AMD’s next-gen Zen 5 “Strix Halo” APU should worry both Apple and Nvidia

AMD’s next-gen “Strix Halo” APU should deliver insane levels of GPU performance – Expect incredible mobile performance

If the latest information from Moore’s Law is Dead is accurate, AMD are aiming to release a “Halo” product in 2024 that aims to take the mobile CPU market by storm. With Strix Halo, AMD are reportedly aiming to deliver a 16-core Zen 5 mobile processor will ship with a RDNA 3+ GPU, a dedicated AO processor and a wide 256-bit LPDDR5X memory controller. With this chip, AMD are challenging Apple’s M-series of mobile processors, Nvidia’s Max-Q series graphics chips, and Intel’s mobile processors.

With an RDNA 3+ (Enhanced RDNA 3) that sports up to 40 CUs and 32MB of Infinity Cache, AMD’s Strix Halo processor is said to offer levels of integrated graphics performance that should rival Nvidia’s RTX 4070 Max-Q discrete graphics card. This factor alone should scare Nvidia, as this means that AMD has the potential to wipe out the lower-end discrete GPU market with strong integrated graphics. Beyond that, integrating an AMD processor with strong discrete graphics sounds a lot easier, and cheaper, for system integrators to use (and cool) than separate CPU and graphics chips.

In an early Cinebench R23 result, AMD’s Strix Halo processor is said to be 25% faster than their existing 16-core Dragon Range processor when both CPUs are limited to under 90 watts. Not only does Strix Point reportedly have a strong GPU, it also has a strong CPU. Add on AMD’s rumoured 40 TOPS AI engine, and AMD are set to deliver strong competition for AMD, Nvidia, and Intel in 2024.

With AMD’s Strix Halo processor, AMD are reportedly preparing multiple SKUs that will combat Nvidia on several levels. Their 40 CU model should deliver performance levels that are similar to sub-95W RTX 4070 Max-Q GPUs, their 32 CU model should compete sell with sub-65W RTX 4060 Max-Q laptops, and their lower-end 24CU and 20CU models should compete well with Nvidia’s RTX 4050 laptops.

Having this level of gaming and CPU compute on a mobile APU is a big deal for AMD, and has the potential to hammer Nvidia’s GPU sales in the lower-end of the gaming laptop market. If Intel cannot make similar gains with their next-generation mobile GPUs, AMD should offer buyers stronger levels of performance in workloads that require a mixture of CPU, GPU, and AI compute. Additionally, this CPU can also steer consumers away from Apple’s M-series MacBooks.

With Strix Halo, AMD has the potential to transform their position within the mobile CPU market, delivering a strong singular processor that can deliver strong CPU, GPU, and AI performance to customers while keeping power draw low. The second half of 2024 is set to be an exciting time for AMD, assuming that these reports from Moore’s Law is Dead are accurate.

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