Computex 2024: defining the AI PC
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I’m probably being biased here given that it takes place on home ground, but Computex has always been my favourite tech industry tradeshow. It might not be as big or glamorous as CES in Las Vegas or Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but its smaller size means that it’s much easier to see everything on the show floor and, just as importantly, bump into people you haven’t seen since, well, the previous Computex.
Like other major international tradeshows, Computex has had a tough few years due to disruptions from Covid19 and the growing belief that just as work from home was going to take over from work at the office virtual marketing events were going to replace physical ones. How fast times and the opinions of self-styled thought leaders change!
This year, however, it looks like the show is set to come back with a bang as the world’s top four semiconductor companies duke it out to assert their leadership in the emerging AI PC segment that the industry expects will revitalise market growth after a couple of years of double-digit decreases.
AMD and Qualcomm have already begun promoting their presence with recent announcements that AMD Chair and CEO Dr Lisa Su and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon will deliver keynotes on June 3 outlining their visions for the new era of AI. While Nvidia and Intel have not announced their plans yet, there is no doubt that both companies will be adding their voices as well.
The central question that all four companies will be addressing is the definition of an AI PC. Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD claim that any desktop or laptop that runs on-device AI applications using a dedicated NPU (neural processing unit) or accelerator integrated in the CPU (central processing unit) qualifies as an AI PC. Nvidia, which does not offer CPUs but is the clear leader in the AI technology market, contends that an additional GPU (graphics processing unit) is essential for running AI workloads on a system.
In a broad sense both claims are correct, though a lot will depend on the kinds of AI applications and workloads you are running on your system. It is in this grey area that the marketing battles will be fought benchmark by benchmark and use case by case.
All in all, it should be quite a spectacle! I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.
Computex 2024 takes place at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center from June 4 to June 7. To learn more about the event, please click here:
