Hot on the heels of yesterday's leak revealing that the Ryzen 5 8600G Socket AM5 desktop APU features a Radeon 760M iGPU with 8 CU, we're getting to know that the top of the line Ryzen 7 8700G comes with the maxed out Radeon 780M. The 8700G is a Socket AM5 APU based on the 4 nm "Hawk Point" or "Phoenix" silicon (unclear at this point).

The Ryzen 7 8700G features an 8-core/16-thread CPU based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, with a base frequency of 4.20 GHz, and a maximum boost frequency of 5.10 GHz. Each of the 8 CPU cores features a 1 MB L2 cache, and they share a 16 MB L3 cache. The Radeon 780M iGPU features 12 compute units (CU), amounting to 768 stream processors. The iGPU engine clock boosts up to 2.90 GHz. While all Ryzen 7000 desktop processors come with integrated graphics, AMD does not consider them to be APUs—processors with overpowered iGPUs that can be used for entry-level gaming besides high-resolution entertainment.

GIGABYTE released UEFI firmware (BIOS) updates for its Socket AM5 motherboards encapsulating the AMD AGESA ComboAM5 PI 1.1.0.1a microcode. This latest version of AGESA has sparked speculation that some of AMD's upcoming Ryzen 8000G desktop APUs are in fact based on the newer "Hawk Point" silicon, and not "Phoenix." AMD released its Ryzen 8040 series "Hawk Point" mobile processors earlier this month, with a faster NPU that results in an up to 40% increase in AI interference performance over that of "Phoenix." "Hawk Point" is essentially identical to "Phoenix," including its first generation XDNA architecture based NPU, however the NPU's clock speed has been dialed up. If AMD is building some of its Ryzen 8000G desktop APU models on "Hawk Point" instead of "Phoenix," then we have our first solid hint that AMD is bringing Ryzen AI to the desktop platform, and that the Ryzen 8000G will end up being the first desktop processors with an NPU.

AMD is expected to be building at least two APU models based on the "Hawk Point" silicon, the Ryzen 7 8700G, and the Ryzen 5 8600G. The lower models, namely the 8500G and Ryzen 3 8300G, are expected to be based on the smaller "Phoenix 2" silicon, with a hybrid CPU that combines two "Zen 4" cores with up to four "Zen 4c" cores. The "Zen 4c" cores may feature an identical instruction set architecture (ISA) and IPC to the regular "Zen 4" cores, but have tighter Vcore limits, and operate at lower clock speeds. This makes the two available "Zen 4" cores the de facto "performance" cores, and AMD flags them as UEFI CPPC "preferred cores," ensuring the OS guides a bulk of its processing traffic to them. Both "Phoenix" and "Hawk Point" feature an identical CPU setup, with up to eight "Zen 4" cores.

Here is our first look at the higher end of AMD's Ryzen 8000G series Socket AM5 desktop APU lineup. The company is planning to bring its 4 nm "Phoenix" and "Phoenix 2" monolithic silicon to the socketed desktop platform, to cover two distinct markets. Models based on the larger "Phoenix" silicon cater to the market that wants a sufficiently powerful CPU, but with a powerful iGPU that's fit for entry-level gaming, or graphics-intensive productivity tasks; whereas the smaller "Phoenix 2" silicon ties up the lower end of AMD's AM5 desktop processor stack, as it probably has a lower bill of materials than a "Raphael" multi-chip module.

The lineup is led by the Ryzen 7 8700G, a direct successor to the Ryzen 7 5700G "Cezanne." This chip gets the full 8-core/16-thread "Zen 4" CPU, along with its 16 MB shared L3 cache; and the full featured Radeon 780M iGPU with its 12 compute units worth 768 stream processors. The CPU features a maximum boost frequency of 4.20 GHz. This is followed by the Ryzen 5 8600G, which is based on the same "Phoenix" silicon as the 8700G, but with 6 out of 8 "Zen 4" cores enabled, and a maximum CPU boost frequency of 4.35 GHz, and the 16 MB L3 cache left untouched. It's likely that the Radeon 780M is unchanged from the 8700G.Update 13:59 UTC: A CPU-Z screenshot of the Ryzen 7 8700G surfaced, which confirms that it features the maxed out Radeon 780M iGPU

Intel on Wednesday held a pre-launch round-table with HotHardware, in which it made several performance disclosures of its upcoming Core "Meteor Lake" mobile processor, comparing it with the current U-segment chips based on the 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake," and competing AMD Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix." In these, the company is claiming that its next-generation iGPU based on the Xe-LPG graphics architecture, armed with 128 EU, is significantly outperforming the Radeon 780M RDNA3 iGPU of the Ryzen 7040, while its CPU is ahead in multi-threaded performance.

