AMD unveiled the Zen 5 architecture-based Riptide 9000 desktop processor, Granite Ridge, and the Riptide AI 300 mobile processor, Strix Point, at Computex Taipei 2024. However, they also introduced a highly significant APU, the Strix Halo, which has gained attention in customs shipment lists. Reports confirm that this APU has a TDP of approximately 120W and comes with at least 32GB of RAM.

According to the NewBid Data website, a new shipment of Maple Rev.B PCBs has recently been dispatched. This shipment serves as the FP11 socket Strix Halo reference platform that AMD has been using for its recent tests, boasting memory capabilities up to 128GB. Previous test platforms had 32GB and 64GB of memory. Leaked documents reveal that the Strix Halo supports a 256-bit memory bus and LPDDR5-8000 memory. Notably, this APU does not incorporate memory on the CPU - given that current LPDDR5X single chips top out at 16GB, the configuration requires at least eight memory chips surrounding the CPU.

The substantial memory allocation is presumably designed for running extensive AI models, which are notoriously memory-intensive. The Strix Halo itself is expected to deliver strong AI performance, utilizing an MCM design comprising three chips - two CCDs and a GCD. Each Zen 5 architecture core includes a 1MB L2 cache, with each CCD housing 8 cores and a 32MB L3 cache. This results in a total of 16MB L2 cache and 64MB L3 cache, with the two CCDs interconnected via the IF bus.

The IOD has been replaced by the GCD, essentially an IOD with more substantial integrated cores. The GCD notably has a larger chip area than the two CCDs and features an XDNA 2 architecture NPU with more than 40 TOPS of computational power. Additionally, it integrates an RDNA3+ architecture GPU with 40 CUs and includes a 32MB MALL Cache to address potential memory bandwidth deficiencies.