AMD's Krackan Point APUs Set to Revolutionize Budget Laptops in Early 2025

AMD Krackan Point APUs Could Launch Early 2025 for Budget Laptops Starting at $799

AMD is set to introduce its new Krackan Point APUs in early 2025, targeting budget-friendly laptops with prices starting at $799. This new lineup is expected to offer a more affordable alternative to AMD's Strix Point series, which focuses on high-performance mobile solutions. The Krackan Point APUs are based on AMD's Zen 5 architecture and aim to fill the gap in the mainstream and budget market segments. Currently, AMD's Zen 5-based mobile CPUs are part of the Ryzen AI 300 series (Strix Point), which cater to high-end laptops. These include models such as the Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, HX 370, and Ryzen AI 9 365, all of which are designed for performance-focused devices. The introduction of Krackan Point will provide a lower-cost alternative, addressing the absence of budget Zen 5 solutions. According to reports from IFA 2024, confirmed by AMD's Jack Huynh, Krackan Point will indeed arrive in early 2025. While official specifications are not yet available, rumors suggest that Krackan Point will feature a scaled-down design compared to Strix Point and Strix Halo. The chips are expected to have eight CPU cores, with four Zen 5 cores and four Zen 5c cores, compared to Strix Point's 12-core configuration (eight Zen 5c cores, four Zen 5 cores). Krackan Point is also rumored to include up to eight RDNA 3.5 CUs for integrated graphics. In terms of AI performance, Krackan Point is expected to meet Microsoft's 40 TOPS requirement for Copilot+ support, with some rumors hinting at an enhanced NPU called XDNA2, potentially delivering AI performance in the 45-50 TOPS range. Additionally, the Krackan Point processors are expected to support LPDDRX-8000 memory. AMD will face strong competition in this space, with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips, known for their power efficiency, and Intel's upcoming Lunar Lake mobile CPUs, which promise significant improvements in power efficiency compared to Intel's Meteor Lake chips. Code nameSound WaveFire RangeStrix HaloStrix PointKrackan PointEscherproduction 4nmCPU 16 cores, Zen 512 cores, Zen 58 cores, Zen 5/Zen 5c8 cores, Zen 43D V-Cache ✓-GPU RDNA 3.5, 40 CUsRDNA 3.5, 16 CUsRDNA 3.5, 8 CUsRDNA 3, ? CUsAI accelerator XDNA 2, 60 TOPSXDNA 2, 45 - 50 TOPSXDNA 1, 16 TOPSRelease2026?2025H2 202420252025 Source: ComputerBase

AMD's Krackan Point APUs land in early 2025 for budget notebooks -- Krackan Point-powered Copilot+ laptops may start at $799

Kraken Point is purportedly going to be the cheaper alternative to Strix Point. AMD is preparing a new Zen 5-based mobile CPU lineup to target the mainstream budget. ComputerBase reports that AMD's Krackan/Krackan Point mobile APUs will arrive in early 2025 in laptops, starting at $799. Until now, AMD's only Zen 5 mobile CPU -- under the Ryzen AI 300 series (Strix Point) umbrella, has targeted high-end laptop solutions. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, HX 370, and Ryzen AI 9 365 are all high-performance-focused parts that have left the budget and mainstream markets without a Zen 5 solution or a Copilot+ CPU solution from AMD. ComputerBase confirmed in a conversation at IFA 2024 with AMD's Jack Huynh that Krackan is real and will arrive in early 2025. Official details or specs of the new Zen 5 chips were not disclosed, but these chips will inevitably fill the void Strix Point has left out, being cheaper solutions with lower specs. Numerous rumors and leaks have been published regarding Krackan Point. The new CPU design is a cut-down version of Strix Point and Strix Halo, with just eight CPU cores. For comparison, the outgoing flagship Strix Point chip (the Ryzen AI 9 HX 375) features 12 cores: eight Zen 5c cores, four Zen 5 cores, and an RDNA 3.5 iGPU with 16 CUs. On the other hand, Krackan Point will seemingly come with four Zen 5 cores and four Zen 5c cores and come with up to eight RDNA 3.5 CUs. AI performance is somewhat vague, but Krackan Point will, at the very minimum, have an XDNA-based NPU that meets Microsoft's 40 TOPS criteria to be considered a Copilot+ capable chip. Some rumors claim that Krackan Point could feature a new NPU called XDNA2, capable of an AI performance between 45 to 50 TOPS. Krackan Point will reportedly also support LPDDRX-8000 memory. AMD will face some very heated competition once Krackan Point arrives next year. These new processors will have to contend with Qualcomm's highly power-efficient Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips and Intel's brand new TSMC-powered Lunar Lake mobile CPUs, which promise to provide substantial gains in power efficiency over Intel's outgoing mobile CPUs based on Meteor Lake.

