Talking with XDA-Developers, AMD has confirmed more details about the upcoming Phoenix2 APU, which should debut with Ryzen 3 7440U and Ryzen 5 7540U APUs. Unlike the larger Phoenix APU, the Phoenix2 APU will have a hybrid design with Zen 4 and Zen 4c cores. As confirmed by AMD, the Phoenix2 APU will be a 6-core design, which makes it pretty clear it will feature two Zen 4 and four Zen 4c cores. It will also come with a Radeon 740M GPU with 4 RDNA3 compute units (CUs). The Phoenix2 APU will also lack the Ryzen AI core. Unlike Intel's hybrid approach, Zen 4c cores will have the same IPC as Zen 4, same instructions, but have less L3 cache per core.

AMD has previously confirmed that the Ryzen 3 7440U will have a smaller die size of 137 mm², compared to 178 mm² on the Ryzen 5 7640U. While AMD did not directly confirmed that the Ryzen 5 7540U will also be based on the Phoenix2 APU, official specification shows it with the same 4 GPU cores and without Ryzen AI core, making it pretty obvious it will be based on the same Phoenix2 APU. Hopefully, AMD will come up with more official details about its Phoenix2 APU as there are still a lot of unknowns.

RubyRapids and westlake tipped off VideoCardz to the presence of interesting information sitting within the latest AMD Adrenalin update notes—its integrated driver compatibility list has been expanded with the addition of a mobile-oriented iGPU Radeon 700M family (780M, 760M and 740M). It seems that Team Red's Phoenix series will be included in the main branch, and not be limited to OEM distribution for software improvements. A public driver release schedule for the Radeon 700M series will provide gamers with access to official updates through normal channels, with the benefit of—hopefully—no major delays.

VideoCardz reckons that an integration into the main branch means: "that whether the GPU being updated relies on RDNA3 in a discrete GPU or as an integrated solution, it will be fully supported through one package. The latest 23.7.2 driver now supports Radeon 7000 desktop and mobile, AMD Ryzen 7045 Dragon Range, Ryzen 7040U and Ryzen 7040HS series." The ASUS ROG Ally's Ryzen Z1 series seems to be the exception, since AMD has not included these APUs in the latest list of supported devices. Folks who have pored over the document have discovered up to "517 devices listed on the hardware support list, including PCI Device IDs and sub-IDs." Many Phoenix APU models are seemingly destined for fitting in a wide variety of laptops and (very likely handheld) gaming consoles. A mysterious model—Ryzen 7 7840S—was also spotted. This looks to be a Lenovo-specific 8-core Ryzen processor based on Phoenix silicon—ITHome believes that it utilizes a customized FP8 package.

AMD's laptop-oriented Ryzen 7040 series of Zen 4 processors APUs—based on 4 nm "Phoenix" monolithic silicon—have been slow to hit the market, but folks have had plenty of time to study spec sheets and press material. The presence of similar-ish 7040HS and 7040H product assignments (also sharing nearly identical specifications) has caused some confusion within the PC hardware community. Team Red has finally got round to explaining the significance of their -HS and -H identifiers—product pages were updated with new information this month, showing that the Ryzen 7040H series exists as a Chinese market exclusive. NA, EMEA, APJ, LATAM regions will be getting the closely related Ryzen 7040HS lineup instead. ASUS, Lenovo, and Machenike are set to launch new laptop models in China that will feature Ryzen 7040H APUs—VideoCardz found it interesting that "some of them will not have discrete graphics and will have a higher TDP of 65 W".

A screenshot from Puget Systems benchmark database reveals a new upcoming desktop processor model by AMD, the Ryzen 5 7500F. The screenshot details the 7500F as a 6-core processor, and the machine features an ASUS ROG Strix X670E-F Gaming motherboard, along with an RTX 4080 graphics card. At this point it's hard to tell what the "F" brand extension means in AMD nomenclature. On Intel, it denotes a lack of integrated graphics.

There are two possible theories on what the 7500F could be. One holds that it's a down-rated "Raphael" MCM with a disabled iGPU; while the other holds that it could be based on the 4 nm Phoenix-2 monolithic silicon. Detailed in an older article, the Phoenix-2 is a 137 mm² monolithic silicon that physically features no more than 6 "Zen 4" CPU cores, and an iGPU with just 4 RDNA 3 compute units, besides I/O that's identical to that of the regular 178 mm² 8-core/12-CU Phoenix silicon. Phoenix-2 on AM5 might just end up with a lower bill of materials than a single-CCD "Raphael" MCM.

