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Ryzen AI 9 HX 370-powered GMKTec EVO X1 Mini PC Goes on Sale

AMD's recently announced Strix Point APU lineup has received favorable reviews from critics and consumers alike. Especially for SFF/Mini PC enthusiasts, Strix Point brings commendable efficiency and performance to the table - both of which are absolutely essential for a high-end mini PC. The GMK EVO-X1 is surely among those, and the system is now available for purchase from GMKTec's official online store.

The EVO X1 sports a 110.19 x 107.3 x 63.2 mm chassis, which is decently compact for its class. As mentioned previously, the system is powered by the 12-core (4x Zen 5 + 8x Zen 5c) Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU with the shockingly potent RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 890M iGPU with 16 CUs. For most CPU-centric workloads, the EVO X1 should easily suffice. The iGPU, as mentioned, is potent enough to handle most graphically demanding tasks, including some lightweight gaming, but expecting anything more from it would be futile. Thankfully, an OCuLink port is present, which should allow for extremely fast eGPU connections courtesy of its 64 Gbps bandwidth.

AMD RDNA 3.5 Powers Radeon RX 8000 for Mobile, RDNA 4 Drives RX 9000 Desktop Series

AMD's interim RDNA 3.5 architecture will power the Radeon RX 8000 series integrated graphics in "Strix Halo" mobile processors, while the more advanced RDNA 4 architecture is reserved for the higher-tier Radeon RX 9000 series of discrete graphics, according to @9550pro on X. We previously believed that AMD's Ryzen AI MAX 300 Strix Halo processors would carry an iGPU with Radeon 8000S branding. However, at the same time, we expected the Radeon RX 8000 series of desktop GPUs to have a similar branding while being powered by RDNA 4. The new Radeon naming scheme is now transparent, thanks to the latest leaks of the naming schemes and early glimpses of reference design.

The RDNA 4-based RX 9000 series will be powered by the Radeon RX 9070 XT, built on the Navi 48 silicon. This GPU represents AMD's new focus on the high-volume midrange performance segment rather than competing in the ultra-enthusiast high-end space. The architecture promises enhanced SIMD IPC performance and a specialized ray tracing solution that significantly reduces performance overhead compared to current offerings. According to All The Watts, the RX 9000 lineup is expected to include various SKUs across different performance tiers, including the RX 9060, 9050, and 9040 series. Meanwhile, the RDNA 3.5-powered RX 8000 series will serve as a refined iteration of the current RDNA 3 generation. Still, they will be exclusive to AMD's mobile segment in the form of iGPU, integrated inside Strix Halo APU. Both RDNA 4 GPUs and RDNA 3.5-based APUs are scheduled for the CES 2025 event unveiling in January.

AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 Benchmark Tips Cut-Back Radeon 860M GPU

AMD's upcoming Ryzen AI Kraken Point APUs appear to be affordable APUs for next-generation thin-and-light laptops and potentially even some gaming handhelds. Murmurings of these new APUs have been going around for quite some time, but a PassMark benchmark was just posted, giving us a pretty comprehensive look at the hardware configuration for the upcoming Ryzen AI 7 350. While the CPU configuration in the PassMark result confirms the 4+4 configuration we reported on previously, it seems as though the iGPU portion of the new Ryzen AI 7 is getting something of a downgrade compared to previous generations.

While all previous mobile Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 APUs have featured the Radeon -80M or -90M series iGPUs, the Ryzen AI 7 350 steps down to the AMD Radeon 860M. Although not much is known about the new iGPU, it uses the same nomenclature as the Radeon iGPUs found in previous Ryzen 5 APUs, suggesting it is the less performant of the new 800 series iGPUs. This would be the first time, at least since the introduction of the Ryzen branding, that a Ryzen 7 CPU will use a cut-down iGPU. This, along with the 4+4 (Zen 5 and Zen 5c) heterogenous architecture, suggests that this Ryzen 7 APU will prioritize battery life and thermal performance, likely in response to Qualcomm's recent offerings. Comparing the 760M to the single 860M benchmark on PassMark reveals similar performance, with the 860M actually falling behind the average 760M by an average of 9.1%. Take this with a grain of salt, though, since there is only one benchmark result on PassMark for the 860M.

