Discussion AMD SoC Halo series GPU discussion

[poke01]

Discussion about regarding the Halo series SoCs especially GPUs.

Can also talk about its competition and mobile dGPUs.

Strix Halo - 2025 product

RDNA3.5 - 40 CUs. Raster equal to RX 6700 XT in Time Spy

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/rdna4-cdna3-architectures-thread.2602668/post-41360891

 

[marees]

Not strictly a Halo

But Valve is reportedly testing a Shield TV like device with Krackan + mobile 6600

 

[marees]

Asus RoG flow convertible tablet rumoured to use Strix Halo

 

[RNR_Forte]

2000$ notebooks is out of reality of 3rd world consumers, sadly. But it was a nice idea.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

I'm still hoping for a version of Halo to appear in a handheld.

Handhelds with Phoenix and Strix Point are running those SoCs at 30-35W, even though they increase barely nothing in gaming performance above 20W.
A single-CCX Strix Halo held at 40W would run circles around anything else in a handheld.

 

[adroc_thurston]

I'm still hoping for a version of Halo to appear in a handheld.

Handhelds with Phoenix and Strix Point are running those SoCs at 30-35W, even though they increase barely nothing in gaming performance above 20W.
A single-CCX Strix Halo held at 40W would run circles around anything else in a handheld.

Handhelds are cost-constrained devices and a 50W halo bin would just not fit into the BOM no matter how you slice it.
If you want a purpose-built handheld chip, get Lunar Lake. That's an actual tablet part.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

If you want a purpose-built handheld chip, get Lunar Lake. That's an actual tablet part.

Lunar Lake is barely any faster than Phoenix and probably slower than Strix Point in games, let alone Strix Halo.

Handhelds don't have to be cost-constrained, there are plenty of windows handhelds being sold in the $1500 range and that's where I'd see Strix Halo in.

All of AMD's SoCs have been massively limited by bandwidth except for the Deck's Van Gogh. Halo's 256bit LP5X + 32MB LLC would be a game changer in this part. Even the 32CU part would do wonders compared to anything else.
Also, the Zen5LP cores would finally allow for decent sleep without turning off the game.

 

[Meteor Late]

Lunar Lake is barely any faster than Phoenix and probably slower than Strix Point in games, let alone Strix Halo.

Handhelds don't have to be cost-constrained, there are plenty of windows handhelds being sold in the $1500 range and that's where I'd see Strix Halo in.

All of AMD's SoCs have been massively limited by bandwidth except for the Deck's Van Gogh. Halo's 256bit LP5X + 32MB LLC would be a game changer in this part. Even the 32CU part would do wonders compared to anything else.
Also, the Zen5LP cores would finally allow for decent sleep without turning off the game.

I just don't understand what the point of a handheld is if it only has like an hour of battery life honestly.
I am of the opinion that you either have a low power GPU with a handheld, or otherwise game streaming is the way to go.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

I just don't understand what the point of a handheld is if it only has like an hour of battery life honestly.
I am of the opinion that you either have a low power GPU with a handheld, or otherwise game streaming is the way to go.

I have power plugs around most chairs and sofas at my place, same with hotel rooms. On the train we also have power plugs where I'm from. Same with long haul flights.
What I don't have in all those situations is a console or a desktop with a screen.

And for the rare situations where I don't have power plugs, I have a 99.7W.h powerbank from Anker with up to 250W output.

I never have an hour of battery life, and I honestly don't mind having a small cable coming out of the console. Also, a handheld can have a 99W.h battery.

 

[marees]

I have power plugs around most chairs and sofas at my place, same with hotel rooms. On the train we also have power plugs where I'm from. Same with long haul flights.
What I don't have in all those situations is a console or a desktop with a screen.

And for the rare situations where I don't have power plugs, I have a 99.7W.h powerbank from Anker with up to 250W output.

I never have an hour of battery life, and I honestly don't mind having a small cable coming out of the console. Also, a handheld can have a 99W.h battery.

Possible that halo can be used as handheld. Bulk of the power is consumed by CPU & here zen 5 has improved

Big question mark is price. Maybe AyaNeo might be crazy enough to do it

 

[insertcarehere]

Lunar Lake is barely any faster than Phoenix and probably slower than Strix Point in games, let alone Strix Halo.

Handhelds don't have to be cost-constrained, there are plenty of windows handhelds being sold in the $1500 range and that's where I'd see Strix Halo in.

All of AMD's SoCs have been massively limited by bandwidth except for the Deck's Van Gogh. Halo's 256bit LP5X + 32MB LLC would be a game changer in this part. Even the 32CU part would do wonders compared to anything else.

At the power levels that handhelds can realistically dissipate Lunar Lake is more performant than Strix Point:



40CUs and a 256bit memory interface is not going to do much at like 20w other than take more standby power, and even without that constraint Strix Halo is probably too expensive for the marginal benefit (a more broad observation) anyways.

 

[Tup3x]

I can see it being very nice potential mini-PC SoC but it's definitely not going to do well <20W. Chiplet approach, wide memory bus... Yeah. I do hope that it doesn't have high idle power consumption.

