Semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has something to celebrate after seeing its share of the x86 processor chip market rise following the launch of its new Ryzen microchips.

The new data comes from PassMark Software’s CPU benchmarking service, which logs thousands of benchmark results every single day. PassMark’s data shows that interest in AMD’s microprocessors had been in a steady decline since 2006 as it struggled to keep up with its main rival Intel Corp. Last year, Intel had a market share of just over 80 percent, compared with just 18 percent for longtime rival AMD.

But AMD is bouncing back as its made its biggest market share gain in almost 11 years in 2017, rising from 18.1 percent in the first quarter of this year to 26.2 at the beginning of the third quarter. Meanwhile, Intel’s market share has fallen to 73.8 percent.

There are caveats to the data. PassMark only logs data from x86 microprocessor benchmarks, which is a market that’s almost completely dominated by Intel and AMD. It also should be noted that PassMark’s data doesn’t refer to sales, though the tests do indicate much higher levels of interest in the new Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 microprocessors that AMD launched earlier this year, which have been the subject of mostly positive reviews.

AMD will take heart from the fact that its marketing efforts seem to be paying off. The company has been pushing its Ryzen chips’ capabilities hard with a series of launches, leaks and demonstrations of its new microchip technology in 2017. AMD rolled out its Ryzen 7 series in March, followed by the Ryzen 5 chip in April. This summer, it also plans to roll out the Ryzen 3 microprocessor, its budget chip line.

It took years, but it appears that AMD’s Ryzen chips have had a real impact in making the CPU market more competitive. If the trend continues AMD may even start dreaming of a return to the days of the mid-2000s when it was almost neck-and-neck with Intel.

Image: AMD/Facebook