AMD unveils Ryzen AI Halo mini PC to challenge Nvidia in AI development market

AMD unveils Ryzen AI Halo, an uber-powerful mini PC for AI

Expected to launch in the second quarter of this year, the Ryzen AI Halo represents AMD's strategic push into AI development tools. AMD may not be selling PCs, but it's providing a reference design to AI developers based on its Ryzen AI Max+ processor. Known as the Ryzan AI Halo, the small PC is an officially an AI developer platform capable of running models with up to 200 billion parameters locally, according to AMD chief executive Lisa Su, who introduced the device in her opening keynote for the CES 2026 show here in Las Vegas. Inside is 128GB of unified memory, Su said. It's not necessarily a Windows device; Su said that it will run "multiple operating systems natively," as well as open-source development tools and hundreds of AI models. It wil ship with the most advanced version of AMD's ROCm software. "For all of you who are wondering, Halo is launching in the second quarter of this year, and we can't wait for folks to get their hands on them," Su said. AMD has sometimes dabbled in product that straddle the workstation and the desktop, such as the company's beloved Threadripper processors. We doubt you'll be buying a Ryzen AI Halo processor yourself, but there are plenty of consumer devices that use the chip, like the Framework Desktop!

AMD finally launches Ryzen AI Halo in 2026 to compete against Nvidia

Ryzen AI Halo offers full ROCm support across Windows and Linux platforms AMD has confirmed it will launch its first PC in 2026, named Ryzen AI Halo, a system built around its Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor with up to 16 Zen 5 CPU cores and 32 threads. The company describes the device as a reference platform for local AI development, designed to run Windows and Linux with full support for AMD ROCm and day one AI model compatibility. With up to 128GB of unified memory and an integrated NPU, the device can handle large generative AI models, although actual performance will depend on workload intensity. The Ryzen AI Halo processor uses 4nm process technology with boost clocks up to 5.1GHz. Cache specifications include 16MB of L2 and 64MB of L3, while configurable TDP ranges from 45 to 120W depending on system tuning. The processor pairs with Radeon 8060S graphics featuring 40 cores and a maximum frequency of 2900MHz. The GPU supports multiple display resolutions, including up to 7680x4320 at 60Hz, and includes DisplayPort 2.1 with adaptive sync, an HDMI 2.1 interface, and HDR metadata. With this configuration, the device supports up to four displays simultaneously. The system supports up to 128GB of LPDDR5x 8000 memory across a 256-bit interface, along with NVMe boot and RAID storage options supporting RAID0 and RAID1. Connectivity options include two USB4 ports at 40Gbps, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, three USB 2.0 ports, sixteen usable PCIe 4.0 lanes, and wireless features. The system supports advanced AI capabilities rated at up to 126 TOPS overall, including 50 TOPS from the integrated NPU. Security features include AMD Enhanced Virus Protection with the NX bit. Ryzen AI Halo is designed to compete directly with Nvidia's DGX Spark mini PC, a compact AI system targeting similar local AI workloads. Both systems offer high performance computing in small form factors and support extensive memory capacity for large AI models. DGX Spark relies on Nvidia's HGX architecture and CUDA optimized frameworks, while Ryzen AI Halo integrates an NPU and Radeon GPU cores with full ROCm support. This approach allows developers to run AI models locally without relying on cloud managed infrastructure. Halo's 128GB LPDDR5x memory capacity and 126 TOPS overall AI compute rating aim to match or exceed DGX Spark mini PC performance, offering an alternative for institutions seeking local AI experimentation. However, Nvidia's DGX Spark mini PC already has established benchmarks and a mature ecosystem, while Ryzen AI Halo will need to demonstrate comparable or superior performance in real world AI workflows.

