Advanced Micro Devices managed to boost its market share a bit in the third quarter of the year, but not because Intel decreased its presence in the market of microprocessors, but because the remaining suppliers of x86 central processing units, Via Technologies and Transmeta Corp. decreased their share.

“Clearly, there are a lot of different dynamics to what is going on in the market. There is really strong consumer demand and there are some indications that we might be at the beginning of a corporate refresh cycle,” said Dean McCarron, the head of Mercury Research.

Mercury Research, a market tracking firm, said that shipments of x86 central processing units for desktops, laptops and servers increased by 15% in Q3 2007 with mobile microprocessors leading the market with 26% sequential sales growth. The numbers are inline with estimates by IDC market consulting firm. Even though in general the split between AMD, Intel and other markets of chips did not change substantially, it is remarkable that the Sunnyvale, California-based actually managed to grab a part of the market.

In the Q3 2007 the world’s largest maker of x86 microprocessors Intel Corp. shipped 76.2% of chips, whereas Advanced Micro Devices commanded 23.3% of the market. The remaining companies, such as Transmeta Corp. and Via Technologies, shipped 0.5% of all x86 CPUs in Q3 2007, reports eWeek web-site citing figures from Mercury Research.

Existing trends demonstrate that the fight between the two largest makers of central processing units poses a huge threat to smaller players, particularly to Via Technologies, which primarily targets niche markets as well as low-end desktops and notebooks. It is also quite remarkable that without having high0end products in the lineup AMD not only managed to keep its market share flat, but even increased it a bit compared to Q2. The reason for that that may be microprocessors tailored for particular customers and markets, which AMD released during the quarter.