Nvidia and AMD to Launch ARM Processors for PCs in 2025
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Reuters reports that NVIDIA is secretly making new chips for PCs, aiming to compete with the CPU giants.
Reuters sources say that NVIDIA is working on PC processors using ARM architecture. These NVIDIA CPUs are expected to work with Windows, which Microsoft is making better for ARM devices. This comes as Qualcomm is about to announce its Snapdragon X Elite processor for PCs.
The report also says that NVIDIA is not the only one interested in ARM technology for PCs. AMD, their main rival in the GPU market, is also doing the same, as confirmed by other sources quoted by Reuters. SemiAccurate had reported this earlier.
The report highlights Apple’s growing role with its own ARM-based processors for macOS, after dropping Intel CPUs from its products.
Qualcomm currently has the sole right to make ARM-based processors for Windows. But this will end next year, which explains why both NVIDIA and AMD are keen on it.
It should be noted that NVIDIA has some experience in making ARM-based processors, such as their Grace Hopper ‘supercomputer.’ However, this product is not for consumers.
Nvidia is a company that makes graphics processing units (GPUs) and other products for various applications. Nvidia has also made some CPUs based on the ARM architecture, which is a different type of instruction set than the x86 architecture used by Intel and AMD. Some of the CPUs that Nvidia has made are:
- Tegra: A system on a chip (SoC) series for mobile devices, such as tablets and handheld game consoles. Tegra combines a CPU, a GPU, and other components on a single chip. Some examples of Tegra products are the Nintendo Switch, the Nvidia Shield, and the Microsoft Surface RT.
- Grace: A discrete data center CPU designed for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). Grace uses two CPU chips connected by NVLink, a high-speed interconnect technology developed by Nvidia. Each CPU chip has 144 ARM Neoverse V2 cores and 1 terabyte per second (TB/s) of memory bandwidth. Grace is expected to power some of the world’s largest supercomputers in the future.
- Grace Hopper: A superchip platform that combines the Grace and Hopper architectures using NVLink-C2C to deliver a CPU+GPU coherent memory model for AI and HPC applications. Grace Hopper is the world’s first processor to use HBM3e memory, which offers higher bandwidth and lower power consumption than previous generations. Grace Hopper is also designed to support generative AI, which can create new content such as images, sounds, and text.
So, Nvidia does not have a license from Intel to make x86 CPUs, and it would be very difficult and costly to obtain one. That is why Nvidia will make an ARM-based CPU for PCs that will be able to run Windows, it is also part of Microsoft's initiative to support more ARM-based processors for Windows PCs, especially after Apple's success with its own ARM-based chips for Macs..
Simply put, Nvidia cannot make an x86 CPU for PC, but it can make an ARM CPU for PC. However, this does not mean that Nvidia’s ARM CPUs will be compatible or competitive with Intel’s or AMD’s x86 CPUs. There are many factors that affect the performance and efficiency of a CPU, such as the core count, clock speed, cache size, memory bandwidth, power consumption, and software optimization. It remains to be seen how Nvidia’s ARM CPUs will compare with x86 CPUs in these aspects.
According to some reports, AMD is planning to make ARM-based processors for PCs in the future, along with Nvidia, another company that makes graphics cards and processors. These ARM-based processors are expected to run Windows, which Microsoft is improving for ARM devices. This is part of Microsoft’s strategy to diversify the processor market and compete with Apple, which has its own ARM-based processors for Macs.
However, AMD has not officially confirmed or announced any ARM-based processors for PCs yet. So far, AMD has only made one ARM-based processor for servers, called the Opteron A1100. This processor was launched in 2016 and had eight cores, 4 MB of cache, and 25 W of power consumption. It was designed for low-power and high-density servers.
So, AMD does have some ARM-based CPUs, but only for servers. AMD may make ARM-based CPUs for PCs in the future, but it has not revealed any details or plans about them yet.
More details about Microsoft’s Windows on ARM initiative - Windows on ARM is a version of Windows that is designed to run on devices that use the ARM architecture, which is a different type of instruction set than the x86 architecture used by Intel and AMD. ARM devices are usually more power-efficient, lightweight, and portable than x86 devices, but they also have some challenges with software compatibility and performance.
Microsoft’s Windows on ARM initiative aims to address these challenges and make Windows more accessible and diverse for different types of devices. Some of the key aspects of this initiative are:
- Qualcomm partnership: Microsoft selected Qualcomm as the lead partner to create chips compatible with Windows on ARM until 2024. Qualcomm is a leading company in making ARM-based processors for smartphones and tablets, and it has developed the Snapdragon series of chips for Windows on ARM devices, such as the Surface Pro X.
- App Assure program: Microsoft launched the App Assure program to help developers and customers ensure that their apps run smoothly on Windows on ARM devices. The program offers technical assistance, code samples, best practices, and feedback for developers who want to port or optimize their apps for Arm. The program also promises to fix any app compatibility issues for customers who encounter them.
- ARM Advisory Service: Microsoft announced the ARM Advisory Service for developers who want to build native ARM-optimized apps. The service is a no-cost engineering advisory program that provides technical workshops, code reviews, break-fix assistance, and escalation paths to Microsoft engineers. The service also helps developers take advantage of platform features that enhance the ARM app experience.
- Windows Dev Kit 2023: Microsoft unveiled the Windows Dev Kit 2023, a new desktop PC powered by an ARM processor. The device runs Arm64 VMs and CI/CD infrastructure and services to help developers build, test, and release apps at scale. It also has a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that provides AI computing capacity, multiple ports, and a stackable design for desktops and rack deployment.
- ARM-native tools: Microsoft released or announced several ARM-native tools and frameworks for developers, such as Visual Studio 2022, Visual C++, .NET 6, Windows Terminal, Windows Subsystem for Linux, and Windows Subsystem for Android. These tools and frameworks enable developers to create and run apps for various scenarios on Arm devices.
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