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MINISFORUM Formally Launches V3 High-Performance AMD AI 3-in-1 Tablet

Recently, MINISFORUM updated the CPU of V3 to AMD's latest Ryzen7 8840U on its official website. Previously, the preview page for V3 went live on January 3rd. It is understood that MINISFORUM is expected to hold the V3 and Spring New Product Launch Event at the end of March 2024. MINISFORUM V3 is the world's first high-performance AMD AI 3-in-1 tablet, featuring AMD's latest Ryzen7 8840U, built on a 4 nm process, with Zen 4 CPU and RDNA3 GPU architecture, 8 cores 16 threads, a base frequency of 3.30 GHz, and a maximum boost frequency of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 15-30 W, and a 16 MB L3 cache. It integrates Radeon 780M graphics. V3 also boasts a dual-fan and four-copper-pipe cooling system, achieving 28 W sustained performance release, providing sustained power for AI model training, graphic rendering, video editing, and gaming entertainment.

The AMD 8840U is also paired with a proprietary XDNA AI processor, with NPU computing power up to 16TOPS and processor computing power up to 38TOPS. Based on this, V3 is equipped with a new AMD Ryzen AI, creating an AI Windows triple-in-one tablet PC with the highest security level from Microsoft, supporting Microsoft Real-time Communication, and hardware design supporting Microsoft Copilot, which can be called upon with a single click, providing real-time intelligent suggestions and assistance, helping users easily complete tasks in various scenarios for efficient office work.

Tianbo GOD88 Mini PC Listed in China, Sports Ryzen 7 8845HS APU & "Cyberpunk" Livery

Tianbo has prepared a very an intriguing Cyberpunk 2077-themed Mini PC for the Chinese gaming hardware market—the JD.com listing (as reported by VideoCardz) showcases black and white enclosures with a sci-fi aesthetic and plenty of RGB lighting courtesy of the slimline internal cooling solution's illuminated 9 cm fan. It is not immediately clear whether CD Projekt and R. Talsorian Games have jointly approved the GOD88 Mini PC's prominent usage of their Cyberpunk title/logo/font. The specification sheet and accompanying imagery place emphasis on the Cyber GOD88's APU of choice: an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS mobile processor—this sits at second place within Team Red's recently launched 8040 "Hawk Point" series, their Ryzen 9 8945HS chip takes principal position here.

The GOD88's Ryzen 7 8845HS APU is no slouch when compared to the Ryzen 9 sibling—it runs the same 8-core/16-thread configuration, with a 5.1 GHz max boost (only trailing behind by 100 MHz). The spec sheet mentions a configurable TDP of 35 - 54 W. Tianbo's Mini PC is sold as a barebones system, according to the JD.com product page—customers are expected to plug in their own choice of RAM and storage. Dual-channel DDR5-5600 memory is supported, while the cramped interior can accommodate a single full-sized M.2 2280 PCIe 4×4 SSD. The Tianbo GOD88 "High Performance" Cyberpunk Mini PC will be open to pre-orders (via JD.com) on February 5—barebones pricing is set at 2688 RMB (~$378.50).

AMD Ryzen 7 8700G CPU-Z Results Puts it Neck and Neck with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D

The first CPU-Z test results of AMD's upcoming Ryzen 7 8700G were sniffed out by serial leaker @momomo_us on X/Twitter and the new APU is looking very promising performance wise. It ends up being neck and neck with yours truly own Ryzen 7 7800X3D with a small lead to the CPU over the APU in single-threaded performance, but in the multi-threaded test the APU manages to stay ahead of the CPU, if only just. Both AMD chips are still somewhat behind Intel's Core i7-12700KF, but it has an extra four threads, even though those threads are slower due to them being on the E-cores.

