I want to offload inference to DLA on a robot with a 30 W compute budget. Which module with 2 NVDLA engines gives the most AI TOPS at 30 W max or less?

Question

Rapidflare · Accepted Answer

**The Jetson Orin NX 16GB is your best option. It gives you up to 100 TOPS (INT8, sparse) in its default 10–25 W power range.** It has 2 NVDLA engines, and its whole power range stays under your 30 W budget.

**Production modules with 2 NVDLA engines and a maximum power of 30 W or less**

| Module | NVDLA engines | Power range (default) | Max AI performance (INT8) |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Jetson Orin NX 16GB** | 2 | 10–25 W | **100 TOPS** (sparse) |
| Jetson AGX Xavier 64GB (EOL) | 2 | 10–30 W | 32 TOPS (dense) |
| Jetson AGX Xavier 32GB | 2 | 10–30 W | 32 TOPS (dense) |
| Jetson Xavier NX 16GB | 2 | 10–20 W | 21 TOPS (dense) |
| Jetson Xavier NX 8GB | 2 | 10–20 W | 21 TOPS (dense) |

**Notes:**
- **Comparing the numbers:** The Orin figures are INT8 sparse and the Xavier figures are INT8 dense, so the gap between the generations isn't a like-for-like comparison.
- **Super mode doesn't fit your budget:** The Orin NX 16GB reaches 157 TOPS in Super mode, but that mode's power range goes up to 40 W. At your 30 W cap, the 100 TOPS default-mode figure is the one that applies.
- **DLA share of the TOPS:** These are the module's total AI performance figures. I couldn't find how many of those TOPS come from the DLA engines alone.
- **Modules that don't qualify:**
- **Jetson AGX Orin 32GB, AGX Orin 64GB, AGX Orin Industrial and AGX Xavier Industrial:** They have 2 NVDLA engines, but their maximum power is above 30 W (40–75 W).
- **Jetson Orin NX 8GB:** It has only 1 NVDLA engine.

Module with 2 NVDLA engines giving the most AI TOPS at 30 W max or less

Sources

Module	NVDLA engines	Power range (default)	Max AI performance (INT8)
Jetson Orin NX 16GB	2	10–25 W	100 TOPS (sparse)
Jetson AGX Xavier 64GB (EOL)	2	10–30 W	32 TOPS (dense)
Jetson AGX Xavier 32GB	2	10–30 W	32 TOPS (dense)
Jetson Xavier NX 16GB	2	10–20 W	21 TOPS (dense)
Jetson Xavier NX 8GB	2	10–20 W	21 TOPS (dense)