"Gigabyte is an AI company" now—and the gaming hardware seems to have taken a back seat
The funky new motherboards and beautiful OLEDs were there, but you could be forgiven for missing them.
Gigabyte held its "Gigabyte Unleashed" event today at Computex 2024. There was a small display of motherboards mounted to walls, some new OLED screens to stare at lovingly, and a smattering of gaming laptops, pushed off in a corner like they hadn't really been invited. All the usual suspects you'd expect from a Gigabyte unveiling.
Plenty to talk about for our speakers then, you would think. And you'd be wrong. Instead, I and the assembled press were treated to a long presentation introducing "Gigabyte AI TOP", an "all around solution" to "win advantages ahead of traditional AI training methods". As for the exciting new hardware? If it wasn't AI related, it very much took a back seat.
For diligence, let's start out with Gigabyte's AI TOP Utility, essentially a tool and user interface that helps you train your own AI models. Why this was the first focus of the event, and our host was so excited, remains unclear.
"It's so easy," says the presenter, as he demonstrates a complicated sequence of menus, sliders and checkboxes. "Even a novice can easily adjust parameters and optimise model training with just a few clicks."
Carefully dodging the inferred question, of course, of exactly how many people would really need it. If you're somebody familiar with the intricacies of building an AI model, I suppose having a user interface that's something other than damned unintuitive may well be a boon.
But for a room full of tech journos, surrounded by motherboards, OLED monitors, and gaming laptops that look much more interesting, it went down like a lead balloon. And this was just the beginning. Some 20 minutes later—as yet more menus were revealed—our host had definitely lost the crowd.
People began to chat among themselves. Sniggers were heard. I saw someone get up for sandwiches and coffee, mid-presentation. Twice. A faux pas at most events when someone is speaking, I think it's fair to say. Here, I empathised.
My eyelids began to droop. The Taipei jetlag, creeping in.
AI might be the hot new thing, kids. But a GUI to help you build your own that still looks dreadfully complicated and fussy, with the best will in the world, does not make for an exciting reveal.
Nor do efficiency claims, despite a single half-hearted "whoop" at the reveal of 0.34 tokens created per watt for a Gigabyte AI PC setup. Or something. At this point, I was clinging on to my sanity. At some point, I thought hopefully, we'll talk about some gaming hardware.
AI Top motherboards were shown, "maximised for AI training possibilities", with multiple PCIe 5.0 slots, and a dual slot RTX 4070 Ti Super design made to be stacked together in groups for AI processing. An "AI PSU", a 1600W unit for "AI training with a single wall plug". An "AI TOP SSD", by which Gigabyte means, a decently-specced Gen 4 drive with a very high durability rating.
Be still, my beating heart.
Behind us sat the OLED monitors, rear connector motherboards and case designs, like kids dressed up for the school disco, waiting to be asked to dance. The presentation, however, seemed determined to ignore their existence. Not one mention was made.
As far as Gigabyte's concerned, it seems, AI is the only game in town worth talking about this year. And it's far from the only company leaning in that direction. Those of us focussed on gaming hardware, displays, or really anything else, seem to have been demoted, at least at Gigabyte's event. It's there, but it's the AI stuff that's really exciting. Promise.
Still, it wasn't all bad. We were shown a clip of an AI TOP tutor, which came in the form of a 3D rendered AI model of a lady who, I was told, can "fulfil all my wishes" thanks to the power of AI. I still don't know quite what that means, and am more than a little reluctant to find out.
Look, it's day one of my trip. Sure, I'm tired, and maybe a little grouchier than normal. But my goodness, the mood in the room here turned from anticipatory to disinterested, to downright bored within minutes. Shared looks between us, said it all.
"Gigabyte is an AI company," we are told. Shame. I liked it more when it was, well, anything else.