The Ryzen 7 8700G test system was using an ASRock B650 Pro RS motherboard and the APU was paired with 32 GB of DDR5-6400 memory with reasonably tight timings of 32-39-39-102. The tester relied on the integrated Radeon 780M graphics in the APU and the Windows 11 operating system was installed on a 500 GB Seagate BarraCuda 510 SSD. In the single-threaded test the Ryzen 7 8700G scores 675 points vs 683 for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and in the multi-threaded tests it came in at 7318 vs 7301. Not bad for a 65 W TDP APU vs a 120 W TDP CPU. For comparison, the average for Intel's Core i7-12700KF is 7754 in the mutli-threaded test. Although CPU-Z is far from an exhaustive test, it does at least give us a first glimpse of what to expect from the new Zen 4 APUs from AMD in terms of performance and it looks like it's in line with its best Zen 4 CPUs.

The Zen 4c Cores in the Ryzen 8000G APUs are Clocked Slower than the Zen 4 Cores

AMD has revealed the full specs of its upcoming Ryzen 8000G APUs and it turns out that the Zen 4c cores aren't clocking as high as the Zen 4 cores in the Ryzen 5 8500G and Ryzen 3 8300G. We should point out that the 8300G has a singular Zen 4 core and three Zen 4c Cores here, so there's no confusion. The Zen 4 cores in the 8500G have a base clock of 4.1 GHz, while the 8300G comes in at 4.0 GHz, with both of the APU's Zen 4c cores having a base clock of 3.2 GHz. Oddly enough, AMD lists the overall base clock of the 8500G as 3.5 GHz and the 8300G as 3.4 GHz with a notice that reads "Represents the average effective base frequency of all cores." AMD is in other words averaging the clock speeds of the two different cores to come up with an approximate base clock.

The Zen 4 cores in the 8500G boost up to 5 GHz, with the 8300G boosting to 4.9 GHz, whereas the Zen 4c cores in the 8500G boost up to 3.7 GHz and in the 8300G to 3.6 GHz. Here AMD doesn't provide an estimated frequency equivalent. Despite being budget models in the Ryzen 8000G-series of APUs, both SKUs get two USB4 ports with full 40 Gbps capabilities, plus a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports. Furthermore the Radeon 740M GPU will be clocked at 2.8 GHz in both APUs, but both SKUs are limited to a mere four graphics cores, whereas the Ryzen 5 8600G gets eight at the same clock speed and the Ryzen 7 8700G gets 12 at 2.9 GHz. All four APUs also support DisplayPort 2.1.

AMD Ryzen 7 8840U APU Benched in GPD Win Max 2 Handheld

GPD has disclosed to ITHome that a specification refresh of its Win Max 2 handheld/mini-laptop gaming PC is incoming—this model debuted last year with Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix" APUs sitting in the driver's seat. A company representative provided a sneak peek of an upgraded device that sports a Team Red Ryzen 8040 series "Hawk Point" mobile processor, and a larger pool of system memory (32 GB versus the 2023 model's 16 GB). The refreshed GPD Win Max 2's Ryzen 7 8840U APU was compared to the predecessor's Ryzen 7 7840U in CPU-Z benchmarks (standard and AX-512)—the results demonstrate a very slight difference in performance between generations.

The 8040 and 7040 APUs share the same "Phoenix" basic CPU design (8-cores + 16-threads) based on the prevalent "Zen 4" microarchitecture, plus an integration of AMD's Radeon 780M GPU. The former's main upgrade lies in its AI-crunching capabilities—a deployment of Team Red's XDNA AI engine. Ryzen 8040's: "NPU performance has been increased to 16 TOPS, compared to 10 TOPS of the NPU on the 'Phoenix' silicon. AMD is taking a whole-of-silicon approach to AI acceleration, which includes not just the NPU, but also the 'Zen 4' CPU cores that support the AVX-512 VNNI instruction set that's relevant to AI; and the iGPU based on the RDNA 3 graphics architecture, with each of its compute unit featuring two AI accelerators, components that make the SIMD cores crunch matrix math. The whole-of-silicon performance figures for "Phoenix" is 33 TOPS; while 'Hawk Point' boasts of 39 TOPS. In benchmarks by AMD, 'Hawk Point' is shown delivering a 40% improvement in vision models, and Llama 2, over the Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix" series."

