AMD's next-generation Ryzen 9000 "Strix Point" mobile processor, which succeeds the current Ryzen 8040 "Hawk Point" and Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix," is confirmed to feature a CPU core-configuration of 12-core/24-thread, according to a specs-leak by HKEPC citing sources among notebook OEMs. It appears like Computex 2024 will be big for AMD, with the company preparing next-gen processor announcements across the desktop and notebook lines. Both the "Strix Point" mobile processor and "Granite Ridge" desktop processor debut the company's next "Zen 5" microarchitecture.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from "Zen 5" is that AMD has increased the number of CPU cores per CCX from 8 in "Zen 3" and "Zen 4," to 12 in "Zen 5." While this doesn't affect the core-counts of its CCD chiplets (which are still expected to be 8-core), the "Strix Point" processor appears to use one giant CCX with 12 cores. Each of the "Zen 5" cores has a 1 MB dedicated L2 cache, while the 12 cores share a 24 MB L3 cache. The 12-core/24-thread CPU, besides the generational IPC gains introduced by "Zen 5," marks a 50% increase in CPU muscle over "Hawk Point." It's not just the CPU complex, even the iGPU sees a hardware update.

AMD's 12-core/24-thread Ryzen 9 7900X3D processor that comes with 3D Vertical Cache technology, is seeing a slew of price-cuts. The SKU appears to be trapped between the 8-core 7800X3D, which remains the fastest desktop processor for gaming; and the 16-core 7950X3D, which is AMD's flagship. A Newegg listing at $408 with a $20 discount coupon see its effective retail price drop to as low as $389, which is just $20 more than the 7800X3D.

Would you pay $20 for four more cores? The choice is not so simple. While the 7900X3D is a 12-core processor, it features a dual-CCD design, with a 6+6 core arrangement between the two CCDs. Just like with the 7950X3D, only one of the two CCDs has the 64 MB 3D Vertical Cache, or 96 MB of L3 cache; while the other is a regular "Zen 4" CCD with 32 MB of on-die L3 cache. AMD's chipset drives use UEFI CPPC preferred-core flagging to guide gaming workloads to the CCD with the 3D V-cache. While we haven't had a chance to test the 7900X3D, this chip is tested by Tom's Hardware to still be faster than the Core i9-13900K at gaming.

"Strix Point" is the codename for AMD's next-generation mobile processor succeeding the current Ryzen 7040 series "Phoenix." More details of the processor emerged thanks to "All The Watts!!" on Twitter. The CPU of "Strix Point" will be heterogenous, in that it will feature two different kinds of CPU cores, but with essentially the same ISA and IPC. It is rumored that the processor will feature 4 "Zen 5" CPU cores, and 8 "Zen 5c" cores.

Both core types feature an identical IPC, but the "Zen 5" cores can hold onto higher boost frequencies, and have a wider frequency band, than the "Zen 5c" cores. From what we can deduce from the current "Zen 4c" cores, "Zen 5c" cores aren't strictly "efficiency" cores, as they still offer the full breadth of core ISA as "Zen 5," including SMT. In its maximum configuration, "Strix Point" will hence be a 12-core/24-thread processor. The two CPU core types sit in two different CCX (CPU core complexes), the "Zen 5" CCX has 4 cores sharing a 16 MB L3 cache, while the "Zen 5c" CCX shares a 16 MB L3 cache among 8 cores. AMD will probably use a software-based solution to ensure the right kind of workload from the OS is processed by the right kind of CPU core.

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D, the 12-core/24-thread Socket AM5 processor that's been playing middle-child to the popular 8-core 7800X3D and 16-core 7950X3D flagship, just got a major retailer price-cut. It can now be had for as low as $499, down from its launch price of $599. The chip could be briefly available last month at $549. The $499 price is available on Newegg, where the chip is listed at $589.99, but with the promo-code "MDSCS2343," that shaves $90 off, you arrive at $499. The Ryzen 9 7900X3D is a 12-core/24-thread processor featuring 3D Vertical Cache technology on one of its two CCDs. The processor hence has 128 MB of L3 cache, besides 1 MB of dedicated L2 cache per core.

Thanks to the latest release of the Power On newsletter from Mark Gurman, we have additional information about Apple's upcoming M3 Pro chip. Currently in testing and reported on by an App Store developer, Apple is looking to upgrade the microarchitecture of the forthcoming chip and add additional cores to the system for more performance. As the report notes, the entry-level M3 Pro chip currently in testing will have 12 CPU cores, six for efficiency and six for performance tasks, with 18 graphics cores, all manufactured on TSMC's 3 nm node. The current baseline for M2 Pro is 10 CPU cores, where four are dedicated to efficiency, and six are dedicated to performance. The current generation entry-level M2 Pro also features a 16-core GPU, which is two cores fewer than the upcoming model.

Generally, the M3 Pro chip will boost integrated memory across the board, as the sample spotted in testing shows 36 GB of memory. The M2 Pro offered 32 GB in that memory tier, so a four GB increase is inbound there. Presumably, the 16 GB version (if it exists) and 64 GB version will also get memory bumps by going the M3 Pro route. Of course, we have to wait for more information as these chips become more widely available to developers.