As Hoang Anh Phu on X spotted, AMD's latest iteration of its Ryzen AI Software (version 1.2) adds support for new AMD silicon: Strix Halo and Kraken Point processors, which will compete against the best CPUs.
Patch notes reveal that AMD's latest version of its Ryzen AI software features support for five new AMD chips. One is a new chip based on AMD's older Phoenix silicon, while the latter four are all-new Zen 5 offerings. Two are Strix Point offerings featuring A0 and B0 steppings, while the last two chips are codenamed Strix Halo and "Krackan" (i.e., Kraken).
Strix Halo is the codename for an upcoming Zen 5 APU design from AMD that aims to compete squarely against Apple's latest iterations of its M-series silicon. Leaks have revealed that the chip is monstrously powerful for an AMD APU, boasting up to 16 Zen 5 cores (on two CCDs) and an iGPU that will seemingly rival the PlayStation 5, boasting 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units (which is more than the PS5 and the RX 7600 XT).
Originally, Strix Halo was believed to pack anywhere from 45 to 50 TOPS of NPU performance, but a newer leak from a highly reputable source claimed that Strix Halo will come with at least 70 TOPS of performance, which is 20 more TOPS than AMD's outgoing Ryzen AI 300 mobile CPUs.
Strix Halo could arrive with either LPDDR5X or LPDDR5 memory operating on a large 256-bit wide interface. So far, we've seen Strix Halo configurations boasting 128GB of memory, suggesting we could see Strix Halo-powered systems with up to 128GB of memory.
"Krackan" refers to AMD's leaked Kraken Point mobile APUs, which are rumored to arrive in 2025. This new Zen 5-powered design will reportedly be the successor to Hawk Point—the Ryzen 8040 series—and a like-for-like competitor to Intel's upcoming Lunar Lake architecture.
Kraken Point will allegedly prioritize power efficiency, boasting four Zen 5 cores and four Zen 5c cores, 16MB of L3 cache, and an RDNA 3.5 iGPU packing up to 8 compute units. These chips will be significantly weaker than AMD's existing Ryzen AI 9 300 series processors, which come with up to four Zen 5 cores, eight Zen 5c cores, 24MB of L3 cache, and up to AMD's Radeon 890M with 16 CUs.
With the latest update for the Ryzen AI Software, AMD is laying the carpet for the chipmaker's upcoming Strix Halo and Kraken Point processors, which won't arrive until next year.