Upcoming Mini PC From Aoostar With Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 "Strix Point" APU Teased

AMD's recently launched Strix Point lineup of high-end APUs boast truly impressive performance, even when configured with lower TDPs. As time goes on, more and more hardware brands are hitting the market with Strix Point-powered devices, and unsurprisingly, Aoostar does not wish to sit on the sidelines either.

The company has teased a yet-to-be announced mini PC, with Strix Point at its heart. Powered by the powerful Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU, the system will likely offer excellent performance, considering that Aoostar refuses to skimp on its cooling system. Thankfully, that does seem to be case, since Aoostar claims the upcoming mini PC will boast a vapor chamber cooling setup allowing the HX 370 to run at its maximum of 54 watts. For those out of the loop, here is a rundown of the HX 370's specifications: 12-core setup with 8 Zen 5c cores and 4 Zen 5 cores, Radeon 890M iGPU based on RDNA 3+, and a 50 TOPS XDNA 2 NPU to justify the "AI" branding.

AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ PRO 395 "Strix Halo" APU Spotted in Geekbench Leak

CES 2025 is less than a month away and leaks about AMD Strix Halo APUs are starting to emerge. Today we have confirmation via a leaked Geekbench Vulcan test that AMD will launch the Ryzen AI MAX+ PRO 395 w/ Radeon 8060S "Strix Halo" APU. Information reveals that this APU is equipped with 16 Zen 5 cores with 32 threads, a 3 GHz base frequency (4.4 GHz max), and a boost up to 5.1 GHz. It sports a 32 MB L3 cache per CCD for a total of 64 MB since it uses a dual CCD chip design. The TDP should be between 55-130 W. Moreover, the "PRO" in the product naming suggests that AMD could release non-PRO models at a later date.

The integrated Radeon 8060S iGPU adopts the RDNA 3.5 architecture with 40 computing units and was tested using an AMD reference board design codenamed AMD MAPLE-STXH and 64 GB of memory scoring 67,004 points in the Geekbench Vulkan test. This initial result is lower than AMD Radeon RX 7600 RDNA 3 discrete entry-level products (despite having more cores 40CU vs 32CU), and higher than NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. However, since the benchmark was run on an evaluation platform without optimized drivers and more likely using an early test sample product, we can expect the actual performance of the Radeon 8060S iGPU to be higher.

Sony Handheld Gaming Console Reportedly Coming for Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch Market Share

It looks like Sony is joining Xbox in the development of a standalone handheld gaming console to compete with the likes of the Nintendo Switch and Valve Steam Deck. According to a Bloomberg's insider sources, a Sony gaming handheld is already in development, and would be designed with Sony PlayStation 5 games in mind. Unlike the PlayStation Portal, the future gaming console wouldn't be dependent on game streaming and would, instead, run games locally, meaning it would likely need significantly more powerful hardware than the Portal has. This would be Sony's first true foray into the portable gaming console market since the likes of the PS Vita, which is largely considered to be a commercial disappointment.

Sony isn't the first of the console giants looking into creating its own gaming handheld after Nintendo's Switch. Obviously, Valve, traditionally more of a software company, already has the immensely popular Steam Deck, but we also recently reported that Microsoft is in the early stages of developing its own handheld gaming console. Details on the future Sony gaming handheld are scant, and there has been no official word from Sony about the console. That said, it wouldn't be surprising to see it equipped with an AMD APU, similar to the likes of the Steam Deck and the PS5, since Sony already has history and a commercial relationship with AMD hardware.

HWiNFO v8.16 Adds Support for Next-Gen AMD CPUs/APUs and Intel GPUs

HWiNFO has been updated to version v8.16, which brings several new improvements and fixes, as well as adds enhanced support for next-generation AMD CPUs and APUs, as well as next-generation Intel GPUs. While it does not specify any models, it is clear that it gets support for AMD's upcoming Kraken Point and Strix Halo APUs, as well as Intel's upcoming Battlemage GPUs.

In addition, the new HWiNFO v8.16 also improves support for Intel Lunar Lake, adds reporting of number of NPU tiles, adds support for Cybenetics Powenetics PMD (Power Measurements Device), enhances sensor monitoring on MSI's Z890, B860, and H810 series motherboards, enhances reporting of CUDIMM CKD parameters, NGU clock, and drive letter, and improves reporting of V/F curve settings, among other things. You can check out the full release notes below.

