JPL warns that this was not just a quarterly blip. Year on year, the entire GPU market dipped 1.6 per cent, with desktop graphics tumbling 16 per cent and notebook GPUs down 10 per cent. CPU shipments didn’t fare much better, dropping to 61.9 million units in Q1, a quarterly dip of 0.3 per cent and a 14 per cent slide from the last quarter alone.

Peddie noted that the overall GPU attach rate in PCs crept up slightly to 111 per cent, an improvement of 2.1 per cent, but it’s hardly a cause for celebration given the wider slump. Discrete GPU penetration in PCs is expected to hover around 15 per cent over the next five years, which doesn’t suggest a major boom in standalone graphics hardware.

JPR expects the GPU market to shrink at a compound annual rate of 6.1 per cent through 2028, ending with an installed base of 2.8 billion units. In other words, don’t expect a roaring comeback any time soon.

The market share shuffle saw Nvidia walking off with a 3.6 per cent gain, while AMD and Chipzilla both dropped, by 1.6 and 2.1 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, CPU unit shipments from AMD and Intel both took double-digit quarterly dives, down 12 and 14 per cent respectively.

JPR president Jon Peddie said: “The PC market is caught in the crosswinds, some might say crossfire, of Trump’s trade wars. Some PC suppliers have pulled back or held orders, while a few have increased orders hoping to lock in prices."

Peddie warned that such pre-ordering strategies might offer short-term relief but will almost certainly depress sales in later quarters.

“We think overall PC sales and, subsequently, client PC GPU sales will be down for the year,” he said.

In other words, the GPU gravy train has come off the tracks, and if Peddie’s predictions hold, it won’t be getting back on them any time soon.