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

AMD's Krackan Point APU Emerges in Geekbench AI Tests

AMD's rumored budget-friendly Krackan Point APU has made an appearance in Geekbench AI tests, offering a glimpse into the company's upcoming processor lineup. The leaked information provides insights into the core configuration and potential market positioning of these new chips, which are expected to feature Zen 5 architecture 1

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Core Configuration and Performance

The Geekbench AI listing reveals a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a unique 3+3 configuration. This setup includes three Zen 5 cores and three Zen 5c cores, suggesting a balanced approach to performance and efficiency 2

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. The chip achieved scores of 2019 points in Single Precision, 1276 points in Half Precision, and 3773 points in Quantization tests.

Potential Market Positioning

Speculations suggest that the tested chip could be marketed as the Ryzen AI 5 340, positioning it as a mid-range offering within the Krackan Point lineup 3

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. The Krackan Point series is expected to include:

1. Ryzen AI 7 350: A higher-end model with a potential 4+4 core configuration (four Zen 5 and four Zen 5c cores)
2. Ryzen AI 5 340: The mid-range option with the 3+3 core setup as seen in the Geekbench listing

AI and Graphics Capabilities

The integrated NPU in the Krackan Point APU is believed to be an XDNA 2 unit rated for 50 TOPS of AI performance. This feature could make the chip eligible for Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs, highlighting AMD's focus on AI capabilities in mainstream processors 1

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The Ryzen AI 5 340 is also rumored to feature a Radeon 840M integrated GPU with four RDNA 3.5 compute units, balancing graphics performance with the CPU and AI capabilities 1

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Potential Applications and Release Timeline

While Krackan Point is positioned as a budget offering for mainstream markets, AMD is also considering its use in next-generation handheld gaming consoles. A variant called Ryzen Z2 Extreme could potentially offer improved performance and battery life compared to the current Z1 Extreme found in devices like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go 1

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Industry insiders expect AMD to announce the Krackan Point lineup in early 2025, possibly at CES 2025 3

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. This timeline positions Krackan Point as a follow-up to the more powerful Strix Point APUs, which launched earlier with full Zen 5 CPU cores, XDNA 2 NPU, and RDNA 3+ graphics 1

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As AMD continues to innovate in the APU space, the Krackan Point series represents an interesting balance between performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. The inclusion of AI capabilities and potential use in gaming handhelds showcases AMD's strategy to cater to diverse market segments with a single chip design.