Update 06:13 UTC: A Korean retailer has posted the first picture of the Ryzen 5 7500F in the flesh. They claim a street price of around $170-180 (KRW equivalent), and availability slated for July 7.

AMD has designed a physically smaller version of its 4 nm "Phoenix" mobile processor silicon. The chip could power lower-end mobile SKUs in the Ryzen 3 and Ryzen 5 series, and it's likely that it could make it to Socket AM5, where it will power Ryzen 3 and lower-end versions of Ryzen 5 desktop processors. Built on the same 4 nm foundry process as the standard "Phoenix" silicon, the so-called "Phoenix 2" or "PHX2" die physically features a 6-core/12-thread CPU based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, and a physically smaller iGPU with just two WGPs (workgroup processors), or 4 CU (compute units), which work out to 256 stream processors. This iGPU is based on the same RDNA3 graphics architecture as the one powering the regular "Phoenix" silicon. At this point we don't know if the Ryzen AI component gets the axe, but given AMD's enthusiasm with consumer AI acceleration, the die might just retain it.

The PHX2 die likely retains the I/O of the regular "Phoenix," including a dual-channel (4 sub-channel) DDR5 and LPDDR5 memory interface, and a 24-lane PCI-Express Gen 4 root complex. These changes result in a die that appears to be around three-quarters the size of the regular "Phoenix," with an area of around 137 mm², compared to 178 mm² of the regular "Phoenix." The smaller die will save AMD big on costs and yields. At this time, there are at least two processor models reported to be based on this die, the Ryzen 5 7540U and Ryzen 3 7440U. Both are 15 W to 28 W class mobile processors aimed at thin-and-light notebooks.

AMD today launched its Ryzen 7040HS line of mobile processors targeting consumer notebooks of conventional thickness and portability, which AMD considers thin-and-light. This class of devices is positioned between ultraportable notebooks, and gaming notebooks or portable workstations. AMD already powers several segments of gaming notebooks and portable workstations with its Ryzen 7045HX series "Dragon Range" mobile processors, with CPU core counts ranging between 6 and 16; as well as the ultraportable segment with the Ryzen 7040U series; but while the 7045 series have their TDP rated in the 45 W to 65 W range, and the Ryzen 7040U in the 15 W to 28 W range, the company was lacking a current-generation processor lineup in the 35 W to 54 W segment, which the company is filling up with today's Ryzen 7040HS series launch.

The Ryzen 7040HS series processors are based on the 4 nm "Phoenix" monolithic silicon, just like the 7040U series, and is based on a combination of "Zen 4" microarchitecture for its CPU, RDNA3 graphics architecture for its iGPU, and the new XDNA architecture for its Ryzen AI on-chip accelerator. Physically, the "Phoenix" silicon features an 8-core/16-thread "Zen 4" CPU. Each core has 1 MB of dedicated L2 cache, and a 16 MB L3 cache is shared among the 8 cores. The iGPU features 12 RDNA3 compute units, which amount to 768 stream processors, along with 24 AI Accelerators (specific to the RDNA3 architecture); 24 Ray Accelerators, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The iGPU meets the full DirectX 12 Ultimate logo requirements. The Ryzen AI XDNA accelerator features 20 AI acceleration tiles, each with local memory.

Mark Liu, the executive Chairman of TSMC, has responded to recent reports released by the North American media about supposedly challenging workplace conditions. Current and former employees of the company's U.S operation have taken anonymously to Glassdoor to complain about "brutal" treatment on behalf of TSMC leadership—resulting in a 27% overall approval rating, which sits unfavorably next to the scores of nearby competitors—for example Intel gets 85%, albeit from far more user submissions. Liu has made comments to a Taiwanese news outlet (Focus Taiwan) where he suggests that: "those who are unwilling to take shifts should not enter the industry, since this field isn't just about lucrative wages but rather a passion for (semiconductors)."

TSMC is trying to meet staffing targets for its Phoenix, Arizona operation, but early feedback and difficult residential living could stifle this recruitment drive. Liu thinks that his North American division will offer potential employees a workplace culture that is unlike the one set for crew back in Taiwan. He told the local reporter that American TSMC team members will have an easier time, relative to how things are run at the company's native facilities. He also states that leadership is open to discussions with NA workers, as long as company values are followed (to a tee).

