According to a TrendForce market research report, Microsoft has established 16 GB as the minimum system requirement for AI PCs. Undoubtedly, Microsoft plays a crucial role in shaping PC hardware specifications. This year marks the debut of “AI PCs,” incorporating on-device AI acceleration for Windows 11 23H2 features, notably Microsoft Copilot. Evidently, Copilot garners significant corporate focus from Microsoft, aiming to seamlessly integrate the AI chatbot, designed for automating and generating work, into mainstream PCs.
Indeed, Microsoft is advocating for a specific Copilot button on PC keyboards, akin to the one accessing the Start menu. The significant step for Microsoft with Copilot involves launching Copilot Pro in 2024. This AI assistant will seamlessly integrate with Office and 365, and the company intends to offer it exclusively through a subscription model.
In addition to cloud-based acceleration, Microsoft’s diverse AI features will depend on essential hardware specifications for local acceleration. This includes the NPU, where Intel’s AI Boost and AMD’s Ryzen AI have been incorporated into their latest mobile processors. Another crucial requirement is memory, as AI acceleration is highly dependent on memory sensitivity, particularly requiring a substantial amount of fast, frequent-access memory for Large Language Models (LLMs).
Microsoft settled on 16 GB as the minimum memory requirement, essential for both on-device acceleration and cloud-based Copilot AI functionalities. Anticipate 2024 notebooks adopting 16 GB as the baseline memory specification, with commercial variants potentially scaling up to 32 GB or 64 GB based on organizational needs. This development holds promising prospects for the DRAM industry.
Via TrendForce