Wednesday, July 4th 2018

TechPowerUp Processor Survey Results: The Ryzen Effect is Real

Late May 2018, TechPowerUp started a front-page poll asking people which processor they use. 37 days and 16,140 responses later, we have a general idea of where the desktop processor market stands among our readers (predominantly PC gamers and enthusiasts). The top-two responses to our survey were 4th generation Core "Haswell," followed by the preceding two generations ("Ivy Bridge" and "Sandy Bridge"). This speaks volumes as to the hole Intel dug itself into, due to lack of competition from AMD. Processors that are 4-7 years old still run today's gaming PCs, and don't bottleneck today's games, as long as graphics cards keep getting faster (where there has been relatively more competition than the CPU market).

Despite being newer, fewer respondents use 6th generation "Skylake" and 7th generation "Kaby Lake" processors than older generations, because those on something like 4th generation "Haswell" or even "Ivy Bridge," don't see the value in upgrading. But then something changed in 2017 - AMD became competitive again, and forced an increase in CPU core counts across the segment. AMD's Ryzen processor family, including both its 1st and 2nd generations, are better received in the market than Intel's competing 8th generation "Coffee Lake" and 7th generation "Kaby Lake." The data stands to validate the "Ryzen effect," the idea that the introduction of Ryzen disrupted Intel's near-monopoly, increased core-counts, and brought innovation back to the segment.
More of our readers use AMD Ryzen processors than Intel Core "Coffee Lake" and "Kaby Lake." So in the period following Intel's launch of 7th generation "Kaby Lake" (slightly before the launch of Ryzen), more AMD processors were installed among our readers. This of course doesn't mean that there are more AMD users, since we're not counting pre-Ryzen Intel generations such as "Skylake" and "Haswell." This seems to suggest that the "Ryzen effect" is not a myth.
In the time since 2nd generation "Sandy Bridge" (circa 2012), very little innovation has been there from Intel for PC gamers. The mainstream-desktop segment has had to content with no more than 4 cores, and there's been very little IPC increments between generations to warrant upgrades. The result is that there are plenty of people with >4 year old processors, which are fast enough for today's gaming. The data also shows that in a shorter span of time, AMD sold more Ryzen chips.

Of course there are limitations to our survey. The data is sourced from a user poll among our readers, in contrast to the Steam Hardware Survey, which gets its data by probing the hardware of a machine. As we mentioned earlier, our readers are composed of PC gamers and enthusiasts, and hence our data isn't in line with the general market (that includes other use-cases).
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96 Comments on TechPowerUp Processor Survey Results: The Ryzen Effect is Real

#1
Tsukiyomi91
all in all, AMD did good in shaking up Intel's untouched tree. Whenever I see competition, it's a good sign.
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#2
GreiverBlade
didn't vote on that one because i intend to go AMD later ... but i guess i could vote Ryzen in that case :D
Posted on Reply
#3
las
Sadly this don't reflect the real market.
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#4
PanicLake
lasSadly this don't reflect the real market.
Care to share those "real market" numbers you are holding on to?
Posted on Reply
#5
XiGMAKiD
I was considering Ryzen but since I got my Skylake for relatively cheap so I decided to stay with it for as long as it can run 1080p60, maybe 4K60 when $250 GPU can run it smoothly
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#6
las
GinoLatinoCare to share those "real market" numbers you are holding on to?
I sell hardware b2b in Europe and we ship like 85/15 which is in line with Steam HW Survey
Posted on Reply
#7
dj-electric
Surprise surprise, forum and community dwellers would show bigger numbers than expected.
Now test real sales numbers outside.
Posted on Reply
#8
Vya Domus
dj-electricSurprise surprise, forum and community dwellers would show bigger numbers than expected.
What's actually surprising is that TPU users where renowned for their hatred towards AMD. Just the mere fact that some would be wiling to lie in this survey is incredibility telling as to how much things have changed.
Posted on Reply
#9
Caring1
dj-electricSurprise surprise, forum and community dwellers would show bigger numbers than expected.
Now test real sales numbers outside.
Where the sheeple are easily brainwashed and believe it should be Intel Inside..... :rolleyes:
Fortunately forum dwellers are a bit smarter.
Posted on Reply
#10
W1zzard
lasI sell hardware b2b in Europe and we ship like 85/15 which is in line with Steam HW Survey
Around 10-15% is what we expected when we put up this poll, and the results are quite surprising. As mentioned in the article we are of course a more enthusiast focused segment of the market, and mostly consumers, not b2b.

