Dell Explores High-Performance Laptop Chip Amid Nvidia Rumors

The elusive Nvidia N1X SoC has made headlines once again due to a shipping manifest that reveals Dell may have explored putting the chip on next-gen XPS laptops. The leak comes as no surprise, given rumors surrounding these chips have been circulating for over a year.

The N1X is part of Nvidia’s N1 series, first leaked back in 2022. The series was expected to bring high-performance graphics capabilities to mobile devices and laptops, but despite years of anticipation, the chips have yet to make an appearance at major tech conferences like CES.

This latest leak suggests that Dell may have been experimenting with the N1X on its next-gen XPS laptops, with the device showing up in a shipping manifest as the “Dell 16 Premium” and labeled as the “N1X ES2”. The fact that the laptop is still being referred to by its original name could indicate a last-minute change or cancellation of plans.

The N1X SoC itself is rumored to feature 6,144 CUDA cores and 20 ARM cores built on the Grace architecture. Co-developed with MediaTek, the chip is expected to power Nvidia’s AI efforts rather than be released for mainstream use.

If launched, the N1 lineup would mark Nvidia’s return to the conventional CPU segment after a decade since the Tegra X1 last powered the Nintendo Switch. The company has continued to make ARM-based CPUs for enterprise solutions but not made any consumer-facing releases in recent years.

The market that the N1 was targeting is Windows-on-ARM, an area of focus for Nvidia and its competitors like Qualcomm. While it may not be the most exciting technology, progress in this area would benefit the platform and enable more powerful and efficient devices.

However, there is a potential conflict of interest at play with Nvidia’s equity investment in Intel. The two companies are partnering to co-develop Intel x86 RTX SoCs, which could potentially impact the development and release of the N1X chip. It remains to be seen whether this partnership will affect the availability of the N1X or if it will remain a separate entity.

The latest leak on the N1X raises questions about Nvidia’s CPU ambitions and whether they were scaled back due to internal or external factors. As the tech industry continues to evolve, one thing is certain: the N1X SoC will be a crucial component in shaping the future of mobile devices and laptops.

In addition to its potential impact on the laptop market, the N1X also has implications for the broader PC ecosystem. With Nvidia’s return to the CPU segment, we can expect to see more innovative solutions that integrate graphics processing capabilities with traditional computing functionality. This could lead to significant advancements in areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and gaming.

Nvidia’s latest chip leak has shed new light on the company’s CPU ambitions and its potential impact on the tech industry. The N1X SoC is a key component in this story, and its development and release will have far-reaching consequences for mobile devices, laptops, and beyond.