AMD's Phoenix 1 and Phoenix 2 APUs Differ in PCIe Lane Count, Affects NVMe Drive Performance and GPU PCIe Lane Count

At CES, AMD didn't give away too many technical details of its upcoming Ryzen 8000G-series APUs, but details are starting to trickle out and it's not all good news. As has been known for some time, AMD is using two different chips to make the Ryzen 8000G APUs and they're known as the Phoenix 1 and Phoenix 2, where the Phoenix 2 parts feature Zen 4c cores, which are not present in the Phoenix 1 APUs. This in and of itself shouldn't be a huge issue, although the Zen 4c CPU cores can be slightly slower in some tasks based on testing of AMD's EPYC server parts.

However, PCGamesN noticed that Gigabyte has posted the full specs for the B650E Aorus Elite X AX Ice motherboard and it looks like there's a much bigger difference between the Phoenix 1 and Phoenix 2 based APUs. Namely, the Phoenix 2 APUs have fewer PCIe lanes and as such are limited to two PCIe 4.0 lanes for the secondary NVMe slot. As if this wasn't bad enough, the Phoenix 2 APUs only have four PCIe 4.0 lanes for add-in GPUs, whereas the Phoenix 1 APUs have eight. This is very likely to lead to reduced performance if a higher-end GPU is used with such an APU. Note that this will vary depending on the motherboard design, but many B650/B650E boards feature a similar design with regards to the PCIe lanes coming from the CPU socket. Luckily, it's easy to avoid this issue, as the Ryzen 5 8600G and the Ryzen 7 8700G are both Phoenix 1 designs, whereas the Ryzen 5 8500G is the only Phoenix 2 design available in retail, as the Ryzen 3 8300G is an OEM only part.

Schenker-built Tuxedo Sirius 16 Notebook Powered by Ryzen 7040 Showcased

Back at the Schenker booth, we also spied the Tuxedo Computers Sirius 16. Schenker is the OEM/SI for this brand, which specializes in notebooks, mobile workstations, mini-PCs, commercial desktops, and large workstations; with the singular design goal of making them 100% compatible with and optimized for popular PC Linux distributions, hence the name. These Linux-friendly PCs are designed and assembled in Germany. The Tuxedo Sirius 16, as its name suggests, features a 16-inch 16:9 1440p display; and an illuminated keyboard. All its ports, connectors, audio, and networking interfaces have been tested for 100% compatibility and performance on Linux.

Under the hood is an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS "Phoenix" processor, with its 8-core/16-thread "Zen 4" CPU, and a cTDP set by Tuxedo at 54 W. This is paired with dual-channel DDR5 SO-DIMM slots, with options going all the way up to 96 GB. Graphics is care of a discrete AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT with 8 GB of memory, and 130 W configured power limit. The notebook features an all-metal chassis, and since the cooling solution isn't as elaborate on the XMG Neo 17 with its bulky 150 W CPU and 175 W GPU; Schenker used the space to cram in an 80 Wh battery (whereas the XMG Neo 17 has a 99 Wh pack). The 40 Gbps USB4 port from the "Phoenix" SoC is wired out. Neato.

BIOSTAR Outs Ryzen 8000G Series Socket AM5 Motherboard Firmware Updates

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, announces a new BIOS update for its AMD AM5-based motherboards, specifically tailored to ensure flawless compatibility with the newly released AMD Ryzen 8000 series processors, designed to optimize system performance and reliability, allowing users to fully harness the advanced capabilities of AMD's latest Ryzen processors. Consisting of Ryzen 7 8700G, Ryzen 5 8600G, Ryzen 5 8500G, and the Ryzen 3 8300G, AMD's latest processors bring unrivaled performance at affordable price points. These cutting-edge APUs, grounded in the robust Zen 4 architecture, seamlessly blend high performance with versatility.

Moreover, these processors are equipped with an RDNA 3 GPU, offering superior graphics performance for gaming and content creation. Additionally, Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G feature an innovative XDNA Neural Processing Unit (NPU), a significant advancement that directly boosts artificial intelligence processing capabilities at the hardware level. This integration positions these APUs as a formidable choice for users seeking a blend of performance, AI-enhanced capabilities, and affordability.

