Here’s an interesting bit of news: AI heavyweight NVIDIA enters Windows on ARM field, as discussion of its N1 and N1X SoC offerings proliferate. These stories are popping today (Jan 20) but rumors have apparently been flying since last year. I got my info from WinBuzzer, but other key stories from TechRadar, DigiTimes, Tom’s Hardware, and more, are also worth a peek. Qualcomm’s exclusivity looks ready to expire, and x86/AMD64 CPUs likely to get even more competition soon.
As NVIDIA Enters Windows on ARM Field, Here’s What’s Known
The initial offering involves two “system-on-a-chip” (SoC) architectures known as N1 and N1X. According to WinBuzzer (confirmed at other sources) “the N1 designation likely targets desktops while N1X focuses on notebooks…” Deeper technical details are still emerging but here are some broad possibilities:
- 20-core ARM CPU designed with MediaTek
- 10 Cortex-X925 performance cores
- 10 Cortex-A725 efficiency cores
- NVIDIA Blackwell GPU
- Built on TSMC 3mm process
- NPU delivers up to 1000 TOPS for AI
- Includes 128GB RAM shared between CPU & GPU
That certain raises the bar from where things stand with either generation of Snapdragon X processors (shipping X1 variant since last year, X2 planned for Q126 delivery).
Things Could Get Interesting…
The big news here, of course, is that NVIDIA is building in GPU capabilities that match their current discrete and laptop 5070 class devices. Qualcomm’s offerings have delivered sufficient computing power and astounding battery life. But their Adreno GPUs are underpowered for serious gaming, 3D modeling, simulations, and other display-intensive workloads.
Looks like NVIDIA is throwing down a gauntlet in the Windows marketplace. This should make life interesting for everybody, including prospective buyers, but also intel, AMD, Qualcomm. The biggest PC OEMs are already on board. Look out Windows-World, here comes another 800lb gorilla!
