"Unless we have a major world problem, like a war with Iran, the world economy is improving, and we have a massive number of buyers that have been holding back spending who are now opening their purse strings," said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. "There will be some really interesting competitive drama between vendors but, overall, the chip market looks solid through mid-decade."

He also noted that as the industry ramps up for the highly anticipated launch, chip sales may dip in the PC segment as consumers and enterprises anticipate the new offerings.

"I expect the year to be up, but within it there could be a short-lived additional downturn," said Enderle. "But all segments are picking up. growth is increasing, growth is increasing and servers -- to address increasing and web-hosting needs - are trending up sharply. We also have a major push into the living room with massively enhanced set-top boxes and TVs that will push processors into a new segment."

However, Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, said he's optimistic about the chip market but still cautious.

"I'm cautious given the rising oil prices," Moorhead added. "While not directly related to oil, the more consumers are spending on gasoline, the less they spend on phones, TVs and computers."