In comparison, AMD's current-gen Ryzen Hawk Point platform falls short of the next-gen AI PC bar with only 16 TOPS of performance from its NPU. However, AMD's next-gen Strix Point mobile processors are expected to triple the generative AI performance. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips, debuting mid-year, will offer 45 TOPS of performance from its NPU. Intel, however, seems to have a head start, having already shipped five million AI PCs and planning to ship 40 million units by year-end.
Key takeaways:
- Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger unveiled the Lunar Lake processor, the company's next-gen laptop chip, at its Vision 2024 event. The chip provides 100+ TOPS of performance in AI workloads, with 45 of those TOPS coming from the NPU alone.
- Intel's current-gen Meteor Lake chips only provide 10 TOPS of performance from the NPU, falling below the bar for next-gen AI PCs, while Lunar Lake's 45 TOPS from the NPU meets that bar exactly.
- AMD's current-gen Ryzen Hawk Point platform has an NPU with 16 TOPS of performance, which also falls below the bar for next-gen AI PCs. However, AMD's next-gen “Strix Point” mobile processors with XDNA 2 architecture are expected to have up to 3x the generative AI performance of the current generation.
- Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips will debut with 45 TOPS of performance from its NPU (75 TOPS total) in the "middle of the year," setting up a tight race between Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm for the lead in the next generation of AI PCs.