worth remembering: even in a healthy market, discrete graphics is a minority attachment to the PC install base, not its default configuration. Portable form factor context sits in our handheld gaming statistics. Sources: KitGuru on the JPR Q1 report and Digital Engineering on Q1 GPU shipments.
Summary: The GPU Market by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PC GPU shipments, Q1 2026 | 70.3 million | Jon Peddie Research |
| Change quarter over quarter | down 7.5% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Change year over year | up 2% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Add-in board shipments | 11.82 million | Jon Peddie Research |
| Add-in board change sequentially | down 0.6% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Nvidia add-in board share | 90% | Jon Peddie Research |
| AMD add-in board share | 8% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Intel add-in board share | 1% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Desktop graphics, year over year | up 11% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Notebook GPUs, year over year | down 1.5% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Desktop PC shipments, year over year | down approx. 25% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Add-in board attach rate | 76% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Overall GPU attach rate | 123% | Jon Peddie Research |
| CPU shipments | 57.6 million | Jon Peddie Research |
| CPU change year over year | down 7.2% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Most common GPU on Steam | RTX 4060 Laptop, 4.02% | Valve |
| Second most common | RTX 3060, 3.88% | Valve |
| Third most common | RTX 4060, 3.65% | Valve |
| DirectX 12 capable systems | 91.74% | Valve |
| RTX 40 and 50 series share of discrete | under 30% | Valve |
| GPU CAGR forecast to 2029 | negative 3% | Jon Peddie Research |
| Forecast discrete penetration | 12% of PC market | Jon Peddie Research |
Methodology and Sources
- Shipment totals, vendor shares, attach rates, form factor splits, CPU comparisons, and the forecast come from Jon Peddie Research’s Q1 2026 PC graphics report (Jon Peddie Research), with add-in board detail as reported by outlets covering the same release (Igor’s Lab, TweakTown, KitGuru, Digital Engineering).
- Installed base figures come from Valve’s Steam Hardware and Software Survey for June 2026 (Valve), with April 2026 comparisons from contemporaneous coverage (The FPS Review, XDA Developers).
- Data watch: shipment share and installed base are different measurements and routinely disagree. Jon Peddie counts units shipped into the channel in a quarter, which leads actual consumer purchases; Valve’s survey samples systems that opt into a prompt and skews toward active gamers, undercounting office and workstation machines entirely. Neither is a measure of revenue, and Nvidia’s revenue share is higher than its unit share because its product mix sits at higher price points. Valve’s survey has historically shown sharp month-to-month swings attributed to sampling changes, particularly in regions with high internet cafe usage, so single-month movements under roughly half a point should not be treated as real. The negative 3% CAGR is a forecast, not an outcome. Rows marked as derived are arithmetic on reported figures.
- Last updated: August 1, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly as Jon Peddie Research publishes new shipment data and Valve refreshes its hardware survey.