Intel's Atom Largely Responsible for Worldwide Processor Market Growth

Netbook manufacturers like Asus, MSI, Acer, and all the rest aren't the only ones benefiting from the recent craze in low power, ultraportable notebooks. Underneath the vast majority of netbooks and low-cost desktops sits an Intel Atom processor, demand for which has contributed to record growth in the processor market in Q3 2008.

According to a new report by the IDC, overall CPU shipments for PCs and servers jumped nearly 16 percent in the third quarter compared to one year ago, just over half of which is directly attributable to Intel Atom processor shipments. Without the demand for Intel's Atom processor, IDC says the market would have only grown 7.5 percent.

Whether or not the numbers present a wake-up call to AMD remains to be seen. Intel's rival chip maker has previously stated it would take a wait-and-see approach to the low-cost netbook market, saying "we are watching that segment rather than playing in it, but as it matures we'll see where it goes." But AMD might not want to wait too long. Helped in part by demand for the Atom processor, Intel increased its market share in processor vendor shares by 1.1 percent earning 80.8 percent of the market, while AMD finished with 18.5 percent, representing a loss of 1.2 percent.

Hit the jump and tell us if you think AMD should be paying more attention to the netbook market, or continuing to focus on being competitive on the desktop front.

Image Credit: Intel