Top-Spec AMD Ryzen AI 9 300 Series Processor
The high-end AMD Ryzen AI 9 300 series "Strix Point" processor, known as the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, is anticipated to deliver a 20% performance boost in both CPU and integrated graphics capabilities compared to its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 8945HS "Hawk Point," as per leaks from Golden Pig Upgrade.
On the CPU side, the HX 370 features a 12-core/24-thread CPU composed of four "Zen 5" and eight "Zen 5c" cores. The single-thread performance gains are attributed to the generational IPC increase of the "Zen 5" microarchitecture and higher clock speeds, while the multithreaded performance benefits from the additional cores. Despite a 50% increase in core count, the performance boost is not directly proportional.
Unlike "Hawk Point," where all eight cores are "Zen 4" and capable of high frequencies, "Strix Point" has four "Zen 5" cores that can boost to high speeds, with the remaining eight being "Zen 5c" cores that do not boost as much. Although the IPC of "Zen 5c" matches "Zen 5," the lower boost frequency means the expected multithreaded performance gain from the core count increase is around 20%, with Golden Pig Upgrade mentioning a Cinebench R23 nT score exceeding 20000 points, compared to "Hawk Point's" score of around 16000 points.
Turning to graphics, the new RDNA 3.5 iGPU on "Strix Point" boasts 16 compute units (CU) compared to 12 CU on "Hawk Point." With 1,024 stream processors in the 16 CU configuration, there is a 33% increase over the 768 stream processors in "Hawk Point." While CU count is not the sole determinant of graphics performance, Golden Pig Upgrade predicts a 20% improvement in graphics performance, potentially surpassing the Intel Arc Xe-LPG graphics found in Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" processors by at least 20%. AMD's product announcement slide claims a 36% graphics performance advantage over the Arc Graphics iGPU of the Core Ultra 9 185H processor.
Regarding the NPU, AMD has stated an AI inferencing performance of 50 TOPS, exceeding the 40 TOPS required for Microsoft's Copilot+ AI PC program. This level of NPU performance is crucial for Windows to execute local Copilot sessions, reducing reliance on the Cloud and enhancing privacy.