In its comparison, the company picked the Core Ultra 7 165H, a middle-of-the-market performance segment part in the 28 W class. This is compared to the Core i7-1370P "Raptor Lake," and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U. The company also dropped in the fastest Windows-ready Arm chip in the market, the Qualcomm 8cx Gen 3. In the 33 games that the 165H was compared to the 7840U, the Intel iGPU is shown posting performance leads ranging between 3% to 70% over the Radeon 780M, in 23 out of 33 games. In one of the games, the two perform on par with each other. In 9 out of 33 games, the Radeon 780M beats the Intel Xe-LPG by 2% to 18%. The iGPU of the 165H packs 8 Xe cores, or 128 EU (1,024 unified shaders). The Radeon 780M is powered by 12 RDNA3 compute units (768 stream processors).

ASUS began rolling out beta UEFI firmware updates for its Socket AM5 motherboards that contain the latest AMD AGESA 1.1.0.1 microcode. If you recall, ASRock had recently released its own firmware updates last month that feature AGESA 1.1.0.0. This would be the first widely released firmware from ASUS to support the upcoming Ryzen 8000G "Phoenix" and "Phoenix 2" desktop APUs; and the 4th AGESA release to do so. Version ComboAM5PI 1.1.0.1 contains a newer version of the system management unit (SMU) for "Phoenix" and "Phoenix 2," with SMU version 76.75.0, compared to version 76.72.0 with the older ComboAM5PI 1.1.0.0 that ASRock released in November.

The UEFI firmware updates by ASUS containing AGESA ComboAM5PI 1.1.0.1 are only being released for AMD B650/E and X670/E chipset motherboards, and only spanning the company's ROG, ROG Strix, TUF Gaming, and ProArt product lines, we haven't come across one for the Prime series, yet. It's important to reiterate here, that these are beta updates, and those with Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" processors don't stand to benefit from them, as the SMU for "Raphael" hasn't changed since ComboAM5PI 1.0.8.0. Check for the firmware updates in the Support section of the product pages of your motherboard on the ASUS website.

The market for mini PCs has been blooming recently, and GEEKOM has been working to put themselves at the forefront with exceptionally well priced and decently performing machines mainly benefiting from their partnership with ASUS. We don't have much info about this upcoming mini PC except that it will offer configurations based on either the Ryzen 7 7840HS or Ryzen 9 7940HS and departs from the ASUS PN series styling for an aluminium chassis that takes clear inspiration from Apple's Mac Mini. Whether this is due to a vendor change or the efforts of internal R&D we'll likely learn when it launches. Aside from the rounded corners, bead blasted aluminium finish, and rear I/O laid out on a black accent fascia plate little else about the machine compares to the Mini except the tiny size at a mere 112.4 x 112.4 mm (4.43 in). Despite this tiny frame the I/O compliment is decent; three 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A ports, a 5 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A, a 40 Gbps and a 10 Gbps Type C that can each handle DisplayPort out, two HDMI ports, a 2.5G Ethernet jack, SD Card reader on the side, and one 3.5 mm combo audio jack at the front.

GEEKOM is expected to launch this new mini PC model in Asia within the next month. Worldwide availability should follow soon after. Competitor offerings with similar hardware configurations have been available for a few months by now and have been seen discounted down to around $600 USD in recent weeks, with barebone unit prices going even lower. GEEKOM has quite the challenge ahead of them to offer competitive value.

AMD is giving final touches to its first APUs for the Socket AM5 desktop platform. A report by Sakhtafzar Magazine suggests that the company could give processor models in the series Ryzen 8000G numbering, instead of the previously thought 7000G series. The company is preparing as many as 14 processor models spanning the 4 nm "Phoenix" and "Phoenix 2" monolithic dies. Both chips combine "Zen 4" CPU cores with an iGPU based on the RDNA 3 graphics architecture. While the current Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael" desktop processors feature integrated graphics, AMD doesn't consider them APUs, as their iGPU are just about enough for non-gaming desktop use cases. APUs are designed for entry-level gaming.