ASRock AM5 Motherboards Ready to Support AMD Ryzen 8000 Series Processors

ASRock proudly announce its AM5 motherboards now support the latest AMD Ryzen 8000 series processors with a BIOS update. AMD Ryzen 8000 series processors are built on Zen 4 and AMD RDNA 3 architecture, offering improved performance and computing efficiency per watt, thus providing enhanced gaming experience for consumers.

Additionally, the newest AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and 5700 processors as well as AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT/5500GT processors now can also be supported on ASRock AMD 500/400 series AM4 motherboards with a BIOS update. The latest BIOS is already available to download on ASRock website, be sure to update to the latest BIOS to enjoy the ultimate gaming experience.

AMD Announces Ryzen 8000G Series Desktop APUs, Select Models Feature Ryzen AI

AMD today announced the Ryzen 8000G line of desktop APUs. These come in the Socket AM5 package, and are supported by all motherboards based on the AMD X670/E, B650/E, and A620 chipsets, with some requiring UEFI firmware updates. Since USB BIOS Flashback is standard issue on AMD motherboards, this should be no problem. With Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael" desktop processors that debut the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, AMD had standardized integrated graphics, however, the iGPU for these are just enough for desktop/productivity workloads, offering comparable performance to the iGPUs of Intel 13th Gen Core desktop processors. AMD doesn't consider Ryzen 7000 chips as APUs for this reason. An APU has to be a processor with powerful integrated graphics that can offer entry-level gaming, high-res content consumption, or multi-monitor productivity, and "Raphael" isn't it. Enter the Ryzen 8000G series.

The AMD Ryzen 8000G series debuts four APU models, the Ryzen 7 8700G, the Ryzen 5 8600G, the Ryzen 5 8500G, and the Ryzen 3 8300G. The 8700G and 8600G are based on the 4 nm "Hawk Point" silicon, feature Ryzen AI, and are the first desktop processors to feature an NPU (neural processing unit). The 8500G and 8300G are based on the 4 nm "Phoenix 2" silicon. The Ryzen 7 8700G leads the pack, and is a maxed out implementation of "Hawk Point," featuring an 8-core/16-thread CPU based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, the full Radeon 780M integrated graphics implementation with 12 RDNA3 compute units; and the Ryzen AI XDNA NPU. The processor has a combined AI throughput of 39 TOPS, with 16 TOPS from the NPU. For reference, an Intel Core Ultra 7 165H "Meteor Lake" mobile processor with its AI Boost NPU, has a combined AI throughput of 34 TOPS.

AMD Ryzen 7 8700G Confirmed to Feature Maxed Out Radeon 780M Clocked at 2.90 GHz

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.

Intel Meteor Lake P-cores Show IPC Regression Over Raptor Lake?

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."

AMD Ryzen 5 8600G to Feature Radeon 760M Graphics with 8 CU, 5.00 GHz Maximum CPU Boost

AMD's upcoming Ryzen 5 8600G Socket AM5 desktop APU will feature the truncated Radeon 760M integrated graphics, and not the previously believed Radeon 780M, or the full iGPU configuration present on the silicon. At this point, there are still conflicting reports on which exact silicon the Ryzen 8000G desktop APUs are even based on, with some of the older reports and Geekbench detecting 8600G engineering samples to be based on "Phoenix," and some of the newer reports suggesting that it's based on "Hawk Point." Both "Phoenix" and "Hawk Point" are nearly identical, except for the latter to feature a faster NPU.

The Ryzen 5 8600G is configured with a 6-core/12-thread CPU based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, with 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 16 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU base frequency is set to a healthy 4.35 GHz, and maximum CPU boost frequency of 5.00 GHz. These CPU clocks are very similar to those of the mobile Ryzen 5 7640H (which has a base frequency of 4.30 GHz, but the same 5.00 GHz boost), but in case of the 8600G, the 65 W TDP and possible 90 W PPT should help with boost frequency residency. The Radeon 760M gets 8 out of 12 RDNA3 compute units physically present on the silicon, giving it 512 stream processors. Geekbench detects an engine clock (GPU clock) of 2.80 GHz, compared to the 2.60 GHz of the Radeon 760M on the Ryzen 5 7640H. The 8600G ES was running on an MSI MEG X670E Ace motherboard, with 32 GB of dual-channel DDR5-6000 memory.

