What is TOPS?

TOPS stands for Trillions of Operations Per Second.

It is commonly used to describe the theoretical AI computing capability of processors such as NPUs.

For example:

45 TOPS = 45 trillion operations per second.

Does higher TOPS mean a faster NPU?

Not necessarily.

TOPS alone cannot tell you how fast an AI model will actually run.

Real-world performance can also depend on:

• Numerical precision
• Memory bandwidth
• NPU architecture
• Model architecture
• Software optimization
• Power limits
• AI runtime and framework

Because manufacturers may report TOPS under different conditions, TOPS figures should be compared carefully.

NPU.top and TOPS

NPU.top distinguishes between manufacturer-reported specifications and independently measured performance whenever possible.

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NPU.top — The Neural Processing Unit Database