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It's a Ryzen rollercoaster, alright - new figures show Intel struggling to keep pace in the server market as AMD sees a huge surge

January 23, 2026 • 5 min read • views
It's a Ryzen rollercoaster, alright - new figures show Intel struggling to keep pace in the server market as AMD sees a huge surge
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It's a Ryzen rollercoaster, alright - new figures show Intel struggling to keep pace in the server market as AMD sees a huge surge News By Efosa Udinmwen published 23 January 2026

Intel remains the largest vendor but AMD is catching up really fast

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  • AMD desktop shipments rose from 3 million to over 35 million units quarterly
  • Intel’s server share fell from 97% in 2019 to 72% by 2025
  • AMD’s revenue from EPYC grew from under $100 million to $3.5 billion (3400%) in 8 years

Intel’s market share in the desktop segment has declined since 2017, coinciding with the introduction of AMD’s first Ryzen CPUs.

Although Intel regained some ground with its 12th Gen Alder Lake and 13th Gen Raptor Lake chips, reports indicate that performance and thermal issues in later generations pushed many DIY enthusiasts and OEMs to switch to Ryzen processors.

AMD has steadily increased its desktop share to over 30%, while Intel now holds around 60%.

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Between 2017 and 2025, AMD’s desktop unit shipments rose from approximately 3 million to over 35 million per quarter.

In the notebook segment, AMD’s growth has remained limited to approximately 20% share due to competitive ARM-based alternatives.

However, Apple and AMD have indirectly benefited from Intel’s weaker positioning in this market.

Intel’s decline also appears in the server segment, where EPYC processors have driven major market shifts.

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AMD launched the first EPYC family, Naples, in 2017, and early adopters reacted with surprise at its performance and efficiency.

Initial EPYC adoption accounted for roughly 5% of new server deployments in 2017 and grew to 28% by 2025.

The processors gained traction among enterprise customers and cloud hosting providers that sought higher core counts and improved performance per watt.

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Intel’s server unit share dropped from 97% in early 2019 to around 72% in 2025, with revenue share falling to roughly 61%.

AMD’s EPYC now approaches 30% of the server market, up from less than 2% in 2018, according to Mercury Research.

Its revenue share also grew from under $100 million in 2017 to over $3.5 billion in 2025.

Successive Zen architecture updates and the introduction of X3D chips helped drive AMD’s rise.

Cloud storage and cloud hosting environments increasingly favor EPYC processors due to their scalability and energy efficiency.

Intel continues to compete with offerings like the 5th Gen Xeon for AI workloads and claims advantages in certain optimized scenarios.

Yet adoption data shows that its overall unit and revenue shares continue to decline across both client and server markets.

Intel’s server shipments fell from approximately 12 million units in 2019 to under 8.5 million in 2025.

Although Intel remains the largest vendor in both segments, its declining market share points to growing pressure from AMD.

Client CPU markets show slower recovery prospects, while servers and cloud infrastructure continue to shift toward high-core, high-efficiency alternatives.

Observers note that ongoing adoption of EPYC processors in cloud hosting and enterprise servers could further accelerate AMD’s growth, leaving Intel’s long-term lead increasingly uncertain.

Analysts estimate that by 2026, AMD could capture over 35% of the server market if current growth trends continue.

Via Wccf Tech

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TOPICS AMD Intel Efosa UdinmwenEfosa UdinmwenFreelance Journalist

Efosa has been writing about technology for over 7 years, initially driven by curiosity but now fueled by a strong passion for the field. He holds both a Master's and a PhD in sciences, which provided him with a solid foundation in analytical thinking.

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