AMD finally puts an end to the branding headache: Strix Point CPUs can now use ‘Ryzen AI’
According to a new report, AMD could streamline its mobile CPU branding by dropping the HS, H, and U designations for its 15-45W TDP (Thermal Design Power) chips.
Instead, the designation will be changed to the name “Ryzen AI,” starting with the upcoming generation of Zen 5 Strix Point processors, according to Weibo (indicated by igor’sLAB). There are several reasons why AMD might make such a bold move for the branding of its mobile chips, the most important of which is to promote a better understanding of the tech giant’s products.
Simplifying the old branding to “Ryzen AI” makes it easier for consumers and partners to know a chip’s classification, instead of having to remember several unrelated letters. Ryzen AI also makes it possible to cover different performance levels under the 15-14W range. And the use of ‘AI’ in the new brand shows AMD’s commitment to AI-powered APUs.
The report states that some branding will remain the same. For example, the “successor to the Ryzen 7040 ‘Phoenix’ series (HS/H) will be called ‘Ryzen AI HX’.” It also makes clear that because the transition to this new branding may cause initial confusion, AMD will provide information and tools to enable a better understanding and breakdown of how the new naming system will work.
Strix Point will mix things up
A shiny new name tag for the chips powering the upcoming Strix Point isn’t the only thing the new APUs have to look forward to, judging by the rumors surrounding it. A technical example was reportedly benched via Blender, yielding a score of 270.92, meaning a mobile CPU beat two desktop processors: the Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
There was another rumor claims some surprising specifications for an Asus laptop with a Strix Point APU, specifically the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 170 with 12 cores and 24 threads, an NPU with 77 TOPs (trillions of operations per second), a boost clock of up to 5.1 GHz and 36 MB L3 cache.
But the move to AI could mean some users are left behind. Another rumor claims that the upcoming APUs will dropping support for Windows 10. Despite the operating system much more popular than Windows 11the latter is tailor-made for AI, while the much older Windows 10 would certainly struggle with components that use it.
It seems that, if even half of these rumors and reports turn out to be true, Strix Point will be an interesting turning point for AMD in terms of both aesthetics and performance.