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486 points dbreunig | 3 comments | | HN request time: 0.007s | source
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jsheard ◴[] No.41863390[source]
These NPUs are tying up a substantial amount of silicon area so it would be a real shame if they end up not being used for much. I can't find a die analysis of the Snapdragon X which isolates the NPU specifically but AMDs equivalent with the same ~50 TOPS performance target can be seen here, and takes up about as much area as three high performance CPU cores:

https://www.techpowerup.com/325035/amd-strix-point-silicon-p...

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ezst ◴[] No.41863905[source]
I can't wait for the LLM fad to be over so we get some sanity (and efficiency) back. I personally have no use for this extra hardware ("GenAI" doesn't help me in any way nor supports any work-related tasks). Worse, most people have no use for that (and recent surveys even show predominant hostility towards AI creep). We shouldn't be paying extra for that, it should be opt-in, and then it would become clear (by looking at the sales and how few are willing to pay a premium for "AI") how overblown and unnecessary this is.
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renewiltord ◴[] No.41864134[source]
I was telling someone this and they gave me link to a laptop with higher battery life and better performance than my own, but I kept explaining to them that the feature I cared most about was die size. They couldn't understand it so I just had to leave them alone. Non-technical people don't get it. Die size is what I care about. It's a critical feature and so many mainstream companies are missing out on my money because they won't optimize die size. Disgusting.
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1. _zoltan_ ◴[] No.41864691[source]
News flash: you're in the niche of the niche. People don't care about die size.

I'd be willing to bet that the amount of money they are missing out on is miniscule and is by far offset by people's money who care about other stuff. Like you know, performance and battery life, just to stick to your examples.

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2. mattnewton ◴[] No.41865605[source]
That’s exactly what the poster is arguing- they are being sarcastic.
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3. shermantanktop ◴[] No.41870152[source]
It whooshed over my head too. That’s the danger of sarcasm…it’s a cooperative form of humor but the other party might not get it.