GIGABYTE Releases AGESA 1.1.0.1a AM5 Motherboard BIOS Updates, Suggests 8700G Based on "Hawk Point," Not "Phoenix"

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.

Alleged Ryzen 8000G AM5 APU Pricing Makes an Early Appearance

Courtesy of serial leaker @momomo_us we now have an indication on potential pricing for AMD's upcoming 8000G-series of APUs for the AM5 socket. The Ryzen 8000G-series APUs are expected to use the same CPU cores as AMD's Zen 4 based Ryzen 7000-series CPUs, but paired with a new I/O design in a monolithic die. The leaker has provided pricing from what is said to be three different shops and for three different SKUs, with the Ryzen 5 7600 as the reference point in all three cases. All three shops list the Ryzen 5 7600 at a higher price than Amazon, so it's unlikely that we're looking at MSRP pricing here.

The Ryzen 5 8500G has a price range of US$190-240, followed by the Ryzen 5 8600G which comes in at US$240-310 and finally the Ryzen 7 8700G which is listed at US$340-440. The price span is rather large, which makes it impossible to draw any conclusions of what the MSRP will be. Tom's hardware managed to dig up a pair of retailers, including what appears to be the one with the lowest pricing in the leak, which is DirectDial. The other retailer that Tom's Hardware located was Zones, but that pricing doesn't match any of the initial leaks, but are somewhat towards the higher numbers. AMD is expected to announce the new series of APUs at CES early next year.

AMD to Support AM5 Platform with New Products Till 2025 and Beyond

AMD continues to release new Ryzen 5000 series processor models for the Socket AM4 platform to this day, with new processors expected to launch next month. That's over 6 years of longevity for the platform, considering that AMD has extended official Ryzen 5000 series support all the way back to its first line of AM4 motherboards based on the 300-series chipset. The company plans a similar longevity for Socket AM5. In an interview with Overclockers UK, AMD's client channel business head David McAfee said "I think that we certainly recognized that the longevity of the AM4 platforms was one of the biggest reasons that led to the success of Ryzen and as we think and as we think about the future, 2025 and beyond, that decision to move to a next-generation of socket is one that's going to be really thought through really really carefully. We know the impact that moving to a new socket brings and we want to stay on AM5 for as long as we possibly can. We are firmly committed to 2025 and beyond and we will see how long that promise lasts beyond 2025."

AMD Socket AM5 is designed to deliver up to 230 W of package power, and has a contemporary I/O that includes a dual-channel DDR5 memory interface (4x 40-bit sub-channels); and 28 PCIe Gen 5 lanes (x16 PEG, two x4 NVMe, and x4 chipset bus), besides the usual SoC connectivity. With the upcoming Ryzen 8000G "Phoenix" APUs, we could expect to see that the socket even wires out modern display I/O such as DisplayPort 2.1 with USB type-C, and the bandwidth for 12-bit HDR up to 68 billion colors. AMD debuted Socket AM5 with the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, with "Zen 5" expected to launch in 2024. It's conceivable that the company's 2025 client architecture, "Zen 6," could also see its desktop presence on AM5, given that DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5 will remain relevant till at least that time.

Geekom Readies Mini PCs Powered by Intel "Meteor Lake" and AMD "Hawk Point"

Mini PC designer Geekom is bring three innovative desktops to the 2024 International CES, based on the very latest mobile processors by Intel and AMD. These boxes are hinged on MoDT (mobile on desktop) hardware, meaning that energy efficient mobile processors are crammed into compact desktop cases, and wired out with all the connectivity they can put out. The three mini PC models Geekom is launching includes the IT14 Pro, the A8 Max, and the APro8 Max. The Geekcom IT14 Pro comes in a 0.7-liter chassis (about the size of a NUC), and is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H "Meteor Lake" processor configured with 6P+8E+2LP cores, or 16-core/22-thread. The desktop relies entirely on the maxed out Arc iGPU with all its 8 Xe cores enabled (128 EU). The NPU is also enabled. The company didn't reveal the memory, storage, or WLAN configuration of this desktop, yet.

