Fourth quarter last year saw a deep plunge in global shipments of graphics processors. But the worst seems to be impending. The industry should be prepared to overcome the worst that is apprehended for the first half of this year. Jon Peddie, president of Tiburon Calif.-based research firm said, "We're forecasting a strong Q3 and Q4 for 2009 and bracing for what will probably be the worst Q1 and Q2 decline we've seen since the Internet bubble burst of 2000."

During the fourth quarter of 2008 total shipments of GPUs (Graphic Processing Unit) were 72.35 million, a decrease by 28.5 percent as compared to 100.5 million GPUs shipped in the same quarter last year. During the third quarter of 2008, 111.26 million units were shipped, a 34 percent sequential quarter-to-quarter drop.

All the major manufacturers had to bear the brunt of the market slump, brought on by dismal sales in the PC industry. VIA Technologies was the top most sufferer with a nearly 72% year-to-year drop; Intel shipments fell the least at nearly 21%; Advanced Micro Devices, 24%; Nvidia, 34%; Matrox, 46%; and SiS, 61%.