AMD's new Ryzen AI Halo Mini-PC: its answer to the NVIDIA DGX Spark, powered by Strix Halo APU

TL;DR: AMD unveiled the Ryzen AI Halo Mini-PC at CES 2026, featuring the powerful Ryzen AI Max "Strix Halo" APU with 16 cores, 40 RDNA 3.5 GPU cores, and up to 128GB RAM. Designed as an AI developer platform, it competes with NVIDIA DGX Spark, supporting ROCm and optimized for leading AI models and applications. AMD showed off its impressive new Ryzen AI Halo Mini-PC at CES 2026, powered by its Ryzen AI Max series "Strix Halo" APUs, acting as an answer to the NVIDIA DGX Spark. AMD's flagship Strix Halo APU features up to 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 CPU power, 40 cores of RDNA 3.5 GPU power, an XDNA 2-based NPU for AI workloads, and up to 128GB of RAM. AMD has used the power of its Strix Halo APU and created the Ryzen AI Halo, which will take the mini AI supercomputer battle to NVIDIA's doorstep with its DGX Spark. The new AMD Ryzen AI Halo has been designed as an AI Developer Platform, similar to how it works with the NVIDIA DGX Spark, designed to speed up AI development and workloads. AMD has full support for AMD ROCm on its Ryzen AI Halo system, including the new ROCm 7.2.2 suite, and will be optimized for Dev-Ready applications such as LM Studio, ComfyUI, VS Code, and More, will enable optimizations for several models, including GPT-OSS, FLUX.2, SDXL, and More, and finally, it will carry Day 0 support for leading AI models. Dr. Lisa Su, chair and CEO of AMD, said: "At CES, our partners joined us to show what's possible when the industry comes together to bring AI everywhere, for everyone. As AI adoption accelerates, we are entering the era of yotta-scale computing, driven by unprecedented growth in both training and inference. AMD is building the compute foundation for this next phase of AI through end-to-end technology leadership, open platforms, and deep co-innovation with partners across the ecosystem". AMD is using a dual-fan cooling system to keep the Ryzen AI Halo Mini-PC system cool, too. As for the Ryzen AI Halo Mini-PC as a system, it's in a very super-tight compact form factor, impressive... and much of that is thanks to the Ryzen AI Max "Strix Halo" APU in its flagship form with 16C/32T CPU, 40 CUs of RDNA 5, and up to 128GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory.

AMD Just Showed Off Its Own DGX Spark Rival, The Ryzen AI Halo: Full ROCm Support, Day-0 Support For Leading AI Models, Available In Q2

AMD has just showcased its Ryzen AI Halo Mini PC powered by Ryzen AI MAX CPUs, designed to tackle NVIDIA's DGX Spark. The AMD Ryzen AI MAX CPU family, codenamed Strix Halo, has seen some major adoption in the past few months, from laptops to handhelds and Mini PCs; it's entering every consumer PC segment. These high-performance and premium SoCs offer amazing performance thanks to their Zen 5 CPU, RDNA 3.5 GPU, and XDNA 2 NPU architectures, and it looks like AMD themselves have developed its own Mini PC featuring these chips, called the Ryzen AI Halo. On paper, the AMD Ryzen AI Halo is designed as an AI Developer Platform, similar to NVIDIA's DGX Spark, which is designed to accelerate AI development and AI workflows. The Ryzen AI Halo Mini PC will feature full AMD ROCm Support, including the newly released ROCm 7.2.2 suite, will be optimized for Dev-Ready applications such as LM Studio, ComfyUI, VS Code, and More, will enable optimizations for several models, including GPT-OSS, FLUX.2, SDXL, and More, and finally, it will carry Day 0 support for leading AI models. Looking at the internals of the box itself, the Ryzen AI Halo Mini PC will come in a very compact form factor, utilizing the full range of Ryzen AI MAX SoCs with up to 16 cores, 40 compute units, up to 128 GB LPDDR5X-8533 memory, and will house a dual-fan cooling solution, along with big storage capacities. AMD hasn't detailed the pricing yet, but the Ryzen AI Halo Mini PC is scheduled for retail launch in Q2 2026. We expect to see very competitive pricing against NVIDIA's DGX Spark, which is Ryzen AI Halo's main competitor in this space.