Nvidia ARM APU vs AMD Strix Halo on cards as Team Green is reportedly preparing APU for gamers and creators
We’ve been hearing over the past months that Nvidia is partnering with MediaTek to build an ARM APU for Windows. The APU is reportedly being built on the TSMC 3 nm process and could cost OEMs $300. However, details regarding this APU have been scarce and, aside from a rough timeline, we don’t know when the chips will eventually come out.
Thankfully, Moore’s Law Is Dead has now revealed a possible release timeline for Nvidia’s ARM APU for Windows alongside some other juicy details.
Before we move on, MLID gives no indication whether this is the same APU that Nvidia is developing with MediaTek or something else. While the latter case is an obvious answer, Nvidia is no stranger to developing ARM APUs in-house as the company has already released some impressive products like the Nvidia Tegra X1 featured in systems like the Nvidia Shield TV and Nintendo Switch.
Nvidia’s ARM APU for Windows is a Strix Halo competitor
Speaking to MLID, an “Nvidia Partner” claimed that Nvidia is going to launch an 80 W APU “within a couple years” for thin and light laptops. Team Green is reportedly partnering with Dell to launch the APU inside Alienware machines. This is quite interesting since Alienware laptops are not exactly known for being thin and light. So, we might be in for a portable Alienware gaming laptop that relies on an Nvidia ARM APU.
An Nvidia source confirmed to MLID that the company is indeed working on a “consumer APU” and it is a “VERY serious project”. This source also mentioned that Nvidia is trying to release the APU in late 2025 or early 2026 before AMD Sound Wave. AMD Sound Wave is Team Red’s ARM-based answer to Qualcomm that is reportedly coming in 2026.
More interestingly, Nvidia’s ARM APU is seemingly a direct competitor to Strix Halo chips, as the company is said to market the products to gamers and content creators. Strix Halo APUs are shaping up to be quite capable, with an RTX 4070 laptop GPU-like iGPU performance. So, if Nvidia wants to compete with AMD here, Team Green would need an equally powerful or better product.
Finally, MLID’s source claimed that there is a “HUGE effort underway” to make Windows on ARM better. This is crucial for the success of Nvidia’s endeavor, as, for all the potential of the Snapdragon X Elite, iffy Windows compatibility is arguably the biggest thing holding Qualcomm back.
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