Intel confirms that some 13th generation CPU products are equipped with VPU

At TechTour 2022, Intel said it will soon launch a new AI performance improvement technology, which will first debut with the 13th generation Raptor Lake CPU (chiplet IP) Fully integrated on subsequent 14th Gen Meteor Lake CPUs.

Intel said that in addition to the extensive VPU Meteor Lake product line, they will also work with OEM partners to introduce VPU designs in some Raptor Lake products, which means that some manufacturers' laptops are expected to support VPUs.

According to reports, the VPU will provide a variety of functions, such as processing Windows-based AI functions. In addition, VPUs will only appear in laptops from major manufacturers such as Lenovo, HP, and Dell, which will be a key driver for ISVs to prepare for Meteor Lake CPUs when the technology is fully integrated.

In addition to the VPU, Intel also talked about how they will pass the new Intel Connectivity Performance Suite 2.0, WiFi proximity sensing, Bluetooth LE audio, and WiFi 7 capabilities (5.1 Gbps). Chipzilla described several advantages of VPUs for AI computer vision and AI-driven computational image processing:

• face recognition
• Metaverse MetaVerse and scene understanding
• Emerging Uses: Healthcare and Welfare

Previous revelations showed that the 14th-generation Meteor Lake CPU will use a three-hybrid core architecture, including P-Cores, E-Cores, and the new LP E-Cores.

In simple terms "LP" will be similar to E cores, but with much lower power, and possibly Atom cores inside the VPU (Vision Processing Unit) deployed on Meteor Lake chips. According to reports, there are only two LP-E cores on the Meteor Lake chip, and they also only exist on the SOC Tile, which means that these are the cores used by the VPU.

As such, it currently looks like VPUs will be Intel's primary way of countering AMD's AVX-512 capabilities in the AI ​​space on mainstream consumer platforms.