You might finally be able to enjoy Microsoft’s powerful Copilot Plus AI tools on your desktop PC later this year. Until now, these features were limited to certain Copilot Plus laptops. But thanks to an upcoming refresh of Intel’s Arrow Lake desktop processors, the Copilot Plus experience could soon expand to traditional desktop systems for the first time.
Intel’s Arrow Lake refresh aims to unlock Copilot Plus for desktops
Back in October, Intel launched its Core Ultra desktop CPUs. These chips came with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) built in, but unfortunately, they didn’t meet the required 40 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) needed for Microsoft’s Copilot Plus features. This meant that while laptops with newer chips could support the AI tools, desktop PCs were left behind.
Now, according to a report from ZDNet Korea, Intel is preparing an Arrow Lake Refresh. This update will include faster clock speeds and, more importantly, a redesigned and much more powerful NPU. The new NPU is expected to be part of what is being called the “NPU 4” architecture—the same one found in Intel’s Lunar Lake laptop chips, which brought full Copilot Plus support to those devices starting in November.
If this goes ahead as expected, this refresh could be the first time fully capable Copilot Plus features are available in traditional desktop PC towers. Until now, if you wanted to use them on a non-laptop device, you had to rely on mini PCs or all-in-one computers that utilised laptop components.
Gamers may be left waiting despite improved AI
While the NPU upgrade is exciting for those who want AI features on their desktops, it’s less exciting news for PC gamers. The refreshed Core Ultra 200 chips won’t include more CPU or GPU cores, which means you shouldn’t expect a big leap in gaming performance. The update primarily focuses on enhancing the AI aspect.
Gamers have already voiced frustration about Intel’s original Arrow Lake chips, which were praised for running cooler and more efficiently but were seen as underwhelming in terms of actual gaming speed. In many cases, they even lagged behind Intel’s previous generation of Raptor Lake CPUs. Intel itself admitted that the launch of Arrow Lake “didn’t go as planned,” and even a wave of BIOS updates hasn’t helped much to improve gaming benchmarks.
With the Arrow Lake Refresh now focused on AI, you’re likely to see limited improvements for gaming. If you’re a gamer waiting for real competition with AMD’s powerful Ryzen 9800X3D and 9950X3D, you may need to hold off until Intel’s next-gen Nova Lake chips, which aren’t expected until 2026.
What this means for your next PC upgrade
So, what does this all mean for you? If you’re planning to upgrade your desktop later this year and want access to Microsoft’s latest Copilot Plus tools—like real-time language translation, smart document summarising, and more—the Arrow Lake Refresh could be your best bet. It promises to bring desktop systems up to speed with the AI capabilities that have so far been limited to premium laptops.
But if your priority is gaming power or raw performance, you should wait. The improvements from the Arrow Lake Refresh are focused on AI, not frame rates.
For now, Intel is playing catch-up in both areas. While the NPU boost may open the door for new AI-powered experiences on desktops, true gaming improvements are likely still a year or more away.