AYANEO 3 Handheld Unveiled with Hawk Point, Strix Point APUs and Optional OLED Display

AYANEO has officially revealed its latest handheld gaming console, dubbed the AYANEO 3. The company has teased the handheld multiple times in the past, while refraining from sharing any specifications regarding the same. Now, however, the company has detailed the internals for its new flagship handheld along with a few extra details.

The AYANEO 3 appears to be powered exclusively by AMD APUs, with Intel's Lunar Lake options nowhere to be found. Interested buyers will get to choose between either the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 "Strix Point" APU, or the Ryzen 7 8840U "Hawk Point" APU. The "Strix Point" option happens to be AMD's latest and greatest, packing 4 Zen 5 and 8 Zen 5c cores, while the "Hawk Point" option sports 8 Zen 4 cores only.

AMD "Krackan / Kraken Point" APU Spotted with 4+4 CPU Core Configuration and 32 GB LPDDR5X-8000 Memory

AMD's answer to Intel's "Lunar Lake" is here. According to Olrak29, who discovered a strange entry on the OpenBenchmark benchmarking suite made by Phoronix, we have preliminary information on AMD's "Krackan / Kraken Point" APU. Spotted in the benchmark trials is the "100-000000713" model, which corresponds to an eight-core, sixteen-threaded CPU with four regular Zen 5 and four smaller (but not less potent) Zen 5c cores clocked at 3.95 GHz. Do note that this is just an engineering sample in the wild, so final clock speeds will depend mainly on AMD and its OEMs, given by TDP they plan to support with Kraken Point.

Accompanying the 8C/16T CPU configuration is the 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory from SK Hynix. According to the benchmark reading, four 8 GB modules were present, so we expect it to be on the system board, unlike on-chip like Intel does with Lunar Lake. The memory is running at 8000 MT/s, which is a 500 MT/s improvement over Strix Point and slower than its competitor, Lunar Lake, which has LPDDR5X running at 8533 MT/s. Lastly, the Krackan / Kraken Point APU has been spotted with eight RDNA 3.5 Compute Units. Where this exactly lands in AMD's product stack is still unclear. We expect to hear more about it as we enter 2025, so by then, remain patient until the next leak.

Nintendo Switch 2 Allegedly Not Powered by AMD APU Due to Poor Battery Life

Nintendo's next-generation Switch 2 handheld gaming console is nearing its release. As leaks intensify about its future specifications, we get information about its planning stages. According to Moore's Law is Dead YouTube video, we learn that Nintendo didn't choose AMD APU to be the powerhouse behind Switch 2 due to poor battery life. In a bid to secure the best chip at a mere five watts of power, the Japanese company had two choices: NVIDIA Tegra or AMD APU. With some preliminary testing and evaluation, AMD APU wasn't reportedly power-efficient at 5 Watt TDP, while the NVIDIA Tegra chip was maintaining sufficient battery life and performance at target specifications.

Allegedly the AMD APU was good for 15 W design, but Nintendo didn't want to place a bigger battery so that the device remains lighter and cheaper. The final design will likely carry a battery with a 20 Wh capacity, which will be the main power source behind the NVIDIA Tegra T239 SoC. As a reminder, the Tegra T239 SoC features eight-core Arm A78C cluster with modified NVIDIA Ampere cores in combination with DLSS, featuring some of the latest encoding/decoding elements from Ada Lovelace, like AV1. There are likely 1536 CUDA cores paired with 128-bit LPDDR5 memory running at 102 GB/s bandwidth. For final specifications, we have to wait for the official launch, but with rumors starting to intensify, we can expect to see it relatively soon.

AMD's New Strix Halo "Zen 5" Mobile Chips to Feature 40 iGPU CUs

The upcoming Strix Point Halo processors from AMD now have a new name - Ryzen AI Max - and come with big promises of impressive power. This rumor, first reported by VideoCardz and originating from Weibo leaker Golden Pig Upgrade, reveals key details about the first three processors in this lineup, along with their specifications.

