Nvidia’s New Arm-Powered Processors Could Disrupt the PC Market
If you’ve been loyal to Intel, AMD, or Qualcomm for your PC’s power needs, you might soon have a new option: Nvidia. According to industry rumors, the company is reportedly preparing to launch Arm-powered processors aimed at the mass consumer market by the end of this year. While Nvidia is best known for its GPUs, it has been making moves into the processor market, particularly with its Tegra chips, which still power devices like the Nintendo Switch and Nvidia Shield.
In a strategic move to expand beyond its traditional GPU market, Nvidia is said to be teaming up with MediaTek to create new Arm processors, named N1 and N1X, for release in 2025 and 2026. These processors would be optimized for Windows on Arm, aimed at devices like laptops and mini PCs. The N1 processors are expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2025, with an ambitious shipping forecast of three million units in 2025 and 13 million units in 2026.
The move comes as Qualcomm has been making inroads into the Arm-powered Windows laptop market, and Nvidia, buoyed by its AI-driven success, sees an opportunity to further cement its presence in the expanding Arm PC market. Though Nvidia’s recent Project Digits mini PC, powered by the GB10 Superchip, is a high-end product aimed at AI applications, the company’s involvement in the Arm space is seen as a key step toward making Arm-based PCs more competitive against Intel and AMD.
With Windows on Arm gaining more traction, especially now that Qualcomm’s exclusivity deal with Microsoft reportedly expired in 2024, MediaTek and Nvidia could lead the charge to break the processor duopoly currently held by Intel and AMD. For those seeking an alternative to the established PC processor options, 2025 might be the year to watch as Nvidia looks to shake up the market.
