Computex 2024 is just around the corner. One of the biggest events on the tech calendar, this year’s show takes place between June 4 and 7 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center in sunny Taiwan. We’ll be at every major keynote, booth tour, and product launch we can to bring you as much coverage as possible of the latest developments in PC hardware, tech innovations, and more.
The six key themes for this year’s event are AI computing, advanced connectivity, future mobility, immersive reality, sustainability and innovations.
We’re assuming the first of these will dominate the announcements this year, but we expect a variety of hardware innovations, refreshes and product launches to get their day in the sun as the show progresses.
Below we’ve put together a list of our top contenders for what we think we’ll see at this year’s event.
You guessed it: AI everything
It wouldn’t be a modern technology show without one term dominating the sequence of events, and that is of course artificial intelligence. AI computing in some form is big news for pretty much every major tech manufacturer right now, and in addition to a number of NPU-equipped chips and AI data center discussions, you can expect to see the term added to pretty much every new product launch you can possibly imagine. think up. of, for good or for bad.
AI-equipped gaming chairs? At this point we really wouldn’t be surprised.
Still, all this AI discussion will likely lead to insights into how companies envision the technology being applied in the future, and – if CES 2024 is anything to go by – expect manufacturers will continue to apply the term AI to virtually any technology. piece of hardware you can imagine.
AMD – Strix Point, maybe, or maybe Zen 5?
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su will deliver the opening keynote at this year’s show, titled “The Future of High-Performance Computing in the AI Era.” The good Dr. will “highlight the next generation of AMD products,” although it remains to be seen which exactly of them will get the red carpet treatment.
AMD’s Strix Point mobile chips are rumored to hit the market this year, and Computex 2024 seems like the perfect time for a big reveal, although we’ll obviously have to wait and see what happens on that day. Still, with the AMD chief taking a prominent position at this year’s show, it seems highly likely that we’ll learn more about AMD’s next-generation mobile offering.
Given the recent leaks regarding a possible naming scheme for ‘Ryzen AI’, we may also be looking at a rebranding of these chips compared to previous generations.
And then there’s Granite Ridge. AMD’s Zen 5 desktop CPUs seem tantalizingly close, as motherboard makers started rolling out BIOS updates for the new chips in April, meaning we couldn’t be too far away from a real launch. If I were a betting man, well, it’s Computex, Dr. Lisa Su gives the opening speech…ah, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about that.
Intel – Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake, in some form or fashion
We’ve already seen the finalization of Intel’s upcoming Lunar Lake mobile CPU architecture, but what’s missing is data that would give us a clearer idea of the performance we can expect. Still, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger will deliver his own keynote on the first day of the event, showcasing “the next generation of data center and client computing products.”
We then hope that we can record some hard numbers on those mobile Lunar Lake chips. And what about Arrow Lake, Intel’s upcoming next-gen desktop CPUs? Intel’s CEO confirmed early this year that we would see Intel’s 20A products in 2024, so fingers crossed for a big announcement.
With AMD potentially looking to bring the big guns in the form of the Zen 5, we’d be very surprised if Intel didn’t plan some substantial reveals of its own. It may be that time again, folks, as AMD and Intel look to once again do battle with cutting-edge silicon.
Qualcomm – Snapdragon X-series processors in laptops galore
Qualcomm recently made waves with the announcement of its Snapdragon Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft, to name a few, have all announced laptops with Qualcomm chips.
We’re eager to check out these new sleek and lightweight designs and find out what kind of performance and battery life we can expect from each future model. Qualcomm has the potential here to really shake up the laptop market, with chips that, on paper at least, look like they could be very competitive as things stand.
Competition breeds innovation, they always say, and a third major CPU manufacturer entering the Windows laptop market is exciting news indeed.
Gaming Handhelds: The Claw vs. the ROG Ally
MSI will likely be eager to show off its gaming handheld, the Claw, to attendees, and the Intel Core Ultra device won’t be the only handheld likely to appear. Asus recently unveiled (sort of) the Asus ROG Ally
Hopefully we’ll get a chance to put both devices through their paces to see if they’re potential challengers to knock the Steam Deck or the OneXPlayer OneXFly from their high positions on our list of the best gaming handhelds.
Motherboards and Cases: Back-end connectors and custom builds
CES 2024 gave us some good ideas about what the future of PC hardware could look like, and when it comes to desktop builds, rear-facing motherboards, GPUs, and cases seemed like a trend worth keeping an eye on to hold. MSI and Asus have already shown off motherboards with the connections tucked away at the back, and our Nick has already tried building a full-blown Asus BTF (‘Back to the Future) gaming PC, with encouraging results.
It’s likely that we’ll see more manufacturers debut these types of designs, as rear-connection hardware seems to have a good chance of becoming the next big thing in PC design.
Computex has also traditionally been known for building custom cases, so expect to see a number of case designs ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.
What we don’t expect to see: Next-generation Nvidia GPUs
Nvidia will be at Computex this year, and we expect them to show…not much. While we expect the first consumer Blackwell GPUs to launch this year, there’s a good chance that will be towards the end. Previous launch rates and recent rumors of a fourth-quarter debut seem to be heading in that direction.
That doesn’t mean we won’t get AI announcements or possibly another look at the company’s promising-looking ACE AI NPC technology. Considering that the dreaded two letters of our impending doom – by which I mean our promising AI future – are the theme of the show, expect Nvidia to take a bit of a victory lap. Because lately it’s been bragging about its immense AI hardware dominance, and for good reason.
Things I’d like to see: SIM setups, SSDs, and translucent screens
To wrap things up on a personal note, this will be my first Computex – a phrase that suggests I’ll need some kid reins and a responsible adult, both of which are true – so I’ll be prowling the show floor looking for the strange, the beautiful and the bizarre.
I’ve recently become a sim racing fanatic, so any new releases in the world of racing wheels and sim rigs will be right up my alley. Likewise, any controllers that offer something different will definitely pique my interest. I think it’s high time we had some new and interesting ways to communicate with our beloved machines.
We’ve long believed that Gen 5 SSDs aren’t quite ready for prime time (with the exception of the Teamgroup Z540 2TB, the first of its kind that made our best SSD for gaming guide). I’ll be looking for drives without ridiculous cooling solutions that look like they could be a worthy upgrade to a Gen 4 drive-equipped machine.
I’m also not yet impressed with transparent displays, so if I find one that looks like it could be useful for something other than a shiny distraction, I’ll be sure to let you know.
Anyway, wish me luck, dear readers. Taipei City is waiting for…