Intel shares Microsoft’s “AI PC” requirements, such as adding a Copilot key, and expands its AI PC Acceleration Program to help developers and hardware vendors 現金筆電收購

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esents tremendous opportunities to introduce new hardware and software features to the tried-and-true PC platform, but the definition of an AI PC has been a bit elusive. Numerous companies, including Intel, AMD, Apple, and soon Qualcomm with its X Elite chips, have developed silicon with purpose-built AI accelerators residing on-chip alongside the standard CPU and GPU cores. However, each has its own take on what constitutes an AI PC.

Microsoft’s and Intel’s new co-developed definition states that an AI PC will come with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), CPU, and GPU that support Microsoft’s Copilot and come with a physical Copilot key directly on the keyboard that replaces the second Windows key on the right side of the keyboard. Copilot is an AI chatbot powered by an LLM that is currently being rolled into newer versions of Windows 11. It is currently powered by cloud-based services, but the company reportedly plans to enable local processing to boost performance and responsiveness. This definition means that the existing Meteor Lake and Ryzen laptops that have shipped without a Copilot key actually don’t meet Microsoft’s official criteria, though we expect Microsoft’s new definition to spur nearly universal adoption of the key.

While Intel and Microsoft are now promoting this jointly developed definition of an AI PC, Intel itself has a simpler definition that says it requires a CPU, GPU, and NPU, each with its own AI-specific acceleration capabilities. Intel envisions shuffling AI workloads between these three units based on the type of compute needed, with the NPU providing exceptional power efficiency for lower-intensity AI workloads like photo, audio, and video processing while delivering faster response times than cloud-based services, thus boosting battery life and performance while ensuring data privacy by keeping data on the local machine. This also frees the CPU and GPU for other tasks. The GPU and CPU will step in for heavier AI tasks, a must as having multiple AI models running concurrently could overwhelm the comparatively limited NPU. If needed, the NPU and GPU can even run an LLM in tandem.

AI models also have a voracious appetite for memory capacity and speed, with the former enabling larger, more accurate models while the latter delivers more performance. AI models come in all shapes and sizes, and Intel says that memory capacity will become a key challenge when running LLMs, with 16GB being required in some workloads, and even 32GB may be necessary depending on the types of models used.

Naturally, that could add quite a bit of cost, particularly in laptops, but Microsoft has stopped short of defining a minimum memory requirement yet. Naturally, it will continue to work through different configuration options with OEMs. The goalposts will be different for consumer-class hardware as opposed to workstations and enterprise gear, but we should expect to see more DRAM on entry-level AI PCs than the standard fare — we may finally bid adieu to 8GB laptops.(Image credit: Intel)Intel says that AI will enable a host of new features, but many of the new use cases are undefined because we remain in the early days of AI adoption. Chatbots and personal assistants trained locally on users’ data are a logical starting point, and Nvidia’s Chat with RTX and AMD’s chatbot alternative are already out there, but AI models running on the NPU can also make better use of the existing hardware and sensors present on the PC.

For instance, coupling gaze detection with power-saving features in OLED panels can enable lower refresh rates when acceptable, or switch the screen off when the user leaves the PC, thus saving battery life. Video conferencing also benefits from techniques like background segmentation, and moving that workload from the CPU to the NPU can save up to 2.5W. That doesn’t sound like much, but Intel says it can result in an extra hour of battery life in some cases.

Other uses include eye gaze correction, auto-framing, background blurring, background noise reduction, audio transcription, and meeting notes, some of which are being built to run on the NPU with direct support from companies like Zoom, Webex, and Google Meet, among others. Companies are already working on coding assistants that learn from your own code base, and others are developing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) LLMs that can be trained on the users’ data, which is then used as a database to answer search queries, thus providing more specific and accurate information.

Other workloads include image generation along with audio and video editing, such as the features being worked into the Adobe Creative Cloud software suite. Security is also a big focus, with AI-powered anti-phishing software already in the works, for instance. Intel’s own engineers have also developed a sign-language-to-text application that uses video detection to translate sign language, showing that there are many unthought-of applications that can deliver incredible benefits to users.The Core Ultra Meteor Lake Dev Kit(Image credit: Intel)The Intel dev kit consists of an 現金筆電收購asus NUC Pro 14 with a Core Ultra Meteor Lake processor, but Intel hasn’t shared the detailed specs yet. We do know that the systems will come in varying form factors. Every system will also come with a pre-loaded software stack, programming tools, compilers, and the drivers needed to get up and running.

