Nvidia and MediaTek may unveil jointly developed 'N1' Arm chips for Windows PCs at Computex

(Image credit: Nvidia)

Nvidia and MediaTek are expected to introduce their jointly developed Arm-based processors for PCs at Computex 2025, according to ComputerBase.

The upcoming chips — N1X and N1 — are aimed at desktops and laptops and mark Nvidia's deeper entry into the Windows-on-Arm ecosystem. But retail availability may be delayed until 2026 due to unresolved technical hurdles, reports German news site Heise, citing SemiAccurate.

CEOs of both companies — Jensen Huang from Nvidia and Rick Tsai from MediaTek — are scheduled to deliver back-to-back presentations at the Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 19 and May 20, respectively. One likely announcement is a new family of processors combining MediaTek's Arm-based CPU with Nvidia's Blackwell GPU. The collaborative products will rely on the companies' technologies to build the GB10 platform for compact AI workstations.

Through its partnership with MediaTek, Nvidia hopes to address markets that are currently served by AMD's APUs with high-performance Radeon graphics as well as Arm-based Snapdragon X processors. Nvidia's discrete Blackwell GPUs promise to offer higher performance and better compatibility with games than AMD's Radeon and Qualcomm's Adreno, so without any doubt, it will attract the attention of gamers.

To support the production of an unknown high-volume product, MediaTek has reportedly secured a large amount of packaging capacity for flip chip ball grid array (FCBGA) chips, which implies their use in PCs rather than mobile devices. According to DigiTimes, this capacity reservation occurred around the end of 2024 and was unusually large. However, it remains unclear if the packaging timeline aligns with the initial production of processors jointly designed by MediaTek and Nvidia.

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Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

20 Comments Comment from the forums

bit_user

I wondered why Nvidia didn't just do this all on its own. However, I guess if Mediatek is going to shoulder most of the Windows support burden, then that would make sense.
Reply
Notton

I don't have a lot of faith in Mediatek windows drivers after what they did with... well just about every wifi/BT card they offered.
I'd use an AX210, if only the RZ608 was removable from my mobo.
Reply
jlake3

I feel like I still don't understand why.

Nvidia already makes their own ARM CPUs, using the same reference ARM core designs that MediaTek has access to. Nvidia already has OEM connections and deals with foundries that can support a high-volume product. Nvidia's drivers have been going through a rough spot, but MediaTek's drivers seem to be consistantly considered poor. Nvidia's brand has clout, where MediaTek has always been a second-tier player.

The N1X "up to" spec of 10+10 Cortex-X925/A725 cores with Blackwell graphics is the same as GB10. Are GB10 and N1X the same chip? If not, why are they making two chips that are so, SO similar with one in-house and one as a joint development? (Would it make sense to have two different dies with the same CPU but different iGPUs?) If they are the same chip, why the obfuscation and the delay? Is it just Windows drivers not being ready?
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bit_user

jlake3 said:
I feel like I still don't understand why.

Nvidia already makes their own ARM CPUs, using the same reference ARM core designs that MediaTek has access to. Nvidia already has OEM connections and deals with foundries that can support a high-volume product.
I know, right? That's what I'm talking about!

As for the hardware specs... I'm going to sit tight and wait for more firm info. However, I think there's got to be some connection between GB10 and whatever Nvidia+Mediatek have been cooking up for Windows laptops. I just don't yet see where GB10 fits into the picture, but I'm sure it'll become clear.
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DS426

Folks, all ARM-based Windows has to do is provide a better experience to the common Windows conumser than x86 provides. They aren't far off if 1) laptops are the most common Windows PC form factor and 2) battery life is noticeably better than their x86 counterparts.

Wendell from L1 Techs and Steve Burke from Gamers Nexus had a video on this recently. It was infuriating to me at first as an old-school x86 die-hard, but Wendell is right at the end of the day. So, by the time nVidia enters the market and Windows itself and Windows apps continue to get smoothed out with ARM or more broadly RISC ISA's, I think we'd all be surprised at the market penetration that nVidia will reach. After all, we're just the goons at home but by golly they know how to make $$$! Seriously, who's to stop them? Really, who, why, and how? Deeper integration is only a win for X company and Y organization and Z customer, so...

