AMD Ryzen AI Max "Strix Halo" APUs are finally here & offer strong specs with the Ryzen AI 9 Max+ 395 offering up to 16 CPU & 40 GPU cores.
AMD's Strix Halo Takes Things To The Max With The Ryzen AI Max Lineup: Unprecedented AI Chips Designed For Mobile Workstation Platforms With Up To 16 "Zen 5" CPU, 40 "RDNA 3.5" GPU Cores & A Phenomenal 256 GB/s Bandwidth
The AMD Strix Halo platform is a whole new class of chips designed for the AI PC platform. Officially named the Ryzen AI Max and Ryzen AI Max Pro, these chips offer specifications for laptops that were previously unheard of. Each segment is further divided into two classes of chips, the Max+ and the standard Max, with the former offering the best specifications on the table.
AMD Strix Halo's Top-Level Hierarchy
To make a Halo product with the existing Strix design, AMD took its existing IPs such as Zen 5 and RDNA 3.5, while leveraging its advanced packaging solutions such as chiplets. As such, each Zen 5 CPU core is situated on its own dedicated CCD with up to two CCDs offering up to 16 "Zen 5" cores. These are the full-fledged chips and not the Zen 5C dies.
The IO die incorporates the iGPU that makes use of up to 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units along with a set of integrated controllers, with the primary one being for the memory which uses the LPDDR5x standard. This high-end memory interface provides the chip with up to 256 GB/s of bandwidth and there's also the same 50 TOPS "XDNA 2" NPU, which is a class-leading solution in the Copilot+ AI PC segment.
AMD Ryzen AI Max "Strix Halo" APU Stack
Coming to the SKUs, the AMD Ryzen AI Max "Strix Halo" lineup is made up of four APUs, each in its standard and Pro variation.
Starting at the top of the stack, we have the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, which features the full 16 cores and 32 threads. This chip has a 5.1 GHz boost clock with 80 MB of cache (32+32+16), a 50 TOPS NPU, and a cTDP of 45-120W. The iGPU features 40 compute units, which is the highest in AMD's Ryzen AI Max lineup.
Moving down the stack, we have the AMD Ryzen AI Max 390 and Ryzen AI Max 385 with 12/24 and 8/16 cores/threads, respectively. Both chips come with 76 and 40 MB caches, respectively, while the max boost clocks are rated at 5.0 GHz boost, 50 NPU TOPS, a 45-120W cTDP and 32 RDNA 3.5 iGPU compute units.
And last up, we have the AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 380 with its 6 cores and 12 threads. This is an entry-level chip with 22 MB of cache, a maximum boost clock of 4.9 GHz, and the same 50 TOPS NPU. The chip is rated at the same 45-120W cTDP and features 16 RDNA 3.5 compute units, so the same as the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 but the higher TDP and bandwidth capabilities will result in much better graphics output.
AMD Ryzen AI MAX 300 "Strix Halo" APU Lineup:
| SKU Name | Architectures | CPU Cores | Max Clock | Cache | GPU Cores | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen AI Max+ 395 | Zen 5 / RDNA 3.5 | 16 / 32 | 5.1 GHz | 80 MB | 40 CUs (Radeon 8060S) | 45-120W |
| Ryzen AI Max 390 | Zen 5 / RDNA 3.5 | 12 / 24 | 5.0 GHz | 76 MB | 40 CUs (Radeon 8060S) | 45-120W |
| Ryzen AI Max 385 | Zen 5 / RDNA 3.5 | 8 / 16 | 5.0 GHz | 40 MB | 32 CUs (Radeon 8050S) | 45-120W |
| Ryzen AI Max 380 | Zen 5 / RDNA 3.5 | 6 / 12 | 4.9 GHz | 22 MB | 16 CUs (Radeon 8040S) | 45-120W |
Strix Halo With MAX Performance
In terms of performance, AMD is comparing the chip against both Intel and Apple offerings. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is shown to offer up to 3x better performance (2.6x on average) than the Intel Lunar Lake "Core Ultra 9 288V" CPU.
The Lunar Lake chip is a 17-30W part and, even when we compare the 17W TDP with the minimum 45W configuration, the Strix Halo still has a 2.5x advantage in terms of TDP. The graphics performance is said to be up to 158% faster, or 1.4x on average which again is expected given the higher TDP that the Strix Halo chips boast.
Compared to the Apple Macbook M4 Pro 12 and 14-core laptops, the AMD Ryzen AI Max "Strix Halo" APUs once again offer superior or competitive performance. The last comparison is an AI one in which AMD claims that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is the world's first Copilot+ PC APU to run 70B LLM and offers 2.2x faster AI performance in LM Studio versus the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB GPU, which is a desktop part. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 also offers up to 87% lower TDP for the same workload as the RTX 4090.
In terms of availability, the AMD Strix Halo, Ryzen AI Max, and APUs will be available in Q1 and Q2 of 2025.
The chips will be available in both laptops and Mini PC options from HP and ASUS. These platforms include the HP ZBook Ultra G1a, HP Z2 Mini G1a, and the ASUS ROG Flow Z13. More OEM options will be available in the coming months.