The leaker claims AMD might roll out a new naming system for these processors branding them as part of the Ryzen AI Max series. These chips will run on the anticipated Strix Halo APU. This series includes three models, with the top-end version boasting up to 16 Zen 5 cores and 40 Compute Units (CUs) for graphics. This setup is expected for the best model contrary to earlier rumors that AMD would drop such a variant. In fact, word has it that at least two of the models in this lineup will come with 40 RDNA 3.5 Compute Units. The leaker also hints that Strix Halo will handle up to 96 GB of video memory suggesting AMD aims to make this processor work with its ROCm (Open Compute Platform) system.

Interview with AMD's Senior Vice President and Chief Software Officer Andrej Zdravkovic: UDNA, ROCm for Radeon, AI Everywhere, and Much More!

A few days ago, we reported on AMD's newest expansion plans for Serbia. The company opened two new engineering design centers with offices in Belgrade and Nis. We were invited to join the opening ceremony and got an exclusive interview with one of AMD's top executives, Andrej Zdravkovic, who is the senior vice president and Chief Software Officer. Previously, we reported on AMD's transition to become a software company. The company has recently tripled its software engineering workforce and is moving some of its best people to support these teams. AMD's plan is spread over a three to five-year timeframe to improve its software ecosystem, accelerating hardware development to launch new products more frequently and to react to changes in software demand. AMD found that to help these expansion efforts, opening new design centers in Serbia would be very advantageous.

We sat down with Andrej Zdravkovic to discuss the purpose of AMD's establishment in Serbia and the future of some products. Zdravkovic is actually an engineer from Serbia, where he completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in electrical engineering from Belgrade University. In 1998, Zdravkovic joined ATI and quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a senior director. During his decade-long tenure, Zdravkovic witnessed a significant industry shift as AMD acquired ATI in 2006. After a brief stint at another company, Zdravkovic returned to AMD in 2015, bringing with him a wealth of experience and a unique perspective on the evolution of the graphics and computing industry.
Here is the full interview:

AMD's Krackan Ryzen AI APUs Confirmed for Early 2025 Launch

AMD is about to extend its mobile CPU lineup with the introduction of new Ryzen AI APUs, which are going to include the Krackan Point series which has been greatly expected. These CPUs are aimed at mainstream platforms and are targeted to bring performance, AI capabilities, and memory support to a new level. Krackan Point is supposed to be a cheaper alternative to the premium Strix Point series. Jack Huynh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Computing and Graphics Business Group of AMD confirmed at IFA 2024 that Krackan will be released to the mass market early in 2025.

One of the highlights is the support for LPDDR5X-8000 memory, this feature is expected to place the Krackan Point APUs close to AMD's Strix Halo series and compete directly with Intel's Lunar Lake processors. The XDNA2 Neural Processing Unit and also the certification of AMD for Microsoft Copilot+PC will be the advantages of this enhancement of the product.

AMD Ryzen 7 8745H APU Debuts in China

AMD has unveiled its latest processor, the Ryzen 8040H. This new model boasts 8 Zen 4 cores and full RDNA3 graphics with 12 Compute Units. Notably, it lacks the AMD XDNA processor, confirming earlier rumors of a mobile SKU without a Neural Processing Unit (NPU). Contrary to speculation, the 8040H's specifications differ from the Ryzen 8845HS. The new chip has a boost clock of 4.9 GHz, 200 MHz lower than its predecessor. Graphics performance has also been slightly reduced, with the 12 Compute Units clocked at 2.6 GHz, down from 2.7 GHz in the 8845H.

The Lenovo XiaoXin 14 Pro is the first laptop to feature this new APU, priced at 5499 RMB ($768) with 24 GB of memory. For comparison, a similar model with the 8845H and 32 GB of memory is priced at 5599 RMB ($773), suggesting only a marginal price difference between the two configurations.

AMD Strix Point SoC Reintroduces Dual-CCX CPU, Other Interesting Silicon Details Revealed

Since its reveal last week, we got a slightly more technical deep-dive from AMD on its two upcoming processors—the "Strix Point" silicon powering its Ryzen AI 300 series mobile processors; and the "Granite Ridge" chiplet MCM powering its Ryzen 9000 desktop processors. We present a closer look into the "Strix Point" SoC in this article. It turns out that "Strix Point" takes a significantly different approach to heterogeneous multicore than "Phoenix 2." AMD gave us a close look at how this works. AMD built the "Strix Point" monolithic silicon on the TSMC N4P foundry node, with a die-area of around 232 mm².

