Nvidia's N1 SoC Unveiled: GB10 Superchip Powers DGX Spark and Future PC Products

Nvidia CEO Huang says upcoming DGX Spark systems are powered by N1 silicon -- confirms GB10 Superchip and N1/N1X SoCs are identical

Yesterday, Nvidia and Intel lifted the curtain on a historic collaboration that will see the two chipmakers jointly develop a myriad of CPU and GPU products. While future solutions like the "Intel x86 RTX SoC" were the focus of the announcement, some clarification was also shed on existing projects. Chief among these was Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang saying that the upcoming, long-rumored N1 SoC is essentially the same as the GB10 Superchip that's been out for a while. For some context, Nvidia has never officially unveiled the N1/N1X SoCs, but speculation sparked from CES 2025's announcement of Project DIGITS, where the company revealed its collaboration with MediaTek. From that came the GB10 "Superchip," which is part of the company's DGX Spark lineup, and multiple vendors have already released their iterations of it. The GB10 is aimed squarely at AI workloads, offering supercomputer-like performance at home. It includes a 20-core ARM-based CPU developed in conjunction with MediaTek, along with a powerful Blackwell-based GPU chiplet. The N1 SoC shares the same specs, at least according to previous leaks and rumors, featuring 6,144 CUDA cores for its GPU - same as the desktop RTX 5070 - and a 20-core CPU split across two clusters, built using Nvidia's Grace architecture. Back in July, we saw a Geekbench score surface for the N1X, which allegedly confirmed these specs, giving credence to the fact that GB10 and N1 are intrinsically tied. Of course, just because two products are closely linked to each other doesn't mean they're the same, but all signs pointed toward identical chips being used across the board. That notion has just been legitimized by Jensen Huang, who said the following in a webcast last night, "We also have a new ARM product that's called N1. And that product is - that processor is going to go into the DGX Spark and many other versions of products like that. And so we're super excited about the ARM road map, and this doesn't affect any of that." According to Nvidia's CEO, the silicon powering the GB10 -- which itself is what powers DGX Spark -- is identical to the N1/N1X SoC. Especially the part about "many other versions" confirms that N1 could simply be a slightly lower-binned version of the full-fat GB10. After all, the latter is meant for client devices like laptops and desktops, whereas the GB10 targets professionals. The distinction matters because N1 represents Nvidia's first serious attempt at taking their in-house CPU cores mainstream (following Tegra). Unfortunately, that's the only statement pertaining to N1, so we still don't know when it will actually launch. But at least it's out there now that GB10, which should already be in the hands of some, is what Nvidia will eventually release in the future, just with a different target audience in mind. Given Nvidia's new deal with Intel, the interest in developing ARM-based products might collide with x86-based solutions that Intel specializes in. However, that's apparently not an issue, and both roadmaps will continue forward at full force, unaffected by each other. The N1 SoC has already been tested on Windows, which suggests that the chip is getting closer to its Windows-on-ARM destination day by day. The GB10, on the other hand, is not exactly intended for Microsoft's operating system; rather, it is a Linux-based DGX OS that's optimized for local AI, datacenter, and other professional workloads. With that said, since the N1 technically doesn't even exist yet, there is no confirmation for it eventually running on Windows (despite the obvious implication), and Jensen Huang did not comment on it either.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirms the upcoming N1 APU that's heading for the PC is indeed the same as the GB10 'Superchip' in the DGX Spark AI box