The A8 Max is based on a similar 1-liter class chassis, but uses an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS or Ryzen 9 8940HS "Hawk Point" processor, both of which are 8-core/16-thread "Zen 4," and configured with the full Radeon 780M iGPU available (12 CU or 768 stream processors). The star attraction here is the updated Ryzen AI NPU, which drives up the AI inference performance of these chips to 39 TOPS, compared to 34 TOPS of the Intel "Meteor Lake" chips. The APro8 Max is a based on a physically larger chassis that looks a bit like a game console. It's based on mostly the same hardware as the A8 Max, but with an added Radeon RX 7600M XT discrete GPU, which should give it the ability to offer maxed out AAA gaming at 1080p, or power productivity workloads at 4K UHD. We shoud know more about these three in Vegas next month.

Graph Provides Valuable Insights to Ryzen User Upgrade Patterns Based on AMD Chipset Sales Share

Market research by Korean publication Danawa DPG provides valuable insights to how desktop AMD Ryzen processor users are charting their upgrade paths given the long upgrade longevity of AMD sockets. The research follows a 10-month date range from December 2022 to October 2023, and tracks the sales of motherboards based on various AMD chipset models. We're shown that toward the turn of the year, AMD B550 chipset motherboards sell the most. This is when AMD Ryzen 5000 Socket AM4 processors top sales for the company, Given that the B550 fully supports CPU overclocking, and that there are plenty of feature-packed B550 motherboard models, it explains why the B550 covers a wide price-band.

AMD launched the Ryzen 7000 series "Zen 4" to lukewarm response in September 2022, mainly because the platform lacked DDR4 memory support that was relevant at the time, and hence wasn't as flexible to consumers as Intel's LGA1700. Its launch caused price-cuts for Ryzen 5000 series processors, clearing out some upgrade headroom for those on the AM4 platform still using Ryzen 3000. Off to a slow start, we see its successor from Socket AM5, the B650 chipset, rise steadily over the time period, and for two reasons—DDR5 memory became affordable over the course of 2023; and AMD breathed life into the Ryzen 7000 series with the introduction of the Ryzen 7000X3D series, which restored gaming performance competitiveness to Intel's 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake." The B650 has everything you need right now for a Ryzen 7000X3D build, given that both the GeForce RTX 40-series and Radeon RX 7000 series are PCIe Gen 4 graphics cards; and that the B650 has at least a Gen 5 NVMe slot. If you absolutely need a Gen 5 x16 slot, there's the premium B650E chipset to go with.

AMD 5th Gen EPYC "Turin" Pictured: Who Needs Accelerators When You Have 192 Cores?

AMD's upcoming server processor, the 5th Gen EPYC "Turin," has been pictured as an engineering sample is probably being evaluated by the company's data-center or cloud customers. The processor has a mammoth core-count of 192-core/384-thread in its high-density cloud-focused variant that uses "Zen 5c" CPU cores. Its regular version that uses larger "Zen 5" cores that can sustain higher clock speeds, also comes with a fairly high core-count of 128-core/256-thread, up from the 96-core/192-thread of the "Zen 4" based EPYC "Genoa."

The EPYC "Turin" server processor based on "Zen 5" comes with an updated sIOD (server I/O die), surrounded by as many as 16 CCDs (CPU complex dies). AMD is expected to build these CCDs on the TSMC N4P foundry node, which is a more advanced version of the TSMC N4 node the company currently uses for its "Phoenix" client processors, and the TSMC N5 node it uses for its "Zen 4" CCD. TSMC claims that the N4P node offers an up to 22% improvement in power efficiency over N5, as well as a 6% increase in transistor density. Each of the "Zen 5" CCDs is confirmed to have 8 CPU cores sharing 32 MB L3 cache memory. A total of 16 such CCDs add up to the processor's 128-core/256-thread number. The high-density "Turin" meant for cloud data-centers, is a whole different beast.