AMD Krackan Point APUs Target Affordable Platforms & Launch In 2025

AMD will release Krackan Point APUs to provide more affordable devices to the masses but needs to tackle the chip supply by 2025. AMD Krackan Point APUs based on the Zen 5+ Zen 5c architecture to power budget-segment mobile devices At IFA 2024, we saw many key players announcing their upcoming products. From Intel's Lunar Lake-based laptops and handhelds to AMD Ryzen AI 300-equipped laptops, there were plenty of laptops and other such devices that focused on the AI and Copilot+ experience. One lineup, namely the Krackan Point, which was rumored to launch at CES 2025 has now been confirmed by AMD itself for early 2025 launch. This was confirmed by Senior VP and General Manager of AMD Computing and Graphics, Jack Huynh, who also confirmed recently that AMD is preparing the custom Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip for early 2025 release. As reported by Computerbase, Jack said that AMD acknowledges the need for cheaper chips as the AMD Strix Point is a premium offering. Strix laptops are generally expensive and the masses cannot afford them. This is why AMD has planned to release the more affordable AMD Krackan Point at the beginning of 2025 so that more OEMs can adopt and utilize their chips. At the moment, the Strix Point APUs haven't been used even in a single gaming handheld despite many manufacturers entering the market. This is definitely due to the price point of these APUs but the most important thing is AMD's chip supply. Apart from not having budget chips like the Krackan Point right now, AMD has not been able to solve its chip supply problem which forces some of its partners to go with alternatives. While AMD does power the Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, and various other handhelds, no one among these companies has adopted the Strix Point for the next-gen consoles. Instead, it's speculated that these companies will go after the Z2 Extreme we talked about earlier. That said, AMD Krackan Point APUs will solve this problem as they offer an 8-core configuration with a 4x Zen 5 and 4x Zen 5c combination, featuring up to 50 TOPS of NPU performance. This will enable the AMD Krackan Point APU-based devices to get Copilot+ certification but most importantly, the Krackan Point will bring faster GPU based on RDNA 3.5 graphics compared to the previous generations. It won't be as good as the Strix Point due to bringing 8 Compute Units compared to 16 on the latter but it will be surely enough to replace the existing AMD chip on the Steam Deck.

AMD confirms new Krackan APU for early 2025: Zen 5 CPU + RDNA 3.5 GPU, ready for new handhelds

AMD has confirmed it will have its new "Krackan" APU launching in early 2025, aiming at the $799 notebook market ready for Copilot+ in 2025. The big difference between the just-launched Ryzen AI 300 series "Strix Point" APUs and the new "Krackan" (also rumored as "Kraken Point") is that it will drop down to 8 cores of Zen 5 (4 x Zen 5 + 4 x Zen 5c) and a heavily cut-down 8 CUs of RDNA 3.5 GPU (compared to 16 CUs of RDNA 3.5 on Strix Point, and 40 CUs of RDNA 3.5 on Strix Halo). AMD's upcoming Krackan APU will feature the same Zen 5 CPU + RDNA 3.5 + XDNA 2 NPU, so we have Copilot+ ready for 2025, with enough TOPS (45-50 TOPS) for AI workloads of the future (and to compete against Intel Lunar Lake and Qualcomm Snapdragon X). ComputerBase reported: "Strix Point is available here and from some manufacturers, but these are all premium devices at correspondingly high prices. In order to reach the mass of the market, cheaper chips are needed. Here, AMD's Jack Huynh, head of the Ryzen and Radeon division, confirmed in a conversation at IFA 2024 that Krackan will attack here from the beginning of 2025". We should expect AMD to unveil its new Krackan or Kraken Point APU at CES 2025 in January 2025.