As mentioned by others already, it's a surprise that nVidia hasn't made a splash sooner. Soon of us also know that they tried and failed (ARM acquisition, etc.), but I think they're clever enough to also know that a massive takeover might jingle more alarm bells with the anti-trust regulators, so... (I did that again!? lollolol)

Call me some naive old-timer or fanboi or whatever you want, but nVidia will destroy the PC ecosystem as we know it once they establish firm ground in the Windows CPU space. I guess that's wonder under the bridge as I scatter over to Linux more and more, for, wel, everything, but that's not really a save-haven either, is it!? Like, really, wherever open standards and open source and the open tech community in general makes progress, the market leaders just run away with the stage coach full of money or gold or what have you.

Quite a tangent on my part but I insist these things must be said. Hopefully, it continues the spirit of X86S moving forward, even if Intel isn't able to continue contributing to the cause as even the amazingness of ARM and RISC-V needs real competition -- years and years of foreseeable competition going foward!
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alshdavid

DOA for me without first party Linux support. Here's hoping!
Reply
thestryker

bit_user said:
I wondered why Nvidia didn't just do this all on its own.
While they could the other part is that nvidia has been pretty slow at adopting Arm CPU IP, but especially slow at anything below Grace. I think the current Grace CPU is 2 architectures behind (with the latest Jetson being 2 behind that) Mediatek's current Dimensity CPUs. If all they're doing is providing the graphics cores that allows nvidia to be hands off for the design and I'm guessing the only software obligation would be graphics drivers.

While I think this is likely of minimal impact it also maximizes profit when it comes to nvidia's wafer buys since it won't be theirs making this SoC.
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bit_user

thestryker said:
While they could the other part is that nvidia has been pretty slow at adopting Arm CPU IP,
Er... what? AGX Thor is allegedly based on Neoverse V3AE (Automotive/Embedded version of V3), which is the server equivalent of Cortex-X925. That's their latest and greatest P-core, and what's featured in GB10. The X925 was only announced 11 months ago. Since Arm is on an annual cadence, the next one should be announced towards the end of this month.

thestryker said:
but especially slow at anything below Grace. I think the current Grace CPU is 2 architectures behind
Grace used ARM's latest server V-core that was available at the time, which was V2. It was supposed to launch in 2022, but got delayed. The successor to Grace, Vera, was announced last year to be using an in-house designed microarchitecture. Very exciting!

thestryker said:
(with the latest Jetson being 2 behind that)
I think Jetson is really their lower-end embedded systems series, not the SoC's themselves. Thor will eventually make his way to the Jetson line, but is launching in their Drive series.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_Drive#DRIVE_AGX_Thor

thestryker said:
Mediatek's current Dimensity CPUs. If all they're doing is providing the graphics cores that allows nvidia to be hands off for the design and I'm guessing the only software obligation would be graphics drivers.

While I think this is likely of minimal impact it also maximizes profit when it comes to nvidia's wafer buys since it won't be theirs making this SoC.
Yeah, that's about the only sense I see in it. Nvidia is focusing on the high-value, low-effort aspect. That also lets it keep its hand in the edge inferencing market. You forgot about that part - they're not just providing graphics IP, but also the NVDLA engines, which are responsible for most of the TOPS in the GB10.
https://nvdla.org/
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bit_user

alshdavid said:
DOA for me without first party Linux support. Here's hoping!
At a silicon level, it's not going to be much different than DIGITS, which is Linux-only. I expect Linux support for these systems to be readily forthcoming, if it's not there on day 1.
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bit_user

DS426 said:
Hopefully, it continues the spirit of X86S moving forward, even if Intel isn't able to continue contributing to the cause
APX is still going to happen. X86S was mainly just a bid to simplify the silicon and verification, but the real improvement in the cards is from APX and the return of AVX-512 (in the guise of AVX10.2, which will now be 512-bit everywhere).
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