The "Strix Point" silicon sees the company's Infinity Fabric interconnect as its omnipresent ether. This is a point-to-point interconnect, unlike the ringbus on some Intel processors. The main compute machinery on the "Strix Point" SoC are its two CPU compute complexes (CCX), each with a 32b (read)/16b (write) per cycle data-path to the fabric. The concept of CCX makes a comeback with "Strix Point" after nearly two generations of "Zen." The first CCX contains the chip's four full-sized "Zen 5" CPU cores, which share a 16 MB L3 cache among themselves. The second CCX contains the chip's eight "Zen 5c" cores that share a smaller 8 MB L3 cache. Each of the 12 cores has a 1 MB dedicated L2 cache.

AMD Granite Ridge and Strix Point Zen 5 Die-sizes and Transistor Counts Confirmed

AMD is about give the new "Zen 5" microarchitecture a near-simultaneous launch across both its client segments—desktop and mobile. The desktop front is held by the Ryzen 9000 "Granite Ridge" Socket AM5 processors; while Ryzen AI 300 "Strix Point" powers the company's crucial effort to capture Microsoft Copilot+ AI PC market share. We recently did a technical deep-dive on the two. HardwareLuxx.de scored two important bits of specs for both processors in its Q&A interaction with AMD—die sizes and transistor counts.

To begin with, "Strix Point" is a monolithic silicon, which is confirmed to be built on the TSMC N4P foundry node (4 nm). This is a slight upgrade over the N4 node that the company built its previous generation "Phoenix" and "Hawk Point" processors on. The "Strix Point" silicon measures 232.5 mm² in area, which is significantly larger than the 178 mm² of "Hawk Point" and "Phoenix." The added die area comes from there being 12 CPU cores instead of 8, and 16 iGPU compute units instead of 12; and a larger NPU. There are many other factors, such as the larger 24 MB CPU L3 cache; and the sizes of the "Zen 5" and "Zen 5c" cores themselves.

AMD Readies Ryzen 7 8745HS Hawk Point APU with Disabled NPU

According to a recent leak from Golden Pig on Weibo, AMD is gearing up to introduce the Ryzen 7 8745HS, a modified version of the existing Ryzen 7 8845HS APU. The key difference in this new chip lies in its neural processing capabilities. While the 8845HS boasts AMD's XDNA-based NPU (Neural Processing Unit), the upcoming 8745HS is rumored to have this feature disabled. Specifications for the 8745HS are expected to closely mirror its predecessor, featuring eight Zen 4 cores, 16 threads, and a configurable TDP range of 35-54 W. The chip will likely retain the Radeon 780M integrated GPU with 12 Compute Units. However, it is possible that AMD might introduce slight clock speed reductions to differentiate the new model further.

It is also worth pointing out that Hawk Point generation is not Copilot+ certified due to first-generation XDNA NPU being only 16 TOPS out of 40 TOPS required, so having an NPU doesn't help AMD advertise these processors as Copilot+ ready. The success of this new variant will largely depend on its pricing and adoption by laptop/mobile OEMs. Without the NPU, the 8745HS could offer a more budget-friendly option for users who don't require extensive local AI processing capabilities. After all, AI workloads remain a niche segment in consumer computing, and many users may find the 8745HS an attractive alternative if pricing is reduced, especially given the availability of cloud-based AI tools.

AMD Ryzen PC Gets Integrated into a Foldable Keyboard

Ling-Long, a Chinese PC manufacturer, has introduced an innovative device that combines a fully functional AMD Ryzen 7 8840U PC with a foldable keyboard. This design stands out among recent Mini and Portable PC offerings. Unlike Mini PCs, it doesn't require an external power source to boot, and unlike laptops, it lacks a built-in display. Users can simply connect it to a monitor and mouse to create a complete workstation. Ling-Long emphasizes the product's extreme portability, demonstrating how it can fit in a pocket.

Aiming to surpass the compactness and functionality of Apple's Macbook and Mac mini, Ling-Long describes their product as an "unibody" design with a dedicated converting mechanism. Essentially, it's a mini-PC integrated into a keyboard. The device's chassis is divided into two compartments: one for the main PC with a single active-blower fan and copper heatsink, and another for the battery pack. Battery life varies from 10 hours for light workloads to 4 hours for gaming.