AMD Ryzen 8000G Socket AM5 Desktop APU Lineup Detailed

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

ASRock Industrial Announces Ryzen 8040 Powered Mini-PCs

ASRock Industrial releases state-of-the-art 4X4 BOX 8040 Series Mini PCs and 4X4 8040 Motherboard Series, powered by AMD Ryzen 8040 Series APUs, crafted to elevate trusted performance and AI PC capabilities. Featuring up to 8 "Zen 4" cores/ 16 threads and AMD Radeon 700M graphics, the Series integrates AMD Ryzen AI with 16 NPU TOPS, delivering up to 1.6x surge in AI processing performance over its predecessor. With support of dual-channel DDR5 5600 MHz memory up to 96 GB, the 4X4 BOX 8040 Series comes with enriched I/O connectivity in a compact fanned box. It enables 4K quad-display outputs, five USB ports, including two USB4, accommodates dual storages, and offers dual LAN up to 2.5G, along with Wi-Fi 6E support. The new Series, marked by a significant speed boost with lower power consumption, paves the way for accelerated generative AI workloads, tailoring heightened experience in content creation, gaming, entertainment, office productivity, commerce, and many other AIoT applications through the quintessential AI PC for you.

ASRock Industrial's 4X4 BOX 8040 Series offers versatile selections: 4X4 BOX-8840U, 4X4 BOX-8640U, powered by AMD Ryzen 8040 Series (Ryzen 7 8840U/ Ryzen 5 8640U). With integration of CPU, GPU, and NPU, the AMD Ryzen AI upgrades to 16 NPU TOPS and 39 total TOPS (NPU+CPU+GPU), reaching up to 1.6x surge in AI processing performance and a notable 40% speed increase in running AI LLM models than prior gen AMD APUs. Featuring 4 nm "Zen 4" architecture with up to 8 cores/ 16 threads, along with AMD Radeon 700M RDNA 3 graphics, and dual-channel DDR5-5600 MHz SO-DIMM memory up to 96 GB. The 4X4 BOX 8040 Series marks a leap forward in AI processing, allowing users to re-imagine dynamic applications on their AI PC, such as enhancing productivity, delivering AI-inspired visuals/content, running AI models right on PCs for various AIoT use cases.

Intel Core Ultra 5 125H Squares off Against AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS in Benchmark Leak

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is designed to be a middle-of-the-market processor SKU from Intel's next generation "Meteor Lake" processor family. It comes with a CPU core configuration of 14-core/18-thread. That's 4P+8E+2L (four performance cores, eight efficiency cores, two low-power island cores), although with a full featured Xe-LPG iGPU that has all 8 Xe cores (128 EU) enabled. The chip is normally rated for a 28 W power envelope, although OEMs such as Lenovo have developed a custom 65 W "power mode," which raises the base power value.

A Chinese PC enthusiast with access to an unreleased Lenovo notebook based on this processor, including Lenovo's 65 W Mode toggle, benchmarked it, and compared it with a notebook powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS "Phoenix" processor (8-core/16-thread, "Zen 4," Radeon 780M iGPU with all 12 compute units enabled); and another notebook powered by Intel's current middle-of-market chip in the H-segment, the Core i5-13500H "Raptor Lake" (4P+8E, Xe-LP iGPU with 5 Xe cores or 80 EU). The results were a little unexpected. The Xe-LPG iGPU of the 125H is shown beating both the Radeon 780M of the Ryzen, and the Xe-LP iGPU of the i5-13500H, with the highest 3DMark Time Spy and Fire Strike scores in the comparison. The Xe-LPG iGPU is 15% faster than the Radeon 780M in Time Spy, and 6% faster in Fire Strike. It's a whopping 70% faster than the Xe-LP iGPU of the "Raptor Lake" chip in this comparison. Things are shockingly different on the CPU performance front for the "Meteor Lake" chip.