The "Phoenix" silicon has up to 8 "Zen 4" CPU cores, and an iGPU with up to 12 RDNA3 compute units. This chip is powering the Ryzen 5 8600G, Ryzen 7 8700G, their PRO variants, and their respective "GE" (energy efficient) sub-variants. The "Phoenix 2" silicon barely qualifies as an APU, as its iGPU only has 4 RDNA3 compute units (compared to the 2 RDNA2 CUs on the "Raphael" iGPU. It also has a maximum CPU core count of 6, from which two are "Zen 4" cores that can sustain higher boost frequency bins, and four are "Zen 4c" cores which run at lower clock speeds (albeit with an identical IPC and ISA). AMD is using "Phoenix 2" on the desktop platform to carve out several sub-$150 class processor models across the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 3 brands; a package with a monolithic "Phoenix 2" die probably has a lower bill of materials (BOM) than a "Raphael" multi-chip module.

Uptake on AMD's latest generation mobile offerings has been slow and steady to put it mildly, but today TUXEDO Computers, a specialist in Linux notebooks at a range of performance and pricing tiers, has announced pre-orders for their new Sirius 16 gaming laptop. This machine combines AMD's latest generation Ryzen 7 7840HS "Phoenix" APU with a Radeon RX 7600M XT RDNA3 GPU inside a sleek all aluminium chassis design that strives to remain understated while still providing a "sleek gamer look" via programmable RGB keys. The Sirius 16 is TUXEDO's first go at an all-AMD configuration and they've held very little back, choosing to allow the full TDP rating of the Phoenix APU at 54 W sustained (or 80 W CPU-only turbo) as well as keeping the RDNA3 GPU at its rated 120 W TGP under full CPU+GPU loads. The Sirius 16 features venting out of both sides as well as the rear of the chassis, and roughly half of the bottom panel is open intake for the dual-fan cooling system.

Powering everything is a 230 W power brick and an 80 Wh replaceable battery bolted inside the chassis. TUXEDO claims up to 10 hours of battery life at minimum display brightness with wireless disabled and without any programmable lighting enabled, or a more realistic 6 hours at medium brightness with wireless enabled and under minimal "office work" load.

AMD's "Phoenix" monolithic processor silicon drives the company's Ryzen 7040 series mobile processor lineup, and possible some of its upcoming Ryzen 7000G desktop processor models. It is the first chip from the AMD camp to feature an AI accelerator, besides up to 8 "Zen 4" CPU cores, and a large iGPU based on the latest RDNA3 graphics architecture, with up to 12 compute units, the latest display I/O and media acceleration capabilities. Over the course of its lifecycle, AMD realized that it can't use the nearly 200 mm² silicon built on the expensive 4 nm node to power lower-end processor SKUs, and so developed the smaller 137 mm² "Phoenix 2" silicon that lacks the AI accelerator, has a smaller iGPU with just 4 compute units, and a unique hybrid CPU with 2 "Zen 4" and 4 "Zen 4c" cores. We're now hearing that the company is designing even more derivatives.

The PCI ID Repository discovered two new IDs believed to reference the iGPU models of "Phoenix 3" and "Phoenix 4" chips. At this point we have no clue what the two chips could be, and what the mixture of their CPU, iGPU, and AI accelerator components could be, especially given that AMD is able to carve out Ryzen 3 SKUs from "Phoenix 2." We speculate that "Phoenix 3" and "Phoenix 4" could reference rebranding such as "Escher," although it could even be entirely new chips with different combinations of "Zen 4" and "Zen 4c" cores.

ASRock began rolling out UEFI firmware updates for its Socket AM5 motherboards that encapsulate AMD AGESA 1.1.0.0 ComboAM5PI microcode. This would be the second release of AGESA to support AMD's upcoming Ryzen 7000G "Phoenix" and "Phoenix 2" desktop APUs that the company reportedly plans to launch later this year. The AGESA 1.1.0.0 microcode comes with the SMU version 76.72.0 for "Phoenix" and "Phoenix 2," and continues with version 84.79.223 for "Raphael" and "Raphael-X" processors.

Unlike several past generations of Ryzen branded desktop APUs that only had 2-3 processor models in the retail channel, AMD is reportedly planning a slightly bigger lineup of APUs for the Socket AM5 platform, consisting of Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, and possibly Ryzen 7 processor models, and their Ryzen PRO variants. The Ryzen 3 and Ryzen 5 models are expected to be based on the "Phoenix 2" silicon that has a combination of two "Zen 4" and four "Zen 4c" CPU cores and an iGPU with 4 compute units; while it is rumored that at least one Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 processor model will be built on "Phoenix," which has up to eight "Zen 4" cores, and a large iGPU with up to 12 compute units. So far we haven't seen reports of AMD bringing Ryzen AI to the desktop platform.

