AMD Ryzen AI MAX 300-series processors, codenamed "Strix Halo," have been on in the news for close to a year now. These mobile processors combine "Zen 5" CPU cores with an oversized iGPU that offers performance rivaling discrete GPUs, with the idea behind these chips being to rival the Apple M3 Pro and M3 Max processors powering MacBook Pros. The "Strix Halo" mobile processor is an MCM that combines one or two "Zen 5" CCDs (some ones featured on "Granite Ridge" desktop processors and "Turin" server processors), with a large SoC die. This die is built either on the 5 nm (TSMC N5) or 4 nm (TSMC N4P) node. It packs a large iGPU based on the RDNA 3.5 graphics architecture, with 40 compute units (CU), and a 50 TOPS-class XDNA 2 NPU carried over from "Strix Point." The memory interface is a 256-bit wide LPDDR5X-8000 for sufficient memory bandwidth for the up to 16 "Zen 5" CPU cores, the 50 TOPS NPU, and the large 40 CU iGPU.

Golden Pig Upgrade leaked what looks like a company slide from a notebook OEM, which reveals the iGPU model names for the various Ryzen AI MAX 300-series SKUs. Leading the pack is the Ryzen AI MAX+ 395. This is a maxed out SKU with a 16-core/32-thread "Zen 5" CPU that uses two CCDs. All 16 cores are full-sized "Zen 5." The CPU has 64 MB of L3 cache (32 MB per CCD), each of the 16 cores has 1 MB of dedicated L2 cache. The iGPU is branded Radeon 8060S, it comes with all 40 CU (2,560 stream processors) enabled, besides 80 AI accelerators, and 40 Ray accelerators. The Ryzen AI MAX 390 is the next processor SKU, it comes with a 12-core/24-thread "Zen 5" CPU. Like the 395, the 390 is a dual-CCD processor, all 12 cores are full-sized "Zen 5." There's 64 MB of L3 cache, and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. The Radeon 8060S graphics solution is the same as the one on the Ryzen AI MAX+ 395, it comes with all 40 CU enabled.

A CPU-Z screenshot of an alleged Intel Core Ultra 9 285K "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processor engineering sample is doing rounds on social media, thanks to wxnod. CPU-Z identifies the chip with an Intel Core Ultra case badge with the deep shade of blue associated with the Core Ultra 9 brand extension, which hints at this being the top Core Ultra 9 285K processor model, we know it's the "K" or "KF" SKU looking at its processor base power reading of 125 W. The chip is built in the upcoming Intel Socket LGA1851. CPU-Z displays the process node as 7 nm, which corresponds with the Intel 4 foundry node.

Intel is using the same Intel 4 foundry node for "Arrow Lake-S" as the compute tile of its "Meteor Lake" processor. Intel 4 offers power efficiency and performance comparable to 4 nm nodes from TSMC, although it is physically a 7 nm node. Likewise, the Intel 3 node is physically 5 nm. If you recall, the main logic tile of "Lunar Lake" is being built on the TSMC N3P (3 nm) node. This means that Intel is really gunning for performance/Watt with "Lunar Lake," to get as close to the Apple M3 Pro as possible.

AMD's upcoming "Strix Halo" mobile processor that features up to 16 "Zen 5" CPU cores and a powerful iGPU with 40 compute units, is beginning to surface in online benchmark databases. We've gone into the juicy technical bits about the processor in our older articles, but put simply, it is a powerful mobile processor meant to square off against the likes of the Apple M3 Pro and M3 Max. A chiplet-based processor, much like the upcoming "Granite Ridge" desktop processor and "Fire Range" mobile processor, "Strix Halo" features up to 16 full-sized "Zen 5" cores, as it uses up to two of the same "Eldora" CCDs as them; but wired to a large I/O die that contains the oversized iGPU, and an NPU, besides the memory controllers. The iGPU has 40 compute units (2,560 stream processors), and is based on the RDNA 3.5 graphics architecture, while the NPU is the same 50 TOPS-class unit carried over from "Strix Point."

A prototype HP laptop powered by a "Strix Halo" processor that uses a single 8-core "Zen 5" CCD, was spied on the web. This chip has eight full-sized "Zen 5" cores that share a 32 MB L3 cache. The iGPU on the I/O die has its own 32 MB Infinity Cache memory that cushions memory transfers. In our older reports, we speculated as to what the memory interface of "Strix Halo" would be. It turns out that the chip exclusively features a 256-bit wide LPDDR5X memory interface, which is double the bus width of "Strix Point." This is essentially what a "quad-channel DDR5" memory interface would be, and AMD is using a memory speed standard of at least LPDDR5X-8000. From the machine's point of view, this would be just a couple of hardwired LPDDR5X chips, or a pair of LPCAMM 2 modules. Back to the benchmarks, and we are shown a single-thread CPU score of 2099 to 2177 points, and a multithreaded score ranging between 5477 points to 13993 points. The laptop was tested with an unknown version and distribution of Linux. The CPU cores are shown boosting up to 5.35 GHz.

Apple's M-series chips frighten Intel, AMD, and Microsoft like nothing else can, as they have the potential to power MacBooks to grab a sizable share of the notebook market share. This is based squarely on the phenomenal performance/Watt on offer with Apple's chips. A user installed Windows 11 Arm on a virtual machine running on an M2-powered MacBook, opened up CPU-Z (which of course doesn't detect the chip since it's on a VM). They then ran a CPU-Z Bench session for a surprising result—a single-threaded score of 749.5 points, with a multithreaded score of 3822.3 points.

