Nvidia is no longer thinking only about GPUs. The company that powers some of the most powerful gaming PCs in the world is now reportedly preparing to take on the laptop processor market in a much bigger way. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Nvidia is working on a new system on chip that combines a CPU, GPU and NPU into a single package for consumer laptops. If everything goes as planned, we could see machines from brands like Dell and Lenovo running on this new silicon within months. That could shake up a Windows laptop market long dominated by Intel, AMD and more recently, Qualcomm.
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Nvidia to partner with MediaTek?
Nvidia is reportedly building this new chip in partnership with MediaTek. The processor could be based on Arm architecture, similar to what we see in Apple Silicon Macs and Qualcomm Snapdragon X laptops. This is a shift from the traditional x86 architecture used by Intel and AMD in most Windows machines today. The upcoming chips are expected to be branded N1 and N1X.
Unlike gaming laptops that rely on dedicated GeForce RTX graphics, these new systems are said to target thin and light designs. The focus will likely be long battery life with capable integrated graphics. Arm powered laptops from Qualcomm and Apple have already shown that all day battery life is possible without sacrificing everyday performance. The big question is graphics power. Nvidia has deep experience with GPUs, so expectations will be high. If the integrated GPU inside this Arm chip can handle modern AAA games at decent settings, it could solve one of the biggest weaknesses of current Arm based Windows laptops, which often struggle with gaming performance and compatibility.
Intel and Nvidia explore x86 future
Interestingly, Nvidia is not limiting itself to Arm. Another Wall Street Journal report suggests that the company is also working with Intel on a separate x86 chip. In this design, Intel would provide the CPU cores while Nvidia integrates its own GPU and NPU technology. The goal appears to be to deliver strong graphics and AI performance without the need for a separate dedicated GPU.
Now for years, Windows laptop buyers mainly chose between Intel and AMD. Qualcomm added a third path with Snapdragon X on Arm. Now Nvidia is preparing to enter with both Arm and x86 solutions. If Dell and Lenovo do adopt these chips soon, the Windows laptop space could look very different by the end of the year.
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