AMD's Krackan Point APU: Zen 5 Cores and AI Performance Spotted in Geekbench

AMD's budget Krackan Point APU with Zen 5 cores spotted on Geekbench

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Something to look forward to: AMD has long been rumored to be working on Zen 5-based Krackan Point APUs for budget PCs. Despite persistent rumors about them in recent months, there isn't a lot of concrete information about their specifications. However, a new leak now seemingly offers insight into the core configuration of one of the SKUs in the upcoming lineup. A Krackan Point APU recently surfaced on Geekbench, but not for the standard Geekbench 6 test for CPU benchmarking. Instead, it's for the Geekbench AI test, which measures the chip's NPU performance. The listing, which was spotted by tipster @Olrak29_, shows the processor scoring 2019 points in the Single Precision test, 1276 points in Half Precision, and 3773 points in Quantization. The scores seem to confirm rumors that Krackan Point will be a budget offering for the mainstream market rather than a high-end lineup designed for enthusiasts. The listing also reveals that this particular CPU packs six cores and 12 threads, including three Zen 5 cores and three Zen 5c cores. The System Information on the Geekbench page further reveals that the chip is an engineering sample, housed in an Asus laptop. The listing does not reveal the chip's identity, but online speculation suggests that it could be marketed as the Ryzen AI 5 340. The integrated NPU is believed to be an XDNA 2 unit rated for 50 TOPS of AI performance, which should make it eligible for Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs. The chip is also said to feature a Radeon 840M integrated GPU with four RDNA 3.5 compute units. The Kracken Point lineup is expected to also include the Ryzen AI 7 350 with four Zen 5 cores and four Zen 5c cores. It could feature eight RDNA 3.5 compute units, making it faster than the 340. Still, Krackan Point will be less powerful than Strix Point, which launched earlier this year with Zen 5 CPU cores, a new XDNA 2 NPU, and RDNA 3+ graphics. AMD is rumored to announce Krackan Point in early 2025. The lineup is tipped to include the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, designed for next-gen handheld gaming consoles. Online speculations suggest that it could offer faster performance and better battery life than the Z1 Extreme, which powers devices like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.

AMD 6-Core Krackan Point CPU Spotted, Will Adopt 3+3 Core Configuration

AMD's Krackan Point APU with 6 cores has been spotted within the Geekbench AI benchmark, revealing a rather unique 3+3 configuration. AMD's upcoming Krackan Point is yet another Zen 5-based lineup for mainstream users but will target the budget segment. We have already reported on this lineup several times before, but till today, there isn't much info available on its SKUs and their specifications. Fortunately, a recent leak surfaced on X (via @Olrak29_), which revealed that one of the Krackan Point chips was benchmarked on Geekbench. It isn't the usual Geekbench 6 for CPU benchmarking, but it was the Geekbench AI test, which is specifically for the NPU. The scores achieved by these processors were 2019 points in Single Precision, 1276 points in Half Precision, and 3773 points in Quantization. The scores aren't the best and because the tested chip was an early engineering sample. Nonetheless, what's important is the specs of the benchmarked CPU. As revealed in the System Information, it's a part of an ASUS laptop and is AMD Engineering Sample: 100-000001600-40_Y. The configuration shows that it is a 6-core/12-thread CPU with two core clusters. Each core cluster has 3 cores(3x Zen 5, 3x Zen 5c) but it isn't revealed whether both clusters are located on the same CCD or not. Both cases are possible but considering that AMD's Ryzen 5 8500G brings all 6 cores on the same cluster in a 2+4(2x Zen 5 + 4x Zen 5c) configuration, the benchmarked Krackan Point CPU might bring these cores on dual CCDs. This is just our speculation, and it is also possible that all the cores could be on the same CCD. As per some reports, it is said that this is none other than the 6-core Ryzen AI 5 340/330 APU, which is the lowest-end chip in the Krackan Point family. Then there is the 8-core Ryzen AI 7 350, which will be the mid-range offering in the lineup. Keep in mind that the 8-core Ryzen AI 7 300 naming convention is specific to Krackan Point and the 8-core Strix Point CPU will have Ryzen AI Pro naming convention. AMD is expected to debut Krackan Point in early 2025 for affordable platforms and might end up as a Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip on the next-gen consoles, replacing Z1 Extreme for better performance and noticeably higher battery life. Strix Point isn't very popular in gaming handhelds and there are currently one or two handhelds that are supposed to come with the Strix Point chips.

AMD Kracken Point Processor Found in ASUS KoratPlus-KRK Motherboard (Geekbench AI Scores)

Recently, Everest (@Olrak29) from the X platform reported that on October 18th, a test record for the ASUS motherboard model KoratPlus-KRK was found in the Geekbench AI score library, maintained by the benchmarking website Geekbench. The test results indicate the inclusion of a suspected six-core AMD Kracken Point processor, configured as a 3+3 dual-cluster CPU. Based on AMD's typical product naming, the KRK designation in the motherboard model likely refers to the Kracken Point processor series, which AMD is expected to introduce at CES 2025. The Kracken Point processors are designed with a CPU architecture supporting up to four Zen 5 cores paired with four Zen 5c cores, totaling eight cores. However, the CPU information from the recent Geekbench test shows that the processor tested does not use the full 4+4 core setup. Instead, it has a dual-cluster structure of three Zen 5 cores and three Zen 5c cores, totaling six cores. This suggests a partial implementation of the Kracken Point architecture, possibly to balance performance and power efficiency. Additional information from the domestic source Jinzhu Upgrade Package reveals that AMD plans to release two versions in the Kracken Point series: the Ryzen AI 7 350, expected to feature the full 4+4 core configuration, and the Ryzen AI 5 340. The Ryzen AI 5 340 is reported to have a reduced setup with a six-core CPU and a 4CU core graphics unit. The processor observed in the Geekbench AI score database is most likely the Ryzen AI 5 340 model, given its 3+3 core structure. This aligns with the expected specifications and release timeline, positioning the Ryzen AI 5 340 as a mid-tier option within the Kracken Point lineup. Source: ithome