Installed tools include Cmake, Python, and Open Vino, among others. Intel also supports ONNX, DirectML, and WebNN, with more coming. Intel’s OpenVino model zoo currently has over 280 open-source and optimized pre-trained models. It also has 173 for ONNX and 150 models on Hugging Face, and the most popular models have over 300,000 downloads per month.Expanding the EcosystemImage 1 of 4(Image credit: Intel)(Image credit: Intel)(Image credit: Intel)(Image credit: Intel)Intel is already working with its top 100 ISVs, like Zoom, Adobe and Autodesk, to integrate AI acceleration into their applications. Now it wants to broaden its developer base to smaller software and hardware developers — even those who work independently.

To that end, Intel will provide developers with its new dev kit at the conferences it has scheduled around the globe, with the first round of developer kits being handed out here in Taipei. Intel will also make dev kits available for those who can’t attend the events, but it hasn’t yet started that part of the program due to varying restrictions in different countries and other logistical challenges.

These kits will be available at a subsidized cost, meaning Intel will provide a deep discount, but the company hasn’t shared details on pricing yet. There are also plans to give developers access to dev kits based on Intel’s future platforms.

Aside from providing hardware to the larger dev houses, Intel is also planning to seed dev kits to universities to engage with computer science departments. Intel has a knowledge center with training videos, documentation, collateral, and even sample code on its website to support the dev community.

Intel is engaging with Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) that will develop the next wave of devices for AI PCs. The company offers 24/7 access to Intel’s testing and process resources, along with early reference hardware, through its Open Labs initiative in the US, China, and Taiwan. Intel already has 100+ IHVs that have developed 200 components during the pilot phase.

ISVs and IHVs interested in joining Intel’s PC Acceleration Program can join via the webpage. We’re here at the event and will follow up with updates as needed.Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom’s Hardware NewsletterGet Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Paul AlcornSocial Links NavigationManaging Editor: News and Emerging TechPaul Alcorn is the Managing Editor: News and Emerging Tech for Tom’s Hardware US. He also writes news and reviews on CPUs, storage, and enterprise hardware.

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10 Comments

Comment from the forums

hotaru251

So by their own slide they basically say only intel PC’s can be ai pcs? As doesn’t say a system w/ this stuff but specifically an intel one.

Reply

usertests

hotaru251 said:So by their own slide they basically say only intel PC’s can be ai pcs? As doesn’t say a system w/ this stuff but specifically an intel one.AMD and Qualcomm can meet these requirements.

On Intel’s side, maybe Intel Core Ultra is the only brand that qualifies (for now).

Reply

-Fran-

So Microsoft ready to screw AMD yet again? XD

AMD, come on… Haven’t you ever heard of “fool me once…”?

Help Valve grow SteamOS and Microsoft will come begging your way.

Regards.

Reply

cknobman

Intel better start focusing on ditching x86 or at least diversifying and limiting its use cases.

In anything other than the most demanding workloads ARM is taking over fast.

So Intels AI will be irrelevant to most regular consumers who are buying ARM based PC’s.

Reply

NeoMorpheus

-Fran- said:So Microsoft ready to screw AMD yet again? XD

AMD, come on… Haven’t you ever heard of “fool me once…”?

Help Valve grow SteamOS and Microsoft will come begging your way.

Regards.Came here just to say the same thing.

I honestly thing that MS is waiting for intel to have a better gpu so they can dump AMD on the next Xbox.

AMD needs to stop being nice and start being more selfish.

Reply

usertests

If you guys are not joking and are taking the Intel marketing slide at face value, then you can’t be saved.

Reply

TerryLaze

cknobman said:Intel better start focusing on ditching x86 or at least diversifying and limiting its use cases.

In anything other than the most demanding workloads ARM is taking over fast.

So Intels AI will be irrelevant to most regular consumers who are buying ARM based PC’s.ARM has been “taking over fast” since the 60ies…
Also I don’t know if you were sleeping the last years but miniPCs and handhelds with x86 have practically flooded the market, so x86 is taking over a good chunk of what used to be an arm only domain.

Reply

Roland Of Gilead

Would it be possible to have an NPU on an add in card like PCIE to enable it’s use on those older

▲ACER Swift Go。（圖／燦坤）

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