AMD's Ryzen AI MAX series saw two new additions at this year's CES, and the company is already working on the refresh for its first-gen Halo lineup. The first-generation Strix Halo series already maintains a super-premium position as an SoC for AI PCs, and with Gorgon Halo (Ryzen AI MAX 400), AMD will continue to push performance further with boosted CPU/GPU clocks and higher memory speeds.

As for the true successor to Strix Halo, that will come in the form of Medusa Halo or Ryzen AI MAX 500 series. These will be scheduled sometime in 2027-2028, and will feature brand new Zen 6 CPU cores and RDNA 5 GPU cores. As per rumors, AMD will have a diverse set of Medusa SoCs, with entry-level SoCs getting RDNA 3.5 iGPU cores while more premium and Halo SoCs will get newer RDNA 5 iGPU configs.

Although it's too early to tell what kind of specs we will get with Medusa Halo, up to 24 cores, and either similar or beefier GPU core configs, it looks like the platform itself will take advantage of the next-gen LPDDR6 memory standard.

We know from JEDEC's own confirmation that LPDDR6 memory will feature speeds of 14,400 MT/s across a 24-bit wide channel, and with 38.4 GB/s bandwidth per module. Strix Halo initially featured up to 8000 MT/s support, with up to 256 GB/s bandwidth. This will be updated to 8533 MT/s in the upcoming refresh lineup.

But with Medusa Halo, even with the same bus-width of 256-bit, we are looking at a bandwidth of 460 GB/s, a 80% uplift. This would prove to be a major uplift for the onboard GPU, resulting in far better performance. Currently, Intel's Panther Lake 12Xe3 SoCs feature the fastest LPDDR configuration of up to 9600 MT/s on notebook PCs. While Intel is building up its own SoC roadmap with powerful offerings and working with NVIDIA, AMD remains unfazed by such partnerships and has already stated that it will continue to offer disruptive technologies in the future.

This would make AMD Ryzen AI MAX 500 "Medusa Halo" a powerful SoC, building on the foundation of Strix and Gorgon Halo, which are disruptive offerings for the AI PC and gaming segment. AMD's recently introduced Ryzen AI Halo platform will also receive updates with each respective generation of Halo SoCs.

By: DocMemory
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