The single-thread score in particular is comparable to Intel's 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" chips (their "Golden Cove" P-cores); maybe not on the fastest Core i9-12900K, but of the mid-range Core i5 chips, such as the i5-12600. It's able to do this at a fraction of the power and heat output. It is on the backs of this kind of IPC that Apple is building bigger chips such as the M3 Pro and M3 Max, which are able to provide HEDT or workstation-class performance, again, at a fraction of the power.

Intel Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" mobile processor may be the the company's most efficient, but isn't a generation ahead of the 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" mobile processors in terms of performance. This isn't just because it has an overall lower CPU core count in its H-segment of SKUs, but also because its performance cores (P-cores) actually post a generational reduction in IPC, as David Huang in his blog testing contemporary mobile processors found out, through a series of single-threaded benchmarks. Huang did a SPECint 2017 performance comparison of Intel's Core Ultra 7 155H, and Core i7-13700H "Raptor Lake," with AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, 7840H "Phoenix, Zen 4," and Apple M3 Pro and M2 Pro.

In his testing, the 155H, an H-segment processor, was found roughly matching the "Zen 4" based 7840U and 7840HS; while the Core i7-13700H was ahead of the three. Apple's M2 Pro and M3 Pro are a league ahead of all the other chips in terms of IPC. To determine IPC, Huang tested all processors with only one core, and their default clock speeds, and divided SPECint 2017 scores upon average clock speed of the loaded core logged during the course of the benchmark. Its worth noting here that the i7-13000H notebook was using dual-channel (4 sub-channel) DDR5 memory, while the Core Ultra 7 155H notebook was using LPDDR5, however Huang remarks that this shouldn't affect his conclusion that there has been an IPC regression between "Raptor Lake" and "Meteor Lake."

Apple today announced a new MacBook Pro lineup featuring the all-new family of M3 chips: M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. With a next-generation GPU architecture and a faster CPU, the M3 family brings even more performance and remarkable new capabilities to MacBook Pro. The new 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M3 is not only great for everyday tasks, but also delivers phenomenal sustained performance in pro apps and games. Perfect for aspiring creatives, students, and entrepreneurs, it now starts at $1,599. The 14 and 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro provides even greater performance and additional unified memory support, enabling more demanding workflows for users like coders, creatives, and researchers. The 14 and 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max delivers performance and capabilities that push the limits of computing. With a monster GPU and a powerful CPU, along with support for up to 128 GB of unified memory, MacBook Pro with M3 Max enables extreme workflows and multitasking across pro apps for users like machine learning programmers, 3D artists, and video editors. M3 Pro and M3 Max models also now come in space black, a gorgeous dark aluminium finish.

All MacBook Pro models feature a brilliant Liquid Retina XDR display with 20 percent brighter SDR content, a built-in 1080p camera, an immersive six-speaker sound system, and a wide array of connectivity options. With up to 22 hours of battery life, the lineup offers the ultimate in pro portability, delivering the same performance whether plugged in or on battery, so users can take their workflows anywhere. Customers can order the new MacBook Pro starting today, with availability beginning November 7.

Apple today announced M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max, three chips featuring groundbreaking technologies that deliver dramatically increased performance and unleash new capabilities for Mac. These are the first personal computer chips built using the industry-leading 3-nanometer process technology, allowing more transistors to be packed into a smaller space and improving speed and efficiency. Together, M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max show how far Apple silicon for the Mac has come since the debut of the M1 family of chips.

The M3 family of chips features a next-generation GPU that represents the biggest leap forward in graphics architecture ever for Apple silicon. The GPU is faster and more efficient, and introduces a new technology called Dynamic Caching, while bringing new rendering features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading to Mac for the first time. Rendering speeds are now up to 2.5x faster than on the M1 family of chips. The CPU performance cores and efficiency cores are 30 percent and 50 percent faster than those in M1, respectively, and the Neural Engine is 60 percent faster than the Neural Engine in the M1 family of chips. And, a new media engine now includes support for AV1 decode, providing more efficient and high-quality video experiences from streaming services. The M3 family of chips continues the tremendous pace of innovation in Apple silicon, and brings massive enhancements and new features to the new MacBook Pro and iMac.

Thanks to the latest release of the Power On newsletter from Mark Gurman, we have additional information about Apple's upcoming M3 Pro chip. Currently in testing and reported on by an App Store developer, Apple is looking to upgrade the microarchitecture of the forthcoming chip and add additional cores to the system for more performance. As the report notes, the entry-level M3 Pro chip currently in testing will have 12 CPU cores, six for efficiency and six for performance tasks, with 18 graphics cores, all manufactured on TSMC's 3 nm node. The current baseline for M2 Pro is 10 CPU cores, where four are dedicated to efficiency, and six are dedicated to performance. The current generation entry-level M2 Pro also features a 16-core GPU, which is two cores fewer than the upcoming model.

Generally, the M3 Pro chip will boost integrated memory across the board, as the sample spotted in testing shows 36 GB of memory. The M2 Pro offered 32 GB in that memory tier, so a four GB increase is inbound there. Presumably, the 16 GB version (if it exists) and 64 GB version will also get memory bumps by going the M3 Pro route. Of course, we have to wait for more information as these chips become more widely available to developers.