AMD Strix Halo APU Spotted with 128GB RAM: A New Extreme

At Computex 2024, AMD unveiled its Ryzen 9000 desktop processors, codenamed Granite Ridge, based on the Zen 5 architecture, along with the Ryzen AI 300 mobile processors, known as Strix Point. However, they also introduced a significant APU, the Strix Halo, which has frequently appeared in customs shipment lists. These listings have confirmed that this processor has an approximate TDP of 120W and is paired with a minimum of 32GB of memory.

According to information from the NewBid Data website, a new batch of Maple Rev.B PCBs has recently been shipped. These PCBs serve as the reference platform for AMD’s Strix Halo, utilizing the FP11 socket in recent tests, and supporting memory capacities up to 128GB. Previous test platforms had memory capacities of 32GB and 64GB. Leaked documents indicate that Strix Halo supports a 256-bit memory bus and LPDDR5-8000 memory. It does not have integrated memory on the CPU, and since the maximum capacity of a single LPDDR5X chip is 16GB, at least eight memory chips must be installed around the CPU.

The substantial memory capacity is likely intended for running large AI models, which are notoriously memory-intensive. The AI performance of Strix Halo is expected to be robust. It employs an MCM design, comprising three chips—two CCDs and one GCD. The Zen 5 architecture provides 1MB of L2 cache per core, with each CCD featuring eight cores and 32MB of L3 cache. Consequently, the total cache amounts to 16MB of L2 and 64MB of L3. The two CCDs are connected to the GCD via the IF bus.

The IOD has been replaced by the GCD, effectively integrating a significantly larger integrated GPU. This GCD, considerably larger than the two CCDs combined, includes an RDNA3+ architecture GPU with 40 CUs, as well as an XDNA 2 architecture NPU boasting over 40 TOPS of compute power. Additionally, it features a 32MB MALL Cache to alleviate memory bandwidth limitations.