AMD is preparing to launch its first APUs on the Socket AM5 desktop platform, with the Ryzen 7000G series. While the company has standardized integrated graphics with the Ryzen 7000 series, it does not consider the regular Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael" processors as APUs. AMD considers APUs to be processors with overpowered iGPUs that are fit for entry-mainstream PC gaming. As was expected for a while now, for the Ryzen 7000G series, AMD is tapping into its 4 nm "Phoenix" monolithic silicon, the same chip that powers the Ryzen 7040 series mobile processors. Proof of "Phoenix" making its way to desktop surfaced with CPU support lists for the latest AGESA SMUs (system management units) compiled by Reous, with the AGESA ComboAM5PI 1.0.8.0 listing support for "Raphael," as well as "Phoenix." Another piece of evidence was an ASUS B650 motherboard support page that listed a UEFI firmware update encapsulating 1.0.8.0, which references an "upcoming CPU."

Unlike "Raphael" and "Dragon Range," "Phoenix" is a monolithic processor die built on the TSMC 4 nm foundry node. Its CPU is based on the latest "Zen 4" microarchitecture, and features an 8-core/16-thread configuration, with 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 16 MB of shared L3 cache. The star attraction here is the iGPU, which is based on the RDNA3 graphics architecture, meets the DirectX 12 Ultimate feature requirements, and is powered by 12 compute units worth 768 stream processors. Unlike "Raphael," the "Phoenix" silicon is known to feature an older PCI-Express Gen 4 root complex, with 24 lanes, so you get a PCI-Express 4.0 x16 PEG slot, one CPU-attached M.2 NVMe slot limited to Gen 4 x4, and a 4-lane chipset bus. "Phoenix" features a dual-channel (4 sub-channel) DDR5 memory controller, with native support for DDR5-5600. A big unknown with the Ryzen 7000G desktop APUs is whether they retain the Ryzen AI feature-set from the Ryzen 7040 series mobile processors.

"Strix Point" is the codename for AMD's next-generation mobile processor succeeding the current Ryzen 7040 series "Phoenix." More details of the processor emerged thanks to "All The Watts!!" on Twitter. The CPU of "Strix Point" will be heterogenous, in that it will feature two different kinds of CPU cores, but with essentially the same ISA and IPC. It is rumored that the processor will feature 4 "Zen 5" CPU cores, and 8 "Zen 5c" cores.

Both core types feature an identical IPC, but the "Zen 5" cores can hold onto higher boost frequencies, and have a wider frequency band, than the "Zen 5c" cores. From what we can deduce from the current "Zen 4c" cores, "Zen 5c" cores aren't strictly "efficiency" cores, as they still offer the full breadth of core ISA as "Zen 5," including SMT. In its maximum configuration, "Strix Point" will hence be a 12-core/24-thread processor. The two CPU core types sit in two different CCX (CPU core complexes), the "Zen 5" CCX has 4 cores sharing a 16 MB L3 cache, while the "Zen 5c" CCX shares a 16 MB L3 cache among 8 cores. AMD will probably use a software-based solution to ensure the right kind of workload from the OS is processed by the right kind of CPU core.

Lenovo's newly released ultra-thin Yoga Air 14s 2023 Ryzen Edition laptop packs an exclusively tuned variant from AMD's 7040 "Phoenix" APU series—we are seeing a whole bunch of these mobile chipsets finally arriving inside portable computer hardware and in handheld games systems (Ryzen Z1 series), following several delays earlier in the year. AMD and Lenovo have partnered up on a special Ryzen 7 7840S eight-core APU, with a custom 30 W TDP profile—likely implemented to synergize with the Yoga Air's thin and lightweight design. Folks in the west have started to enjoy playing around with Ryzen 7 7840HS-equipped laptops, this particular APU has a 45 W TDP rating—also shared by China-market specific 7840H variants.