TSMC is having a tough time establishing itself in the United States with new manufacturing facilities - the Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company is putting a great deal of effort into finishing its new Arizona foundry, located in the greater Phoenix area. A minor fire incident occurred at one of their construction sites in late April, and North American news outlets last week reported on the company's struggle to recruit enough staff - approximately 4500 positions - for its upcoming Arizona plants. Current and former employees of TSMC in the U.S. have taken to the Glassdoor review website - user feedback has so far awarded the company a 27% approval rating via 91 submissions, thus warning potential candidates to stay away. Apparently American staffers have found it difficult to adjust to TSMC's corporate culture, and the company could face further challenges when transferring staff from Taiwan.

The latest news from Arizona points to problems encountered at the so-called "TSMC Village" - actually two residential locations divided into "A" and "B" categories. Taiwan's Economic Daily released a video report late last month covering crime-related incidents - this information has since been picked up by Western news outlets. Perpetrators have targeted houses and cars within these new build communities - UDN's footage indicates that seven vehicles located in Village A were damaged with a portion of them broken into. A single Village B property was accessed by possible squatters, and an unspecified number of TSMC engineers have been "robbed" throughout May. Several residents were contacted by UDN - interviewees expressed frustrations with the lack of security in the area, and blamed a local management company for not bolstering prevention measures.

Acer today announced the refreshed Acer Swift Edge 16 (SFE16-43) laptop, designed for dynamic professionals requiring high computing capability, productivity, and portability from their hardware. The lightweight laptop is powered by AMD Ryzen 7040 Series processors and up to AMD Radeon 780M graphics for next-gen performance and visuals, and features AMD Ryzen AI on select models with select processors, enabling the device to keep up with today's AI demands and more.

The Swift Edge 16 showcases a stunning 16-inch 3.2K OLED display with an upgraded refresh rate of 120 Hz and support for 100% DCI-P3 color gamut to provide true-to-life colors and images. The Windows 11 laptop also boasts compatibility with up to Wi-Fi 7, Microsoft Pluton, and a range of smart features so users can stay connected to fast wireless connections and have private data secured.

AMD has already announced that its Ryzen 7040HS laptop processors will be shipping in April, missing its original March date. As these are still nowhere to be seen on retail/e-tail shelves, AMD has now confirmed these chips have shipped to OEMs, and it is just a matter of time before these laptops become available.

Speaking to Tom's Hardware, AMD representative confirmed that the company has start to ramp production of Ryzen 7040 series chips, started shipping those chips last quarter, and the first Ryzen 7040HS systems should hit retail/e-tail "over the next several weeks". As said, it appears that AMD's original statement regarding the delay was about shipping those chips to OEMs, rather than OEMs shipping actual products.

AMD has reportedly signed up with Samsung Electronics to shift some of its 4 nm processor silicon fabrication from TSMC. The apex Taiwan-based foundry is reportedly operating at capacity for its 4 nm-class nodes, with customers such as Apple and Qualcomm sourcing 4 nm mobile SoCs on the node, leaving AMD with limited allocation and/or bargaining power with TSMC. The company relies on 4 nm for its Ryzen 7040 series "Phoenix" mobile processors, and is in the process of adapting its design for Samsung's 4 nm-class nodes (of which there are five types for AMD to choose from).

Switching to Samsung probably gives AMD more scalability, particularly given that "Phoenix" has missed its release timeline, leaving AMD with the 5 nm + 6 nm Ryzen 7045 series "Dragon Range" MCM in the premium segments, and older 6 nm 7035 series "Rembrandt-R" in the mainstream and ultraportable segments, but nothing "apt" to compete against Intel "Raptor Lake-U" and "Raptor Lake-P." AMD has a limited window in which to ramp up "Phoenix," as Intel readies "Meteor Lake" for a 2H-2023 debut, with a focus on mobile variants.