Thanks for the insights.
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#11
dj-electric
Caring1Where the sheeple are easily brainwashed and believe it should be Intel Inside..... :rolleyes:
Fortunately forum dwellers are a bit smarter.
That still doesn't change the facts that many PC stores sell 1 AMD CPU every 15 Intel ones. I know several.
Posted on Reply
#12
ZoneDymo
dj-electricThat still doesn't change the facts that many PC stores sell 1 AMD CPU every 15 Intel ones. I know several.
Well
1. we all still remember that under the table dealing Intel had going on for which they got a fine they have yet to pay sooo there is that.
2. guess stuff still takes more time to adjust
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#13
dj-electric
ZoneDymo1. we all still remember that under the table dealing Intel had going on for which they got a fine they have yet to pay sooo there is that.
I'm talking about stores that have complete freedom to sell whatever they want.
And yes, stuff does take time. Hopefully by Zen2's launch adoption will start rising
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#14
bug
Vya DomusWhat's actually surprising is that TPU users where renowned for their hatred towards AMD. Just the mere fact that some would be wiling to lie in this survey is incredibility telling as to how much things have changed.
Seriously, who actually hates AMD? I've been with Intel since Sandy Bridge, but I still hoped with every release AMD would close the gap. I've said it several times before: even if you've sworn on your fist born never to buy AMD, you should still want a competitive AMD if only to keep prices in check. Hating on company X or Y is just idiotic. So is seeing a company as a saint/devil, but that's another story.
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#15
dj-electric
bugSeriously, who actually hates AMD? I've been with Intel since Sandy Bridge, but I still hoped with every release AMD would close the gap. I've said it several times before: even if you've sworn on your fist born never to buy AMD, you should still want a competitive AMD if only to keep prices in check. Hating on company X or Y is just idiotic. So is seeing a company as a saint/devil, but that's another story.
Cult rule #1 is believe that you're being hated, hunted and discriminated against. It helps the fight, it fuels the anti.
TPU is not "renowned" for such thing. Nobody is waiting with pitchforks in every AMD CPU thread. All is well.
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#16
las
W1zzardAround 10-15% is what we expected when we put up this poll, and the results are quite surprising. As mentioned in the article we are of course a more enthusiast focused segment of the market, and mostly consumers, not b2b.

Thanks for the insights.
It's good to see AMD CPU's are relevant again. Would like some more board options tho.. Especially mATX.. Valuewise B350 + Ryzen 5 1600 was/is really good. B450 + 2600/2600X will be nice.

If Intel does not get 10nm working before or around Zen 2 launch, I could easily see AMD gain much more marketshare :) Higher clocks and improved IPC would attract more gamers/allround users. I use Ryzen 1700 @ 4 GHz in my server - But for my gaming machine fps drops alot in most games compared to my 6700K @ 5 GHz. Not running games at "ultra" tho, so I'm probably more CPU bound than people usually are. I aim for 120+ fps at all times and with Ryzen I saw way more drops and noticeable lower performance, especially in some of my games.
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#17
Dante Uchiha
lasSadly this don't reflect the real market.
Yeah, In the real market the situation looks better.

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#18
R0H1T
Well let's just say AMD is close to their best sales, market share wise, in just over 15 years. The real spike will come when we see an expanded APU lineup, currently I believe they're capacity restrained that's why we just have the 2200/2400G & only a handful mobile APU. With a complete lineup, possibly at 7nm, they'll do even bigger number especially in OEM builds & laptops.
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#19
Unregistered
OEM's and system builders are starting to create massive competition by making similar/higher specced AMD SKU's fwith the same/lower pricing.

The general consumer is only just coming into contact with current AMD components.
#20
bug
Dante UchihaYeah, In the real market the situation looks better.

I keep seeing posts about mindfactory lately. That's a 200 people business. In the US Microcenter alone has over 1,000 employees and they're only doing business in like 15 states. Makes me wonder how relevant mindfactory really is (having never heard of them before).

Also, retail only shows what home users typically buy. Yet even back in Netburst days, businesses still bought Intel in droves. Sadly.
Posted on Reply
#21
R0H1T
bugSeriously, who actually hates AMD? I've been with Intel since Sandy Bridge, but I still hoped with every release AMD would close the gap. I've said it several times before: even if you've sworn on your fist born never to buy AMD, you should still want a competitive AMD if only to keep prices in check. Hating on company X or Y is just idiotic. So is seeing a company as a saint/devil, but that's another story.
Well I've seen people say they wouldn't mind AMD going out of business (before Ryzen) because Intel would continue to innovate & not fleece their customers. Meanwhile in the real world a deca core cost as much as $1700 just last year!
Posted on Reply
#22
Unregistered
R0H1TWell I've seen people say they wouldn't mind AMD going out of business (before Ryzen) because Intel would continue to innovate & not fleece their customers. Meanwhile in the real world a deca core cost as much as $1700 just last year!
Well, threadripper 2 is gonna kick their blue a$$!!

6950x is basically junk now btw, see below. (Although many professional workloads still prefer Intel, but this generally is a good indication for more general "consumer" workloads, not adobe creative suite or whatever).
#23
HD64G
Main point of this survey was to find and point out the change in the cpu market and it surely did so. And all level-minded customers are happy that Intel has again competition in all fronts. And the future is bright for CPU market with 7nm coming probably in the 1H/2019.
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#24
Unregistered
HD64GMain point of this survey was to inpoint the change in market and it surely did so. And all level-minded customers are happy that Intel has again competition in all fronts. And the future is bright for CPU market with 7nm coming probably in the 1H/2019.
Can't wait for 7nm consumer AMD! Hopefully we'll get RX Vega 7nm for (sub-)RRP, awesome cpu's for basically any usecase with up to at least 12 cores for the mainstream AND cheap high refresh FREESYNC 4k displays ranging from at least 75-120Hz panel variaties!
#25
bug
HD64GMain point of this survey was to find and point out the change in the cpu market and it surely did so. And all level-minded customers are happy that Intel has again competition in all fronts. And the future is bright for CPU market with 7nm coming probably in the 1H/2019.
I'm not sure this poll proves anything, we're a small and particular segment of those that buy CPUs.
Competition, yeah, as welcome as ever.
Posted on Reply
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