Ryzen AI 300 Series: New AMD APUs Appear in CrossMark Benchmark Database

AMD's upcoming Ryzen AI 300 APUs pre-launch leaks continue, the latest coming from the BAPCo CrossMark benchmark database. Two models have been spotted: the officially announced Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and the recently leaked Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, part of the "Strix Point" family, boasts 12 cores and 24 threads. Its hybrid architecture combines four Zen 5 cores with eight Zen 5C cores. The chip reaches boost clocks up to 5.1 GHz, features 36 MB of cache (24 MB L3 + 12 MB L2), and includes a Radeon 890M iGPU with 16 compute units (1024 cores). The Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360, previously leaked as a 12-core part, has now been confirmed with 8 cores and 16 threads. It utilizes a 3+5 configuration of Zen 5 and Zen 5C cores, respectively. The APU includes 8 MB each of L2 and L3 cache, with a base clock of 2.0 GHz. Its integrated Radeon 870M GPU is expected to feature the RDNA 3.5 architecture with fewer cores than its higher-end counterparts, possibly 8 compute units.

According to the leaked benchmarks, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 was tested in an HP laptop, while the Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 appeared in a Lenovo model equipped with LPDDR5-7500 memory. Initial scores appear unremarkable compared to top Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Ryzen 7040 APUs, however, the tested APUs may be early samples, and their performance could differ from final retail versions. Furthermore, while the TDP range is known to be between 15 W and 54 W, the specific power configurations used in these benchmarks remain unclear. The first Ryzen AI 300 laptops are slated for release on July 28th, with Ryzen AI 300 PRO models expected in October.

XPG to Launch Handheld Gaming Device with LPCAMM2 Support

Handheld gaming devices are a dime a dozen these days and more and more companies are joining the fray on almost a weekly basis. At Computex, XPG was showing its upcoming handheld gaming device—currently known as the NIA—and it has several interesting features that most of their competitors haven't mentioned so far. The potentially most interesting feature that XPG has implemented is an LPCAMM2 module with support for up to 64 GB of LPDDR5x memory. XPG didn't list how much RAM the NIA will ship with, but 16 or 32 GB seems like the logical choices.

The device will be powered by AMD's Phoenix APU, but no details were given. XPG has implemented support for foveated rendering, which the company claims is an exclusive feature. This is courtesy of a front-facing camera with eye tracking, but it's unclear how exactly it'll work, since it won't be exactly the same as in a VR headset. The NIA will ship with an XPG Gammix S55 SSD, which is an M.2 2230 PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive with sizes of up to 2 TB. XPG also claims that the NIA is built for a "circular computing product lifecycle" whatever that means, but we're guessing it has something to do with using recycled materials and being recyclable. The screen size of the 1080p, 120 Hz display wasn't mentioned, but the screen can be tilted for better ergonomics and is supposed to deliver up to 500 nits brightness. The NIA also has a built-in kickstand.

AMD is Changing the Naming of the Strix Point APUs Series Again

Merely two weeks ago, we published a story on AMD possibly preparing a new processor naming scheme for its ultraportable segment next-generation processors. Today, various trustful Chinese sources reported that AMD changed its mind again, that the Ryzen AI 100 series naming scheme was dropped, and now we should prepare for the Ryzen AI 300. If this turns out to be true, then AMD Strix Point will launch as Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and Ryzen AI 9 365 (assuming AMD does not change the naming scheme again).

Sony Working on a New PlayStation Handheld Capable of PS4 Games?

With handheld gaming devices being all the rage these days, thanks to PC manufacturers getting into the form-factor; the conditions seem ripe for a new PlayStation handheld generation. Rumors of Sony working on a new gaming handheld first surfaced in February 2024 from a Moore's Law is Dead report, and now other leakers are resonating the theory. This is a fully fledged handheld console that runs games locally, unlike the PlayStation Portal, which was a cloud gaming endpoint device.

The PlayStation 4 debuted a decade ago, with SoC hardware specs that can easily be match by current-generation AMD Ryzen Z1 APUs, in handheld console power footprints; and the leakers tend to agree—the new handheld console will be able to play all the games from the PlayStation 4 library, besides its own unique crop of games that take advantage of certain handheld human interface features, such as a touchscreen, accelerometer, and gyro.

