Jon Peddie Research (JPR) reports WW Q2 2012 graphics chip shipments grow by 5.5% Y-o-Y (or 2.5% Q-o-Q) to reach 126 million units in a quarter bucking the (so far) negative PC market trend.

Traditionally GPUs are a leading PC market indicator-- after all, one (if not two) GPU goes inside every PC before it ships.

JPR analysis does not include mobile devices, x86 servers or ARM-based devices (tablets, smartbooks, servers).

Total discrete GPU (desktop and notebook) shipments decline by -7% Y-o-Y. The current turmoil within the PC market (a 5 year recession, the popularity of tablets, soft W. European economy) causes change in earlier JPR forecasts-- the analyst now predicts PC graphics CAGR for the 2011-2016 period will reach 6.3%, with total shipments reaching 688m units.

The three leading vendors also see gains in different segments, JPR says. Intel gains share in the desktop (13.6%) and notebook (3.8%) segments, with Sandy Bridge leading growth. Nvidia gains in the notebook discrete segment (6%) while AMD gains in the discrete desktop category (2.5%).

Intel leads the overall graphics Q2 2012 market, with 62% share. AMD (22.7%) and Nvidia (14.8%) follow.

Go Graphics Shipments in Q2 2012 Increased 2.5% Q-o-Q, 5.5% Y-o-Y (JPR)