How to check if your PC has an NPU on Windows 11

• To determine if the PC has an NPU on Windows 11, open Task Manager > Performance and check for the NPU chip.
• You can also check for “Narual processors” in the “Device Manager” to confirm the presence of an NPU.
• Alternatively, you can check the Intel processor specification page to confirm the AI chip support.

On Windows 11, you can quickly check if your computer includes an NPU (Neural Processing Unit), and in this guide, I’ll outline the steps to complete this process.

As we move into the world of AI, you will continue to hear the term “NPU,” which is a chip designed to speed up the process of AI tasks that usually come inside the CPU. Currently, we are in the early days of adoption, so computers do not require an NPU, but starting in 2024 and moving forward, most devices (especially laptops) will include the also referred to as AI processors.

If you have a fairly new computer, it might already have the chip, but you can always check the presence of an NPU on Windows 11 through Task Manager and Device Manager and directly confirm with the processor manufacturer.

In this guide, I will outline the steps to determine if your computer features an AI accelerator chip on Windows 11.

• Check for NPU on Windows 11 from Task Manager
• Check for NPU on Windows 11 from Device Manager
• Check for NPU on Windows 11 from Intel and AMD

Check for NPU on Windows 11 from Task Manager

To check if the computer includes an NPU, use these steps:

1. Open Start on Windows 11.

2. Search for Task Manager and click the top result to open the app.

3. Click on Performance.

4. Confirm the device includes an NPU.

   

Once you complete the steps, the Task Manager will confirm if the device has a Neural Processing Unit.

Check for NPU on Windows 11 from Device Manager

To check if the PC has an NPU, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Device Manager and click the top result to open the app.

3. Check for the “Neural processors” category.

   

If the category exists, the laptop or desktop computer includes an NPU. You can expand to view more information about the chip.

Check for NPU on Windows 11 from Intel and AMD

Alternatively, you can check your processor model against the manufacturer database to confirm the presence of an NPU.

You can confirm the brand and model of your computer’s CPU on Settings > System > About, and under the “Device specifications” section, confirm the hardware details.

To check the processor specs on Intel to confirm support for an AI processor, use these steps:

1. Open Intel Product Specifications page.

2. Click on Processors.

3. Choose your computer’s processor.

4. Scroll down to the “NPU Specifications” section and confirm the NPU name, frequency, and other specs.

   

Once you complete the steps, the website documentation will confirm whether the processor comes equipped with a Neural Processing Unit.

If you have an AMD system, at the time of this writing, according to the company, AMD Ryzen 7040 and 8040 Series processors are the ones with built XDNA NPUs and “Zen” cores for AI acceleration. However, Windows 11 won’t display this information until the Task Manager receives an update to add NPU monitoring.