AMD is late in releasing its Phoenix Zen 4 lineup of mobile APUs - the original April launch has been missed, and laptops bearing Ryzen 7000HS & H-series are expected to arrive at some point this month. Preview hardware has made its way into the hands of testers, and one particular outlet - Golden Pig Upgrade, a content creator on the Chinese Bilibili video site - has performed benchmark tests. He seems to be the first reviewer to get hands-on time with AMD Ryzen 7040 Phoenix APUs, and his findings point to class leading performance results in terms of graphical capabilities - the 7840HS (packing a Radeon 780M RDNA3 iGPU) is compared to the Rembrandt-based 7735H, as well as a pair of Intel Raptor Lake CPUs - the 13700H and 13500H models.

AMD's newest Phoenix APU is the group leader in GPU performance stakes, but the jump up from the last-gen Rembrandt (RDNA2 iGPU) chip is not all that significant. VideoCardz reckons that the Radeon 780M integrated GPU is roughly equivalent to an NVIDIA GeForce MX550 dGPU and not far off from a GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics card (in terms of benchmark performance). According to AMD's internal documentation the RDNA 3 core architecture utilized in Phoenix APUs is referred to as "2.5" so this perhaps explains why the 780M is not doing laps around its older silbing(s).

ASUS's sensational handheld game console, the ROG Ally, will be priced at $699.99 for the model powered by the top AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, according to a leak by SnoopyTech. This top model will feature a 7-inch Full HD screen with 120 Hz refresh-rate, and Dolby Atmos-capable audio. Under the hood, the Ryzen Z1 is based on the 4 nm "Phoenix" silicon, featuring an 8-core/16-thread "Zen 4" CPU, and its full Navi3 iGPU based on the RDNA3 graphics architecture, with 12 CU (768 stream processors). This chip is wired to 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory, and a 512 GB NVMe SSD.

ASUS has a cheaper model of the ROG Ally designed for cloud gaming and casual gaming, powered by the Ryzen Z1 (non-Extreme). The non-Extreme Z1 rocks a 6-core/12-thread "Zen 4" CPU, but a heavily cut down iGPU with just 4 CU (256 stream processors), which are plenty for the intended use-cases. ASUS could price this much lower than the top model, with speculations pointing to $499.

According to the latest information, it appears that first laptops with AMD Ryzen 7040 series APUs, code name Phoenix, will launch in late April, with U-series coming in May. AMD has previously delayed the Phoenix APUs in order to "align with platform readiness and ensure the best possible user experience," the first notebooks powered by Ryzen 7040HS series processors are expected in April.

According to Golden Pig Upgrade from Bilibili, at least the Ryzen 7840HS will launch on April 30th, and the 7840U SKU is probably expected on May 1st. As noted, AMD has announced the 7040 HS- and H-series SKUs, and has previously briefly mentioned the 15 W U-series SKUs, but has not officially unveiled any specifications. So far, three 7040 U-series SKUs have leaked online. Hopefully, AMD will share a bit more details by the end of this month.

When you buy a notebook powered by a Ryzen 7000 series mobile processor, you're either getting a cutting-edge chip powered by the company's latest "Zen 4" CPU cores, or one that has been rebadged from the company's previous-gen Ryzen 6000 "Zen 3+" or even Ryzen 5000 "Zen 3" (DDR4) processor series. The question on the tech buyer's mind will be "how to I spot a Ryzen 7000 series processor-powered notebook that actually gives me "Zen 4" CPU cores?"

AMD attempted to answer this with an exclusive new case badge for Ryzen 7000 series processors with "Zen 4" CPU cores. This new case badge looks not much different from the AMD Expo logo, in that the AMD Ryzen main branding is set against an orange backdrop. This bit is surrounded by a silver-metallic frame, with the 5/7/9 brand extension on its corner, along with "7000 series" marked. This case badge is only to be included with a Ryzen 7040 series "Phoenix" or Ryzen 7045 series "Dragon Range" processor present, and cannot be used with Ryzen 7035 series "Rembrandt Refresh" or Ryzen 7030 series "Barcelo Refresh," or Ryzen 7020 series "Mendocino."

As it turned out that ASUS ROG Ally handheld console is not actually an April Fools' Day prank, more details have started to appear about this Steam Deck competitor, and these first details look pretty promising. According to the Dave2D video, showing the prototype unit in full details, the ASUS ROG Ally will indeed be based on a 4 nm custom AMD APU, featuring Zen 4 CPU and RDNA3 iGPU, so we are most likely looking at a custom AMD Phoenix APU.

