For Microsoft Copilot to function fully, 16 GB of RAM is required.
The year of the “AI PCs” is beginning – at least that’s what Microsoft is hoping for in 2024. The focus on features with AI support is also accompanied by a change in the minimum requirements, as the market analysts from Trendforce to report.
If PC and laptop manufacturers want to advertise their devices as “AI PCs”, they must therefore have at least 16 GB of RAM.
Based on this figure, the demand for D RAM memory is likely to skyrocket, meaning that significantly fewer computers could be offered with the 8 GB of RAM that was previously considered standard.
For those of us who own a desktop PC, this should only be a minor inconvenience, as RAM is quite easy to upgrade. Notebooks are much more likely to have problems here, as the respective RAM is usually soldered in.
It is still unclear when Microsoft plans to implement the new standard with 16 GB of RAM. It would be conceivable, for example, to adjust the requirements for the release of Windows 12 if it actually comes out this year.
A second requirement for the AI PC label seems a little more curious. According to the Trendforce report, such computers must have at least an AI performance of 40 TOPS.
Typically, this performance is achieved with the help of a dedicated graphics card, but what about notebooks that rely solely on a system-on-a-chip?
After all, current SoC generations are equipped with a combination of CPU, GPU and NPU; the latter unit is specifically designed for such AI calculations. So can laptops built in 2023 meet Microsoft requirements?
The answer to this question is a surprisingly clear “no.”
0:40
In the trailer, Acer shows the first laptops with the new AI key from Windows Copilot
Both Intel’s Meteor Lake with up to 34 TOPS and AMD Hawk Point with up to 39 TOPS cannot reach this limit. Notebooks with a CPU from the series mentioned must therefore have a dedicated graphics chip in order to be able to call themselves an “AI laptop”.
Both Intel and AMD will now introduce new processors with Lunar Lake and Strix Point over the course of the year, which should reach the arbitrary TOPS limit.
But before that, the first laptops with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Elite will come onto the market, which with 45 TOPS will probably be the first chip that will meet Microsoft’s new requirements.
This means that the first wave of AI notebooks should be equipped with Qualcomm’s new ARM processor. By the way, you can find all the details about the Snapdragon X Elite here:
The mentioned requirements of 16 GB of RAM and an AI performance of at least 40 TOPS could also be understood as a pointer to the minimum requirements for Windows 12. It’s quite conceivable that the upcoming operating system will require the same specs in order to even start.
how do you see it? Will 16 GB of RAM actually be mandatory for new computers and laptops soon or is this process already in full swing? Let us know in the comments!
