AMD's next-gen APUs codenamed Krackan Point are allegedly going to feature a monolithic design that utilizes the Zen 5 core architecture.
AMD Krackan Point APU Rumors: Zen 5 Cores, Monolithic Design, N4P Process
An alleged slide published by Ditto_55 seems to point out that the next-generation Krackan Point APUs will be utilizing TSMC's N4P process node. This is a refined version of the N4 (4nm) process node technology which offers a 6% performance boost and a 22% boost in power efficiency over 5nm (N5). This information is currently labeled as a rumor so take it with a grain of salt.
Update: It looks like AdoredTV also confirms the existence of Krackan Point in his latest tweet which you can see below:
— Jim (@AdoredTV) April 30, 2023
Besides that, it looks like the AMD Krackan Point APUs will retain the Monolithic design. The chips will leverage the latest AMD Zen 5 core architecture and there are reports of a hybrid design with a Halo product making use of a chiplet architecture akin to Strix Point Halo which was recently leaked a few days ago. The Halo product will make feature more cores on the CPU and GPU side & higher TDPs but will be featured in enthusiast-grade designs whereas the standard parts will retain their mainstream positioning.
The successor to Strix Point will launch close to 2025 with Zen 5 cores on the 4nm process node. This new design will be known as the Krackan Point (Kraken). There will also be an update on the entry-level & low-power side with 4nm Escher APUs replacing Mendocino. The lineup successors are as below:
- Phoenix Point (Zen 4) -> Hawk Point (Zen 4)
- Phoenix Point (Zen 4) -> Strix Point (Zen 5)
- Strix Point (Zen 5) -> Krackan Point (Zen 5)
We know that AMD's Strix Point will be the first family to feature Zen 5 cores in a hybrid fashion so Krackan seems like a refresh of that before moving into the Zen 6 era. These chips are likely to be competing against Intel's Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake chips with Krackan possibly launching around the same time as Nova Lake. There are also rumors that Krackan Point might utilize 3D V-Cache but that remains to be seen as we are still years away from its launch.
STX1 is definitely finalized, STX2 and 3 might have minor adjustments since they will launch late 2024/early 2025 but overall design will not change.
If they are considering V-Cache for APUs it would be for KRK.
— Kepler (@Kepler_L2) March 3, 2023
AMD Ryzen Mobility CPUs:
| CPU Family Name | AMD Sound Wave? | AMD Bald Eagle Point | AMD Krackan Point | AMD Fire Range | AMD Strix Point Halo | AMD Strix Point | AMD Hawk Point | AMD Dragon Range | AMD Phoenix | AMD Rembrandt | AMD Cezanne | AMD Renoir | AMD Picasso | AMD Raven Ridge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family Branding | TBD | Ryzen AI 400 | TBD | TBD | Ryzen AI 300 | Ryzen AI 300 | AMD Ryzen 8040 (H/U-Series) | AMD Ryzen 7045 (HX-Series) | AMD Ryzen 7040 (H/U-Series) | AMD Ryzen 6000 AMD Ryzen 7035 | AMD Ryzen 5000 (H/U-Series) | AMD Ryzen 4000 (H/U-Series) | AMD Ryzen 3000 (H/U-Series) | AMD Ryzen 2000 (H/U-Series) |
| Process Node | TBD | 4nm | 4nm | 5nm | 4nm | 4nm | 4nm | 5nm | 4nm | 6nm | 7nm | 7nm | 12nm | 14nm |
| CPU Core Architecture | Zen 6? | Zen 5 + Zen 5C | Zen 5 | Zen 5 | Zen 5 + Zen 5C | Zen 5 + Zen 5C | Zen 4 + Zen 4C | Zen 4 | Zen 4 | Zen 3+ | Zen 3 | Zen 2 | Zen + | Zen 1 |
| CPU Cores/Threads (Max) | TBD | 12/24 | 8/16 | 16/32 | 16/32 | 12/24 | 8/16 | 16/32 | 8/16 | 8/16 | 8/16 | 8/16 | 4/8 | 4/8 |
| L2 Cache (Max) | TBD | 12 MB | TBD | TBD | 24 MB | 12 MB | 4 MB | 16 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB | 2 MB | 2 MB |
| L3 Cache (Max) | TBD | 24 MB + 16 MB SLC | 32 MB | TBD | 64 MB + 32 MB SLC | 24 MB | 16 MB | 32 MB | 16 MB | 16 MB | 16 MB | 8 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB |
| Max CPU Clocks | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | 5.1 GHz | TBD | 5.4 GHz | 5.2 GHz | 5.0 GHz (Ryzen 9 6980HX) | 4.80 GHz (Ryzen 9 5980HX) | 4.3 GHz (Ryzen 9 4900HS) | 4.0 GHz (Ryzen 7 3750H) | 3.8 GHz (Ryzen 7 2800H) |
| GPU Core Architecture | RDNA 3+ iGPU | RDNA 3.5 4nm iGPU | RDNA 3+ 4nm iGPU | RDNA 3+ 4nm iGPU | RDNA 3.5 4nm iGPU | RDNA 3.5 4nm iGPU | RDNA 3 4nm iGPU | RDNA 2 6nm iGPU | RDNA 3 4nm iGPU | RDNA 2 6nm iGPU | Vega Enhanced 7nm | Vega Enhanced 7nm | Vega 14nm | Vega 14nm |
| Max GPU Cores | TBD | 16 CUs (1024 Cores) | 12 CUs (786 cores) | 2 CUs (128 cores) | 40 CUs (2560 Cores) | 16 CUs (1024 Cores) | 12 CUs (786 cores) | 2 CUs (128 cores) | 12 CUs (786 cores) | 12 CUs (786 cores) | 8 CUs (512 cores) | 8 CUs (512 cores) | 10 CUs (640 Cores) | 11 CUs (704 cores) |
| Max GPU Clocks | TBD | 2900 MHz | TBD | TBD | TBD | 2900 MHz | 2800 MHz | 2200 MHz | 2800 MHz | 2400 MHz | 2100 MHz | 1750 MHz | 1400 MHz | 1300 MHz |
| TDP (cTDP Down/Up) | TBD | 15W-45W (65W cTDP) | 15W-45W (65W cTDP) | 55W-75W (65W cTDP) | 55W-125W | 15W-45W (65W cTDP) | 15W-45W (65W cTDP) | 55W-75W (65W cTDP) | 15W-45W (65W cTDP) | 15W-55W (65W cTDP) | 15W -54W(54W cTDP) | 15W-45W (65W cTDP) | 12-35W (35W cTDP) | 35W-45W (65W cTDP) |
| Launch | 2026? | 2025? | 2025? | 2H 2024? | 2H 2024? | 2H 2024 | Q1 2024 | Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 | Q1 2022 | Q1 2021 | Q2 2020 | Q1 2019 | Q4 2018 |
News Source: Harukaze5719
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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