The video had a few nice pictures of the pre-production PCB as well as the cooling setup as well as details on the screen, and some performance of the ASUS ROG Ally. The ROG Ally measures at 280 x 133 x 39 mm and weighing 608 grams. This makes it shorter, narrower, thinner, as well as lighter, compared to the Steam Deck. It also comes with 7-inch display, but this time around, it is a 500 nits, 1920x1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and 5 ms response time, which makes it much better compared to the Steam Deck.

Update: LinusTechTips is the second one to get access to ASUS ROG Ally prototype and has provided a bit more details on specifications, performance, and other things about the upcoming handheld console.

While AMD has yet to officially launch the 7040 Series Phoenix APUs, yet another SKU has been spotted online, the 6-core/12-thread AMD Ryzen 5 7540U. Based on AMD's Zen 4 architecture and featuring RDNA3 iGPU, this SKU will join the recently spotted Ryzen 5 7640U and the Ryzen 7 7840U.

It is not clear how many SKUs will AMD actually have in the Ryzen 7040 U-Series, but so far three SKUs have leaked online. The earlier slide, which mentioned the Ryzen 7040 Series, put it in the thin and light segment with TDP ranging from 15 W to 28 W. Bear in mind that AMD will also have the 7040 series non-U Phoenix APUs that will fit the 35 W - 45 W "thin enthusiast" HS-series segment. There is also the "ultra enthusiast" HX-series segment with the recently launched 7045 Series Dragon Range APUs.

Benchmark results for Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 SoC appeared on Geekbench Browser early yesterday morning, under the designation Snapdragon 8cx Next Gen. This chipset is tipped to be a successor to the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, which was launched at the end of 2021 as the world's first 5 nm Arm-based SoC for Windows laptops. A tipster on Twitter has highlighted the very underwhelming results posted by the next gen chipset, and these figures would indicate that an engineering sample was the test subject, not final silicon. The 8-core Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 is shown to outperform its supposed successor, and the clock frequencies for the latter appear to be lower than anticipated.

The Geekbench 5 database entry for Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 also reveals details about its specifications - a 12-core configuration that is split into eight performance cores and four power-efficiency ones. The base core frequency is listed as being 2.38 GHz, and the benchmark was completed under a Balanced Power plan in Windows 11 Home Insider Preview. 16 GB of RAM was used in the test kit, although earlier leaks have indicated that the chipset can support up to a maximum of 64 GB LPDDR5 RAM.

According to the latest leak, AMD's upcoming Phoenix accelerated processing units (APUs) could feature a hybrid design, featuring Performance and Efficiency cores. While there are no precise details, the latest AMD processor programming guide, leaked online, clearly marks these as two types of cores, most likely standard Zen 4 and energy-efficient Zen 4c cores.

These two set of cores will features a different feature set, and the latest document gives software designers guidelines. Such hybrid CPU design, similar to ARM's BIG.little architecture, will allow AMD to be more competitive with Intel's similar P- and E-core design, allowing it to achieve certain performance levels while also maintaining power efficiency.

AMD's 4 nm "Phoenix" silicon could serious turn the company's fortunes around in the ultra-thin notebook space. The 28-Watt Ryzen 7 7840U surfaced on Cinebench R23 screenshots, where it is shown beating the previous-generation 55 W flagship, the Ryzen 9 6900HX. If this is any indication of performance across the board, then the 15-28 W models of Ryzen 7040-series "Phoenix" could unleash an open-season against competing 15-28 W-category 13th Gen Core processors that have lower P-core counts, such as 2P+8E. The 7840U has all eight "Zen 4" CPU cores enabled, along with a fast RDNA3 graphics architecture based iGPU. In the screenshot, the 7840U is shown with a Cinebench R23 multi-threaded score of 14285 points, a score that is higher than that of the "Zen 3+" based 6900HX "Rembrandt," and a touch below the 45 W Core i7-12800H, which means it could have the upper hand over several 13th Gen and 12 Gen SKUs in the 15-28 W category.

If you were one of those that were waiting with bated breath for AMD's Zen 4 based "Phoenix" line-up of mobile CPUs, you're going to be waiting a little longer. Late on Friday afternoon AMD announced that they have delayed the launch of their Ryzen Mobile 7040HS series of CPUs, pushing the expected launch window from late March to some time in April. Speculation abound as to why this may be, but the direct correspondence from AMD's PR department is sparse:

To align with platform readiness and ensure the best possible user experience, we now expect our OEM partners to launch the first notebooks powered by Ryzen 7040HS Series processors in April.

