One of the devices in which AI has appeared is computing, particularly personal computers. When purchasing a computer, depending on its processor, it is capable of performing AI tasks locally, that is, without the need to connect to the Internet.
These computers are called PCs with AI. But What does PC with AI mean?
What is a PC with AI
If we talk about a PC with AI, we are talking about a computer that, in addition to a processor and a graphics card, also integrates a neural processing unit, better known as NPU for its acronym in English.
This unit is responsible for carrying out maintenance tasks. Artificial intelligence on the computer. If we use ChatGPT, when typing the prompt it is sent to the OpenAI servers where the response is generated and sent to our PC.
Another example is in generative AI which can be found in Adobe Photoshop. When we make a request to this application, it sends it to Adobe's servers, processes it and returns the result to us.
Computers that include a NPUare able to handle these tasks locally, without having to communicate with the servers of the service, all requests are therefore carried out much faster and, above all, secure, since the content does not leave the computer at any time.
If we talk about an NPU we have to talk about the performance that it is capable of offering. The higher the number of TOPS, the less time it will take to process requests. Microsoft has established a minimum of 45 TOPS for a computer to be considered a PC with AI, a PC that includes the Copilot+ label. Copilot+ is the artificial intelligence available in Windows 11.
Laptop processors that currently deliver performance at or above 45 TOPS for AI are the second generation of the Ultra Core from Intel, the series AMD Ryzen AI and the processor Snapdragon X Elite Yes Snapdragon the Qualcomm.
In some latest generation desktop processors there is also an NPU, but as we will tell you later, it is not really necessary to perform artificial intelligence tasks.
Can I add artificial intelligence to my PC?
The NPU is integrated into the CPU and graphics card on the same chip, so there's no way to add it to a PC that doesn't include it. This does not mean, however, that these teams cannot use Artificial Intelligence.
Any PC with a dedicated graphics card is capable of performing artificial intelligence tasks. energy consumption required to perform this type of tasks is very high compared to that offered by NPUs.
The mission of an NPU is to perform the tasks associated with artificial intelligence, but without using graphics, so its power consumption is much lower than using graphics.
Power consumption of laptops has always been a problem, and this is the main reason why NPUs are only found in laptops and not on desktops, at least with enough power.