AMD Patches Zenbleed Vulnerability with AGESA 1.2.0.Ca Update

AMD classified the Zenbleed vulnerability, CVE-2023-20593, as a medium-level threat about a year ago. AMD has acknowledged that it could potentially allow an attacker to access sensitive information under certain microarchitectural circumstances. Today, MSI has released new BIOS updates featuring AMD's AM4 AGESA 1.2.0.Ca firmware update. This update addresses the Zenbleed vulnerability affecting AMD's Ryzen 4000 series Zen 2 APUs. MSI is proactively rolling out the new BIOS updates across its range of compatible motherboards. The updates are currently available for almost all X570 motherboards, with support for other chipsets and 400 series motherboards expected to follow soon.

The AGESA 1.2.0.Ca firmware update specifically targets the Zenbleed vulnerability in the Zen 2 microarchitecture. Although the vulnerability primarily affects Ryzen 4000 "Renoir" APUs, it also exists in other Zen 2 processors, including the Ryzen 3000 series and certain EPYC and Threadripper CPUs. AMD has already addressed the Zenbleed vulnerability in previous AGESA microcode updates for Ryzen 3000 processors and other platforms, such as EPYC server CPUs and Ryzen mobile CPUs. However, the Ryzen Embedded V2000 CPUs are still awaiting the EmbeddedPi-FP6 1.0.0.9 AGESA firmware update, which is expected to be released by April. While AMD has not explicitly stated whether the security update will impact performance, previous testing of Zenbleed fixes has shown potential performance drops of up to 15% in certain workloads, although gaming performance remained relatively unaffected. Users with AM4 chips based on architectures other than Zen 2, such as Zen+ or Zen 3, do not need to update their BIOS as they are not affected by this specific vulnerability.

COLORFUL Launches CVN B650M GAMING FROZEN for AMD Ryzen 8000 Series CPUs

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and Hi-fi audio products, proudly presents the CVN B650M GAMING FROZEN motherboard. This motherboard is our first AMD AM5 motherboard that supports the AMD Ryzen 7000 Series and the latest AMD Ryzen 8000 Series processors that feature the groundbreaking AMD Ryzen AI technology as well as support for AVX-512.

The CVN B650M GAMING FROZEN supports the latest AMD Ryzen 8000G Series APUs with AMD Ryzen AI technology. It also supports the AMD Ryzen 7000 and AMD Ryzen 7000 X3D Series processors with 3D V-Cache Technology, as well as support for the future AM5 processors. AMD Ryzen AI brings the power of personal computing closer to you on an AI PC, unlocking a whole new level of efficiencies for work, collaboration, and innovation so that you can stay connected better with the world around you.

AMD Strix Halo APU "GFX1151" iGPU Driver Support Appears Online

AMD Linux engineers have been working on "GFX1150" and "GFX1151" targets for a while—official references to "Strix 1/Strix Point" and "Strix Point Halo" have appeared several times on official development channels. Phoronix's head honcho—Michael Larabel—monitors these activities with keen interest, his latest finding indicates that Team Red is preparing open-source RadeonSI/RADV driver support for the GFX1151 IP. Their MESA 24.1 update merges in GPU enablement for possible high-end "Strix Point Halo" laptop processors—tech tipsters believe that these chiplet variants could sport up to sixteen Zen 5 CPU cores and forty RDNA 3.5 GPU cores.

AMD's enablement of the "GFX1150/Strix Point" GPU appeared online late last month—these monolithic laptop chips are alleged to sit below "Strix Point Halo" in Team Red's product hierarchy. Insiders suggest that the best configurations could house twelve Zen 5 CPU cores and sixteen RDNA 3.5 GPU cores. Phoronix posited that the "RDNA 3 refresh" graphics solution: "is just rumored for select APUs, while ultimately we'll see where this GFX 11.5.1 IP is found if for some further upgraded APU or something more special. In any event the open-source Linux driver support is coming together." According to official product roadmaps, the initial batch of "Strix Point" mobile chips are expected ship later this year—representing a proper next-gen upgrade over current "Hawk Point" offerings.
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