Gamers have been resistant to AI features in gaming, from super sampling to frame generation. So it was no surprise that the Neural Processing Unit was a divisive chip feature for gamers this generation. Intel’s Core Ultra series includes an NPU on all chipsets, including those designed for the desktop enthusiast segment. Though the NPU on the Core Ultra 200S desktops is on the small side. AMD, on the other hand, has kept its neural processor on mobile chips like the Ryzen AI series.
While there are many reasons to opt for one CPU over another, the presence of the NPU on Intel’s Core Ultra 200S didn’t draw in many early adopters. However, despite the AI hate, there are several compelling reasons why gamers will want to put an NPU in their next gaming rig.
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5 Power efficiency does matter
Saving on your electric bill is no joke.
There are a few benefits to including an NPU on a CPU. Power efficiency is one of those, as the NPU is a more efficient hardware accelerator than the CPU or GPU, and it can also improve the power draw of a system by optimizing your power profiles.
NPU-powered efficiency is more important in laptops and gaming handhelds, but you’ll want a more efficient desktop when it comes to keeping your electricity bill down. As CPUs and GPUs become more power-hungry, an NPU can help offset some of that increased cost. And it’s better for the environment, as a bonus.
4 NPUs can help with non-gaming tasks
Because your gaming rig isn’t JUST a gaming rig.
Even if you build a PC for gaming, you aren’t likely to use it exclusively for games. And the NPU is a handy little hardware accelerator for various AI tasks in some of your favorite applications.
While the NPU can certainly power background blur on your webcam, it can also help with background noise reduction in audio workloads on Audacity or isolate tracks in Moises Live. DaVinci Resolve, Blender, Capture One, and Affinity Photo all have features that are optimized for the NPU.
Having an NPU can also allow you to efficiently run AI on your own devices, which can alleviate concerns about data privacy. NPU features can also be helpful for better accessibility. So the NPU is useful for multiple reasons and has more applications than just a better webcam background blur.
3 The NPU is the best at AI
NPUs handle AI better than GPUs.
The NPU is optimized for neural network computations in a way the CPU and GPU are not. While the GPU is a more powerful accelerator than the NPU right now, the NPU is far more efficient at real-world workloads than the GPU.
For now, you can train AI and utilize AI features without a dedicated NPU, but that is likely to change in the near future. AI training and development is constantly changing, and we’ve already seen a laptop with a discrete NPU instead of a GPU hit the market. That is a trend that could very well continue as the NPU is more valuable for AI workloads.
2 Games are using more AI by the day
Games will start optimizing for the NPU
Games don’t currently optimize for the NPU, because most hardware doesn’t feature a machine learning core. However, that is almost certainly going to change in the next few years. There are already plenty of AI features in games, from super sampling to frame generation. While these workloads traditionally run off the GPU, there are some reasons why that could change in the next few years.
Other AI features will come to games as well, including enhanced NPC intelligence. We’ve already seen a few demos of these NPC AI systems powered by Nvidia ACE. Between smarter Zois in Inzoi to harder bosses in Naraka: Bladepoint, there will likely be more AI features added to games in the near future.
1 An NPU can help future-proof your rig
As you can future-proof any PC.
Gamers tend to upgrade their CPUs less frequently than their GPUs, and NPUs are often integrated on the CPU. This means adding an NPU early will help future-proof your gaming rig without needing to connect a discrete NPU in the future.
Of course, future-proofing any hardware is always an uphill battle. Computing hardware advances at high speeds, which makes planning for future applications difficult to predict. However, shunning hardware because it isn’t currently necessary is not the best solution. There are plenty of reasons to want an NPU outside of gaming, and there are plenty of indications that games will soon start optimizing for NPU-enabled hardware.
So if you want to stay on the cutting-edge of tech, it might be worth considering a CPU with a built-in NPU, or adding a discrete NPU to your next gaming rig.
