No need to wait for AI enhancements to chips. They’re already present in the latest AMD and Intel mobile chips, though it’s not quite clear to me at what chip generations the first AI hardware improvements began. And I’m even less sure about AI-specific enhancements to desktop chips. As with all things chip though, the AI goodies will only continue to improve. Based on the “but it will get better ‘soon’, so don’t buy now” logic, no one would ever by another upgrade! See
Intel’s new generation of “Meteor Lake” mobile CPUs herald a new age of “AI PCs,” computers that can handle inference workloads such as generating images or transcribing audio without an Internet connection. Officially named “Intel Core Ultra” processors, the chips are the first to feature an NPU (neural processing unit) that’s purpose-built to handle AI tasks.
But just how well does Meteor Lake handle specific, real-world inference? To find out, we tested Intel’s own OpenVINO plugins for Audacity and GIMP, open-source audio and image editors. We also compared the results with those from two laptops that use AMD’s AI-accelerated Ryzen 7840U chip – and found that, on some tests, AMD’s processors completed these workloads faster.
I’m keeping an eye on this computer you suggested. It looks like just what the doctor ordered! I’m hoping it goes on sale. It’s somewhat above my budget for a computer.
What do you think of this one, not for my needs, but for my wife, whose needs are much less.
The specs look good, but I never heard of ACEMagician as a vendor. Support would be my main concern, and some of the reviews complain about it running hot, and that the Windows install is modified in some way. Also not many reviews despite the 4.4/5 overall rating. It’s also tiny, which isn’t a bad thing, and can be a feature, but if it is, there are probably other “mini PCs” from better known vendors with likely better support. The Beelink brand comes to mind, and here’s one with a decent AMD cpu and other specs, also for $319 at 20% off for a limited time:
Note that the cheaper one is sold by Beelink USA, whereas the other is sold by Beelink-XXY. Not sure what the difference is, but I’d be more comfortable buying from Beelink USA. Both are shipped from Amazon however, which is good.
And here’s another Beelink with the same higher specs, for $367, sold by Beelink Direct, which might be safest of all. Kind of hard to say for sure though.
Hi, I’m still keeping an eye on this computer you found for me.
I have USB questions. It has several different types!
4a. USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (x2)
4b. USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A with Power Share
5. USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™with PowerShare (no video/audio output)
9. USB 3.2 Type-A Gen 1 (x2)
10. USB 3.2 Type-C™Gen 2x2 (no video/audio output)
11. USB 2.0 Type-A (x2)
What is the difference between all these types?
A vs. C? “X2”? Power share? No video/audio output? All of this is Greek to me!
Googling helped a bit but not entirely. I gather that Power Share means that port can charge cell phones, etc. And C is more powerful than A, but not sure what that means practically - will it be faster? And I couldn’t figure out “X2”.
Also, unfortunately they are not in great locations like my current CPU. My current one has a couple USB ports on top of the computer so I can lay my external drives right on top and plug them in there.
The external drive cables are short. It looks like I’d have to get an extension cable for them. Will that slow down backing up files onto them?
Thanks,
Rick
Which is which is clear as long as you realize that type A is the large connector, and type C is the smaller one. Both type A and C and be capable of the same max speed. And if you buy a cable to extend the reach of one of the ports, you have to make sure the cable is capable of the same max speed or else data transfer speed will suffer. Been there done that, especially with cheap but mis-specced cables from 3rd party vendors on Amazon.
As for speed differences, try to grok this - I agree it gets darn confusing:
Oops. Sorry about that confusion.
You mentioned below that type A and C USB ports are different sizes. If they aren’t standard, that must get confusing! My external drives have USB cables, but which size, A or C, I have no idea.
I don’t know much about the Windows side, as I moved to Mac years ago. There is one thing that may be in this thread I wonder about. That is the “speed” or band width of the old USB A ports vs ports with the USB-C geometry.
For sure some ports with the USB-C geometry in Apple land are much faster than others and some have much higher current carrying (aka charging) ability. Those items said, the part(s) of the computer connected to the ports can also limit bandwidth and charging rates.
My strong recommendation is get more of the USB-C geometry ports. That is were the world is moving. Ports change with time just like floppy disks or spinning disk drives. Two days ago my wife got some medical data on a CD. Neither of our computers has a CD/DVD drive. Fortunately I have an old CD/DVD drive that happens to have a USB-A cable and a dongle to convert the USB-A to one of the USB-C ports on our computers.
Oops. I thought you were talking about the BeeLink since that was the last thing we discussed. That’s still at the same 20% off price by the way. But my post about the USB speeds still applies!
PS - It always helps to quote from the post you’re replying to.
“My strong recommendation is get more of the USB-C geometry ports.”
Easier said than done, no? It took a lot of searching and help to find that PC that overall fits the bill that I need. I can’t exactly ask them to change their port configuration!
It has two of those:
USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™with PowerShare (no video/audio output)
USB 3.2 Type-C™Gen 2x2 (no video/audio output)
But what is the diff between these two? What is “gen 2x2”?
And what does it mean to have no video/audio output? Do I need that?
Thanks
All USB-A ports are the same physical size, as are all USB-C ports. I just meant that they have different sizes compared to each other, and easy to tell apart, as seen in this clip from the Tech Advisor article I posted above:
You’re overthinking this! It has all the ports you’re likely to ever need, and if you need more, there are always extra cables and docking stations galore for expansion purposes.
From the Tech Advisor article:
USB-C’s Alternate Mode (aka “Alt Mode”) for video enables adapters to output video from the USB-C port to HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA and other types of video connectors on displays, TVs and projectors. Many modern monitors now even have their own USB-C ports so can connect directly using a USB-C cable.
Summary: This article describes the PowerShare (Power Share) feature on Dell laptops that allows you to charge USB devices when the laptop is on battery power. (For example: Cellular phones, CD players, DVD players, MP3 players, and so on.)
Great, thanks.
So for my external drives I would have to use the USB-A slot in any case. The USB-C would not work for me. Maybe newer external backup drives use USB-C?
I’ve been looking around for a computer and i really like this Beelink. It’s a mini case which is great. It looks like a solid build for what I use my computer for. It supports 3 monitors, I run two. It comes with Windows 11. This is a crazy good value for $509 per the link. Thanks…doc