Intel "Sierra Forest" Xeon System Surfaces, Fails in Comparison to AMD Bergamo

Intel's upcoming Sierra Forest Xeon server chip has debuted on Geekbench 6, showcasing its potential in multi-core performance. Slated for release in the first half of 2024, Sierra Forest is equipped with up to 288 Efficiency cores, positioning it to compete with AMD's Zen 4c Bergamo server CPUs and other ARM-based server chips like those from Ampere for the favor of cloud service providers (CSP). In the Geekbench 6 benchmark, a dual-socket configuration featuring two 144-core Sierra Forest CPUs was tested. The benchmark revealed a notable multi-core score of 7,770, surpassing most dual-socket systems powered by Intel's high-end Xeon Platinum 8480+, which typically scores between 6,500 and 7,500. However, Sierra Forest's single-core score of 855 points was considerably lower, not even reaching half of that of the 8480+, which manages 1,897 points.

The difference in single-core performance is a matter of choice, as Sierra Forest uses Crestmont-derived Sierra Glen E-cores, which are more power and area-efficient, unlike the Golden Cove P-cores in the Sapphire Rapids-based 8480+. This design choice is particularly advantageous for server environments where high-core counts are crucial, as CSPs usually partition their instances by the number of CPU cores. However, compared to AMD's Bergamo CPUs, which use Zen 4c cores, Sierra Forest lacks pure computing performance, especially in multi-core. The Sierra Forest lacks hyperthreading, while Bergaamo offers SMT with 256 threads on the 128-core SKU. Comparing the Geekbench 6 scores to AMD Bergamo EPYC 9754 and Sierra Forest results look a lot less impressive. Bergamo scored 1,597 points in single-core, almost double that of Sierra Forest, and 16,455 points in the multi-core benchmarks, which is more than double. This is a significant advantage of the Zen 4c core, which cuts down on caches instead of being an entirely different core, as Intel does with its P and E-cores. However, these are just preliminary numbers; we must wait for real-world benchmarks to see the actual performance.

Acer Unveils Nitro V 16 Gaming Laptop Powered by New AMD Ryzen 8040 Series Processors

Acer today announced the new Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) gaming laptop, built for casual players looking for a well-balanced device with modern features and more. The latest Nitro V laptop is powered by the new AMD Ryzen 8040 Series processors with Ryzen AI technology built in and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series Laptop GPUs with DLSS 3.5 to deliver versatile performance, long-lasting battery life, and AI-powered technologies. Even in the heat of battle, the Nitro V 16 stays cool through innovative thermals highlighted by a dual fan system and keeps users at the center of the action with stunningly immersive visuals.

"Acer and AMD continue to collaborate in bringing AI-backed gaming experiences with the latest Nitro laptop powered by the new AMD Ryzen 8040 Series processors," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, Acer Inc. "Combined with fast refresh rate display options, enhanced features, and loads of improvements across the board, the Nitro V 16 brings an exciting new AI-ready gaming laptop to the table for all types of gamers."

AMD Ryzen 8040 Series "Hawk Point" Mobile Processors Announced with a Faster NPU

AMD today announced the new Ryzen 8040 mobile processor series codenamed "Hawk Point." These chips are shipping to notebook manufacturers now, and the first notebooks powered by these should be available to consumers in Q1-2024. At the heart of this processor is a significantly faster neural processing unit (NPU), designed to accelerate AI applications that will become relevant next year, as Microsoft prepares to launch Windows 12, and software vendors make greater use of generative AI in consumer applications.

The Ryzen 8040 "Hawk Point" processor is almost identical in design and features to the Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix," except for a faster Ryzen AI NPU. While this is based on the same first-generation XDNA architecture, its NPU performance has been increased to 16 TOPS, compared to 10 TOPS of the NPU on the "Phoenix" silicon. AMD is taking a whole-of-silicon approach to AI acceleration, which includes not just the NPU, but also the "Zen 4" CPU cores that support the AVX-512 VNNI instruction set that's relevant to AI; and the iGPU based on the RDNA 3 graphics architecture, with each of its compute unit featuring two AI accelerators, components that make the SIMD cores crunch matrix math. The whole-of-silicon performance figures for "Phoenix" is 33 TOPS; while "Hawk Point" boasts of 39 TOPS. In benchmarks by AMD, "Hawk Point" is shown delivering a 40% improvement in vision models, and Llama 2, over the Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix" series.
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