As a refresher on the "Phoenix" line of CPUs these are the next-generation Zen 4 based monolithic SoCs built on TSMC's 4 nm process first announced back in January. These chips feature up to 8 Zen 4 cores with turbo clocks reaching 5 to 5.2 GHz, an RDNA3 based integrated GPU with clocks as high as 3 GHz, and AMD's first AI coprocessor dubbed Ryzen AI. Despite being Zen 4 these SoCs are still using PCI-E Gen 4 but are not hamstrung by a lack of lanes like some previous generations. We've already seen substantial leaks over the past few days hinting at the performance of these chips which suggests they will offer good competition to Intel's shipping 13th Gen Raptor Lake mobile offerings.

Phoenix Technologies, a leading independent firmware supplier for PCs and computing devices, has launched FirmGuard, a cyber security product to address firmware vulnerability. Firmware is the software that connects a device's microchips to the operating system.

Phoenix Technologies is the first UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) vendor to offer an enterprise cyber security product. FirmGuard is a cloud-based service, which has been initially targeted at managed service providers (MSPs). It will also be offered to large enterprise and government organizations.

AMD is preparing to update its mobile sector with the latest IP in the form of Zen4 CPU cores and RDNA3 graphics. According to Red Gaming Tech, we have specifications of upcoming processor families. First, we have AMD Dragon Range mobile processors representing a downsized Raphael design for laptops. Carrying Zen4 CPU cores and RDNA2 integrated graphics, these processors are meant to power high-performance laptops with up to 16 cores and 32 threads. Being a direct competitor to Intel's Alder Lake-HX, these processors also carry an interesting naming convention. The available SKUs include AMD Ryzen 5 7600HX, Ryzen 7 7800HX, Ryzen 9 7900HX, and Ryzen 9 7980HX design with a massive 16-core configuration. These CPUs are envisioned to run along with more powerful dedicated graphics, with clock speeds of 4.8-5.0+ GHz.

Next, we have AMD Phoenix processors, which take Dragon Range's design to a higher level thanks to the newer graphics IP. Having Zen4 cores, Phoenix processors carry upgraded RDNA3 graphics chips to provide a performance level similar to NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q SKU, all in one package. These APUs will come in four initial configurations: Ryzen 5 7600HS, Ryzen 7 7800HS, Ryzen 9 7900HS, and Ryzen 9 7980HS. While maxing out at eight cores, these APUs will compensate with additional GPU compute units with a modular chiplet design. AMD Phoenix is set to become AMD's first chiplet design launching for the laptop market, and we can expect more details as we approach the launch date.

An engineering sample of AMD's next-generation Ryzen "Phoenix Point" mobile processor has been powered up, and made its first appearance on the Geekbench user-database. "Phoenix Point" is a monolithic silicon mobile processor built on the TSMC N5 (5 nm EUV) process, featuring "Zen 4" CPU cores, and a significantly faster iGPU based on the RDNA3 graphics architecture; along with a DDR5/LPDDR5 memory interface, and PCI-Express Gen 5.0 capability. An engineering sample with an 8-core/16-thread CPU, with the OPN code "100-000000709-23_N," hit the radar. AMD could debut Ryzen "Phoenix Point" in the first quarter of 2023, possibly with an International CES announcement.

AMD's next-generation Ryzen 7000-series "Phoenix" mobile processors are all the rage these days. Bound for 2023, these chips feature a powerful iGPU based on the RDNA3 graphics architecture, with performance allegedly rivaling that of a GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU—a popular performance-segment discrete GPU. What's more, AMD is also taking a swing at Intel in the CPU core-count game, by giving "Phoenix" a large number of "Zen 4" CPU cores. The secret ingredient pushing this combo, however, is a large cache.

AMD has used large caches to good effect both on its "Zen 3" processors, such as the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, where they're called 3D Vertical Cache (3D V-cache); as well as its Radeon RX 6000 discrete GPUs, where they're called Infinity Cache. The only known difference between the two is that the latter is fully on-die, while the former is stacked on top of existing silicon IP. It's being reported now, that "Phoenix" will indeed feature a stacked 3D V-cache.