By Kyle Barr
Publication Date: 2026-01-21 18:30:00
Nvidia could be ready to take on AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm for an all-around chip. Yes, that means CPUs. The last time Nvidia tried its hand at non-graphics PC processors, it ended in a lasting failure. Times have changed, and now it’s ripe for Nvidia to once again enter the market for all-in Team Green machines. It could mark the moment when ARM-based PCs really take off, if only the ongoing RAM crisis wasn’t making this one of the worst moments for PCs in general.
Sure, Nvidia didn’t have much to say at CES 2026; however, a report from Digitimes (read via machine translation) claims that the company could have a notebook-ready chip early this year. This would be an ARM-based chip potentially akin to the Grace Blackwell SoC (system on a chip) found inside Nvidia’s DGX Spark AI-centric computers. Tom’s Hardware reported last week the same chip appeared in a shipping manifest for a sample Dell 16 Premium laptop.
This supposed “N1X” chip could be followed by several differently spec’ed CPUs later in the year. If Digitimes’ supply chain sources are correct, we could even hear about a supposed “N2” chip as a follow-up before the end of 2026. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang previously hinted at the N1 last year in a press conference with Intel’s new chief, Lip-Bu Tan. That’s where Nvidia promised to craft chips with Intel that would somehow combine the best of both companies. We’ll have to see how well that partnership goes if both…