An all-powerful APU with RTX 5070 performance in a laptop, but at what cost? Among other tidbits that emerged from the recent Intel-Nvidia love in is confirmation of what we'd long suspected, namely that the upcoming Nvidia N1 Arm chip for PCs is indeed the very same as GB10, the "Superchip" at the heart of the DGX Spark AI box. "We also have a new Arm product that's called N1," said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the press conference for the newly announced Intel-Nvidia alliance. "That processor is going to go into the DGX Spark and many other versions of products like that. And so we're super excited about the Arm road map, and this doesn't affect any of that." Taken at face value, that's both good and bad news. For starters, it means we have a good idea of the specifications of the chip, which Nvidia has already published, if not quite such a clear feel for its real-world performance. That's especially true in the context of PC gaming as opposed to the AI workloads the DGX Spark is aimed at. Specifically, that means an Arm CPU SoC with 10 Arm Cortex X925 cores and 10 Arm Cortex A725 cores. To that is attached an Nvidia GPU chiplet with 6,144 CUDA cores. On paper, that gives N1 exactly the same CUDA core count as the RTX 5070, albeit the RTX 5070 runs with a partially disabled GB205 chip, the latter containing 6,400 CUDA cores all told. Of course, it's far from clear what configuration Nvidia might use for N1 when targeted at PCs. But arguably a bigger question mark hangs over the broader issue of playing PC games on Arm CPUs. Despite the arrival of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X series of Arm CPUs for PCs and a push from Microsoft to support Arm better on Windows, in part courtesy of the Prism translation layer for running x86 code on Arm CPU cores, PC game support and performance on Arm chips is patchy at best. Now, if any company has the resources and will power to get games running nicely on an Arm CPU as opposed to an x86 CPU, you would think that company is Nvidia. It has relationships with most if not all major game developers and endless cash to spend, should it choose. What's more, emulation needn't be a dirty word when it comes to PC gaming. Apple has shown how effective emulation can be when done right with its Apple silicon chips offering very high performance x86 emulation. Of course, Apple added specific hardware features to its custom Arm cores to support that, while the Nvidia N1 chip uses off-the-shelf CPU cores designed by Arm itself. But emulation can definitely work. Indeed, the Proton compatibility layer for Valve's SteamOS, as used by the Steam Deck proves that translating code on the fly can be a goer, even if Proton is a slightly different beast in translating between Microsoft's DirectX API and Vulkan, while still running on x86 CPUs in both cases. But the basic question remains: Regardless of how much theoretical GPU power N1 offers, will its Arm CPU cores play nicely with games? Beyond all that there's the question of price. The DGX Spark is a $4,000 box, which is pretty scary in a PC context. But then the DGX Spark is a pretty specific kind of machine aimed at AI worklaods and comes packed with 128 GB of RAM, Nvidia's ConnectX network interface and more. It's not trying to be built down to the price of an RTX 5070 gaming PC. On the subject of the price, the obvious comparison here is AMD's Strix Halo chip, another chiplet-based APU with a big fat GPU. That too is arguably too expensive to be interesting as a PC gaming solution and, a bit like DGX Spark, is basically a chip for running AI models locally. Oh, yes, and the DGX Spark has missed its original launch window of July and still hasn't shipped to customers at the time of writing, amid rumours that the whole Nvidia Arm CPU for PCs thing is being delayed until at least early next year. All of which means we're a little cool on N1. It has plenty to prove, that's for sure.

Nvidia GB10 Equals N1 Arm CPU Superchip - cooperation with Intel will not affect Arm CPU development

Nvidia has finally cleared up the mystery around its newest processor. On a recent call about its partnership with Intel, CEO Jensen Huang said the GB10 chip -- previously known as the Grace Blackwell superchip -- is also officially called the "N1." This chip will show up first in DGX Spark, a desktop AI supercomputer, and later in more Nvidia products. The N1 isn't just another GPU. It's a mix of two parts: Nvidia's own GPU die and a CPU die designed with MediaTek. On the CPU side, it packs 20 Arm cores, split between 10 powerful Cortex-X925 cores and 10 efficient Cortex-A725 cores. For graphics and compute, it brings 6,144 CUDA cores to the table. To keep everything running smoothly, the chip also supports a 256-bit LPDDR5X memory interface, giving it the bandwidth needed for heavy AI and data workloads. Huang also made sure to point out that teaming up with Intel doesn't mean Nvidia is stepping away from its Arm CPU plans. The company is still fully invested in building its own Arm-based processors, and the roadmap that includes Grace and Blackwell chips remains unchanged. The partnership with Intel is more about working together in other areas, like data center CPUs, without taking focus away from Nvidia's own designs. In short, the N1 chip represents Nvidia's ongoing strategy: combine powerful GPUs with Arm CPUs to create flexible, high-performance solutions for AI computing. With MediaTek's contribution on the CPU side and Nvidia's strength in GPUs, the N1 looks set to push AI systems like DGX Spark into a new level of performance. This approach also shows that Nvidia isn't planning to rely on Intel -- or anyone else -- for its future in Arm-based chips. Instead, it's carving out its own path while still building partnerships where they make sense.