I know, I know, “The year of the Linux desktop… yadda, yadda.” You’ve probably heard of it at least once. But now there are coveted Linux-powered PCs. Nvidia’s Project Digits is an AI supercomputer-powered desktop running DGX OS, a customized Ubuntu Linux 22.04 distribution.
Powered by MediaTek and Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell Superchip, Project DIGITS is a $3,000 personal AI that combines Nvidia’s Blackwell GPU and a 20-core Grace CPU built on the Arm architecture. It’s an impressive chip. Deliver up to 1 petaflops of AI performance with FP4 accuracy and support for large language models with 200 billion parameters.
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At CES, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed plans to make this technology available to everyone, not just AI developers. “We’re going to make this a mainstream product,” Huang said. His statement suggests that Nvidia and MediaTek are positioned to challenge established players, including Intel and AMD, in the desktop CPU market.
The transition to desktops and even laptops has been happening for a while. Nvidia has hinted that consumer desktop chips will arrive in the future as early as 2023.
Huang said in an investor presentation that while NVIDIA’s Project Digits is aimed at AI developers, the company also plans to sell its desktop CPUs to mainstream users. He added that Nvidia believes that with Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), it can bridge the gap between Microsoft and the Linux operating system used by most AI developers. Ta.
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But why would we do that? Indeed, WSL 2.0 allows you to run Linux graphical desktops and programs. Additionally, WSL’s performance on x86 hardware is close to the speed of native Ubuntu Linux on the same platform. But with ARM it’s a different story.
Yes, Microsoft currently offers Windows on ARM (WoA). However, WoA is not a first-class citizen in the Windows world. Many Windows programs cannot run natively on WoA and require Microsoft’s Prism emulator. WoA versions of Windows programs are also slow and prone to problems. In particular, Windows games don’t play well on ARM.
Moreover, why not use native Linux as the primary operating system for this new family of chips? After all, Linux already runs on the Grace Blackwell superchip. Windows does not. It’s that simple.
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Linux currently works fine with Nvidia chips. Recent benchmarks have shown that open-source Linux graphics drivers work with Nvidia GPUs and proprietary drivers.
Even Linus Torvalds believes that Nvidia has aligned its open source and Linux efforts. In August 2023, Torvalds said, “Nvidia has become more involved in the kernel. Nvidia has gone from my list of bad companies to my list of companies doing a really good job. ” said.
Who would have thought?
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Canonical, the parent company of Ubuntu Linux, has worked closely with Nvidia for many years. Ubuntu already provides Blackwell drivers. Canonical claims to offer best-in-class integration with Nvidia hardware, and there’s a reason for this. These next generation PCs are built for Linux.
MediaTek, known as a leader in smartphone chips, is poised to play a key role in this new venture. This partnership will allow MediaTek to sell desktop CPU PC vendors. MediaTek Vice Chairman and CEO Rick Tsai expressed enthusiasm about the partnership. “Working with Nvidia on the GB10 superchip aligns with MediaTek’s vision of helping make great technology available to everyone.”
Even at a price of $3,000, we know that far more people than data scientists and AI developers want Project DIGITS PC on their desktops. I know.
Sure, you might not pay three grand for Project DIGITS PC. But what about $1,000 Blackwell PCs from Acer, Asus, and Lenovo? All three companies already sell Chromebooks powered by MediaTek.
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I believe this partnership will lead to a new generation of AI-powered PCs with significantly enhanced capabilities. By combining Nvidia’s GPU expertise with MediaTek’s proficiency in Arm-based architectures, we deliver highly efficient, optimized not just for AI workloads, but for anyone looking for the fastest PC on the planet. A powerful processor is promised.
The first consumer products featuring this technology are expected to hit the market later this year. I’m looking forward to running Linux. Come on in! The operating system is fine.
