Although they have not yet been confirmed, but according to numerous leaks, it is basically known that AMD is preparing an even more powerful mobile processor with the Zen 5 architecture after the release of the Ryzen AI 300 processors based on the twelve-core Strix Point chip, which is said to have the internal designation Sarlak or Strix Halo. Now we apparently have confirmation that these processors will go on the market, the models that are coming, and the name under which they will enter the notebooks.
Information about the Strix Halo came from a leaker with the nickname Golden Pig Upgrade on the Chinese social network Weibo. Accordingly, this processor will also be introduced in the Ryzen AI 300 generation as the regular Strix Point-based Ryzen AI 9 models. But the high-end version of the Strix Halo will have Max added to the designation, or Max+ for higher models. The whole marking, which is already complicated, will be even more messy. “Max” will hopefully at least replace the number 3 / 5 / 7 / 9 in the name, the addition of which would make the “alphanumeric eintopf” even thicker.
According to this source, AMD is preparing three models. The highest of them will be Ryzen AI Max+ 395which will get 16 Zen 5 cores – while these should always be large cores, and also, unlike the Strix Point models, the AVX-512 implementation should provide full performance with 512-bit units. The Strix Halo is said to be a chiplet processor, and perhaps it could be the same CPU chiplets as the desktop Ryzen 9000s have.
Some time ago there were leaks suggesting that the Strix Halo could have CPU core boost frequencies of up to 5.4 GHz. Thanks to this and the larger (32 MB) L3 cache, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 could have significantly better single-threaded performance against the fastest Strix Point (Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 clocked at 5.1 GHz). However, we do not yet have data on the frequencies of directly finished serial models.
The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is said to have a fully active integrated graphics configuration that includes 40 CUs of what is believed to be the RDNA 3.5 architecture. It will therefore be 2560 shaders, with which the processor should have the most powerful iGPU on the market, capable of competing with a number of discrete graphics in notebooks, Strix Halo will also have 256-bit memory, which should provide sufficient throughput.
The second model Ryzen AI Max 390 it will have 12 Zen 5 cores, so it will copy the Ryzen 9 9900X model in the menu. However, on the GPU side, this model will still have a fully active configuration with 40 CUs and 2560 shaders (and we assume a full 256-bit memory bus as well). Thanks to the lower price, it could be a good choice for gaming use as well, but these APUs will probably generally be quite expensive “premium” stuff.
The third and so far the last model has a label Ryzen AI Max 385 and it has only eight cores, in this case only one CPU chiplet will probably be installed, but with the same IO and graphics chiplet. An octa-core would probably be the most efficient solution for gaming in terms of CPU, but with this particular model the graphics will be cut down to only 32 CU (2048 shaders).
Slower graphics versions with less than 2048 shaders are not yet listed anywhere. The Ryzen AI Max will probably be a relatively expensive solution, so AMD probably doesn’t want to cut them too much unnecessarily.
The Ryzen 7045HX notebook processors were also chiplet, but had the IO chiplet from the desktop, while the Strix Halo has a dedicated IO and GPU chiplet containing a 256-bit memory controller and powerful graphics
The Golden Pig Upgrade introduces one more detail. Up to 96 GB of graphics memory can be dedicated to the GPU. This, of course, only if the necessary amount of RAM is installed in the entire notebook. The maximum total capacity of the operating memory could perhaps be up to 256 GB thanks to the 256-bit width. However, such high capacities will probably be installed in laptops serving as workstations, where they will compete with processors such as the M3 Pro and M3 Max from Apple. The combination of a relatively powerful GPU and CPU could be used, for example, for the development of artificial intelligence applications.
It is still unclear how widespread these processors or APUs will be in notebooks. In the professional segment for “Workstation” use, the market for such devices is probably quite limited, so we would expect AMD to try to push Strix Halo and Ryzeny AI Max 300 into gaming laptops as well. It’s a question of how successful it will be, because in this segment Nvidia seems to be extremely hooked, and manufacturers have been putting very little Radeon graphics into notebooks in recent generations, whatever the reasons.
The Strix Halo could be an interesting piece of hardware because it eliminates the discrete GPU as a second source of heat in the laptop and shrinks the board so the clocked solution can be lighter, more mobile and more energy efficient. It will also support direct memory sharing between the CPU and GPU, since the graphics memory is physically one with the memory. But you will probably have to pay extra for this, and it is possible that this solution will usually be more expensive compared to notebooks with separate graphics.
It is not yet clear when these processors will be released. It can probably be expected to be revealed in January during CES 2025, but AMD has not revealed the date yet.
Source: VideoCardz
Source: www.cnews.cz
