AMD lost market share to arch-rival Intel in 2006, but the smaller chip-maker nonetheless managed to make small gains in the desktop and laptop segments, the latest figures from market watcher Mercury Research reveal.

Intel came out of 2006 with 77.7 per cent of the x86 CPU market, up from 76.3 per cent. Its 1.4 percentage point gain matched a 1.4 percentage point decline in AMD's x86 market share, which fell from 2005's 23.7 per cent to 22.3 per cent.

Focusing on Q4 2006, Intel's share was 74.4 per cent to AMD's 25.3 per cent. AMD's share of the desktop market was 29.1 per cent, up from 26.6 per cent a year ago. Intel's share fell from 72.4 per cent to 70.4 per cent.

The same pattern could be seen in the laptop market: Intel's quarterly share was down year on year, from 83.2 per cent to 80.6 percent, while AMD's was up, from 16.8 per cent to 19.4 per cent.

Mercury Research keeps its numbers close to its chest - the figures published here come via AG Edwards analyst David Wong who cited Mercury's results in a letter to investors. Wong's letter was relayed by DowJones' MarketWatch. Alas, it didn't include server market statistics, but AMD's gains in other segments and its overall market share dip suggest a drop in its share of the server chip business.