The MyDrivers review team has been taking Lenovo's Yoga Air 14s 2023 Ryzen Edition for a spin—PC Mark results suggest 10 to 11 hours of normal operation on battery, while lighter office tasking bumps that up to 14 hours. A snazzy 14.5-inch OLED screen with 10-touch support seemed to be a highlighted feature on this fancy slimline laptop. A 5% overall difference in performance (across a number of benchmark suites) was noted by the reviewer—a flagship Ryzen 9 7940HS (45 W) APU narrowly beat its less greedy 30 W sibling. The Yoga Air was judged to offer "top tier" performance that competes with a larger class of notebook (15.6-inch). The reviewer was suitably impressed by Lenovo's chassis design: "To be honest, there are very few thin and light notebooks on the market priced at 8,000 yuan (~$1095) that can surpass Yoga Air 14s 2023 Ryzen Edition in terms of appearance and craftsmanship."

Mass production at TSMC's Phoenix, Arizona Fab 21 facility has been delayed until 2025, but the top brass are keen to get some activity started at their North American foundry—it is possible that they want to avoid potential contract breaches, caused by various setbacks. Taiwan's Money DJ (interpreted by TrendForce) reports that a pilot scheme will be implemented by the first quarter of 2024—industry sources believe that a small batch trial run will result in 4000 to 5000 wafer starts per month (WSPM). Setup delays have dropped projected efficiency ratings—analysts reckon that the Arizona plant cannot match the sheer effectiveness of operations back in Taiwan.

TrendForce cites a number of factors, including: "a shortage of skilled equipment installation personnel, local union protests, and differences in overseas safety regulations have caused delays in equipment installation." TSMC chairman Mark Liu expressed optimism about the situation earlier this month—citing significant progress (at the Fab 21 site) over the past five months as an early sign of success for the project. Insiders claim that TSMC is considering a major upgrade of its currently in-construction Japanese facility—extra capacity at the existing location and a second foundry could be on the table.

A die-shot of AMD's 4 nm "Phoenix 2" monolithic APU emerged over the weekend—possibly the first example of a Team Red hybrid core processor, utilizing a combination of bog standard Zen 4 cores as well as "compacted" Zen 4c units. Phoenix 2 has been hiding in plain sight it seems, within Ryzen Z1 series APUs—that have much in common with mobile/laptop-oriented 7040U products. David Huang has posted an analysis of a Ryzen Z1 APU via his review as posted on Zhuanlan, where he investigates the intriguing combination of Zen 4 and Zen 4c cores.

As interpreted/translated by Tom's Hardware: "HWiNFO, a system information, monitoring, and diagnostics utility, confirms that the Ryzen Z1, codenamed Phoenix 2, is on the PHX2-A0 stepping. It differs from AMD's Ryzen 7040U series (Phoenix) with the PHX-A1 stepping. The Ryzen Z1 has been rumored to be a clone of the Ryzen 5 7540U for a long time now." Laptops housing the latter APU are reported to have reached retail markets in certain territories, while the Ryzen Z1 (non-Extreme) SoC has not debuted in any new devices. A cheaper ASUS ROG Ally is expected to arrive in the near future with the lesser chip.

The 4 nm "Phoenix 2" monolithic APU silicon powering the lower end of AMD's Ryzen 7040-series mobile processors, could very well be the company's first hybrid core processor, even though the company doesn't advertise it as such. We first caught whiff of "Phoenix 2" back in July, when it was described as being a physically smaller chip than the regular "Phoenix." It was known to have just 6 CPU cores, and a smaller iGPU with 4 RDNA3 compute units; in comparison to the 8 CPU cores and 12 compute units of the "Phoenix" silicon. At the time a lack of 2 CPU cores and 8 CUs were known to be behind the significant reduction in die size from 178 mm² to 137 mm², but it turns out that there's a lot more to "Phoenix 2."

A die shot of "Phoenix 2" emerged on Chinese social media platform QQ, which reveals two distinct kinds of CPU cores. There are six cores in all, but two of them appear larger than the other four. The obvious inference here, is that the larger cores are "Zen 4," and the smaller ones are the compacted "Zen 4c." The "Zen 4c" core has the same core machinery as "Zen 4," albeit it is re-arranged to favor lower area on the die. The trade-off here is that the "Zen 4c" core operates at lower voltages and lower clock-speeds than the regular "Zen 4" cores. At the same clock speeds, both kinds of cores have an identical IPC. The two also have an identical ISA, so any software threads migrating between the cores will not encounter runtime errors. Unlike Intel Thread Director, AMD can use a less sophisticated software-based solution to ensure that the right kind of workload is allocated to the right kind of cores, and prevent undesirable migration between the two kinds of cores. Unlike the hardware-based Thread Director, AMD's solution can be continually updated.

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.

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