Microsoft’s Windows AI Features Coming to Desktop PCs

Introduction to Copilot Plus

Microsoft’s latest Windows AI features, known as Copilot Plus, first arrived on new Copilot Plus PCs last year. However, these features were limited to a special range of laptops. This limitation is expected to change with Intel’s refresh of its existing Arrow Lake desktop CPUs later this year. The refreshed CPUs might deliver Copilot Plus PC features in desktop PC form factors for the first time.

Intel’s Plans for Arrow Lake Refresh

Intel’s latest Core Ultra desktop CPUs, launched in October, came with an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) inside. However, this NPU wasn’t capable enough to meet the 40 TOPS (Tera Operations Per Second) requirement that Microsoft mandates for Copilot Plus features. According to reports from ZDNet Korea, Intel is now preparing an Arrow Lake Refresh that will include higher clock speeds and a more advanced NPU. This new NPU should be capable of supporting Copilot Plus features.

Upgrades to the NPU Design

The new NPU design will reportedly move the refreshed Core Ultra 200 lineup to a newer "NPU 4" design. This is the same NPU architecture found on Intel’s Lunar Lake laptop CPUs, which received Copilot Plus AI features in November. This upgrade will allow for true desktop PCs with a capable NPU, instead of Copilot Plus only being available on mini PCs and all-in-one PCs that use laptop processors.

Implications for Gamers and Desktop PCs

The Arrow Lake Refresh will primarily focus on the new NPU, without adding more CPU or GPU cores over the existing Core Ultra 200 chips. This means that gamers who have been waiting for Intel to become more competitive in the desktop CPU space might be disappointed. The first Arrow Lake chips ran more efficiently and cooler but had disappointing PC gaming performance, often behind Intel’s previous Raptor Lake CPUs.

Current State of Gaming Performance

Intel admitted that its Arrow Lake launch "didn’t go as planned," but a series of BIOS updates have done little to change the gaming performance situation. It now looks unlikely that Intel will compete with AMD’s Ryzen 9800X3D and 9950X3D chips in gaming performance until its next generation Nova Lake CPUs launch in 2026.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the upcoming refresh of Intel’s Arrow Lake desktop CPUs is expected to bring Microsoft’s Copilot Plus features to desktop PCs for the first time. While this is exciting news for those interested in AI capabilities, gamers might not see the performance boost they were hoping for. The focus on NPU upgrades over CPU and GPU enhancements means that Intel’s competitiveness in the gaming sector will likely have to wait until future CPU generations.