 

[Saylick]

I can see it being very nice potential mini-PC SoC but it's definitely not going to do well <20W. Chiplet approach, wide memory bus... Yeah. I do hope that it doesn't have high idle power consumption.

Strix Halo is supposed to have a LP core, but I agree that it’s simply overkill for a handheld.

I can see a proper AMD handheld SoC being on N3P, monolithic, 8 Zen 5c cores (or Zen 6c if it’s ready), RDNA4 GPU with at least 8 WGP clocked to 3GHz, and 16 MB minimum of Infinity Cache with a 128-bit memory interface. 32MB would be better but something is better than nothing.

 

[marees]

Strix Halo is supposed to have a LP core, but I agree that it’s simply overkill for a handheld.

I can see a proper AMD handheld SoC being on N3P, monolithic, 8 Zen 5c cores (or Zen 6c if it’s ready), RDNA4 GPU with at least 8 WGP clocked to 3GHz, and 16 MB minimum of Infinity Cache with a 128-bit memory interface. 32MB would be better but something is better than nothing.

As per Cary Golomb the memory interface needs to be 256-bit. Also More CUs is not an issue as long as they are downclocked

Basically a monolithic strix halo but 2 zen5p & 4 zen5c cores

 

[ToTTenTranz]

At the power levels that handhelds can realistically dissipate Lunar Lake is more performant than Strix Point:
View attachment 113845
View attachment 113846

40CUs and a 256bit memory interface is not going to do much at like 20w other than take more standby power, and even without that constraint Strix Halo is probably too expensive for the marginal benefit (a more broad observation) anyways.

Both the ROG Ally and the Legion Go support up to 35W constant TDP and 50W peak TDP.
The Ayaneo Kun supports up to 54W constant TDP.

I have little doubt the Strix Halo with a single CCD and 32CUs enabled would run circles around both Strix Point and Lunar Lake at >30W.
Even a version with just 6 LP5X channels (24 or 48GB) and full access to 32MB MALL would be insanely faster.



Also, if there's a market for >$1500 graphics cards, there's certainly a market for gaming handhelds in that price range.

 

[GTracing]

I think the big limitation with Strix Halo in a gaming handheld is price, not power consumption. Strix Halo already been leaked in a 13 inch tablet. It's designed for thin and light (but powerful) devices. I fully expect that at least one company will launch a gaming handheld with it sooner or later, albeit with a $1000+ MSRP.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

I think the big limitation with Strix Halo in a gaming handheld is price, not power consumption. Strix Halo already been leaked in a 13 inch tablet. It's designed for thin and light (but powerful) devices. I fully expect that at least one company will launch a gaming handheld with it sooner or later, albeit with a $1000+ MSRP.

Yes, price will be the limitation and not form factor, cooling or battery. However I do think there's a large enough market for a high-end handheld. Holding PS5 performance in a handheld would be a dream to many.

 

[adroc_thurston]

Yes, price will be the limitation and not form factor, cooling or battery. However I do think there's a large enough market for a high-end handheld. Holding PS5 performance in a handheld would be a dream to many.

Eh 50W SoC in a handheld means your battery life will be generously 20 minutes.

 

[fastandfurious6]

strix halo definitely can't make it into handhelds

but medusa halo zen6 definitely will have a variant for it

or 'medusa point' will be a more finalized product for handhelds, as strix point feels odd with the 8+4 combo

 

[techjunkie123]

Eh 50W SoC in a handheld means your battery life will be generously 20 minutes.

The math ain't mathing on this with an 80Wh battery but I see your point...

*Laughs in chungus battery pack *

 

[adroc_thurston]

with an 80Wh battery

I'm not sure 2kg handhelds are a viable product segment.

 

[techjunkie123]

I'm not sure 2kg handhelds are a viable product segment.

That's what the ally X has.

 

[RNR_Forte]

Man Blackwell amazes me but is too expensive for the most part of gamers.


I already did a thread talking about these Ultimate APUs and seeing their specifications(mostly prices) i wonder when it arrives a Ultimate APU to combat this Ultra expensive gaming pcs.


Will one day CAMM2 LPDDRX allow to construct really "futureproof" APUs for 1080p/1440p/4k gaming without breaking our bank accounts?


MxUltra is here to show how is possible to build a Ultimate APU.


How to make an powerful APU enpugh to satisfact the hardcore and esports gamers without zeroing our bank accounts?pS5 pro costs 700 dollars. Blackwell is too expensive and RDNA4 is a nice option but relies on cheap(but not second-class) components?
I see AMD being the answer to this. But at what cost? StrixHalo notebooks cost an arm and a leg.





Anybody have the answer to this. But which the cost of this? Is time to give value more and more to the equation BOM cost/price/performance/silicon area/performance per Teraflop/performance per watt?


See the flagship RX9070 XT? A monolithic piece of silicon with great RT performance and good BOM cost, but it can't play 4k AAA gaming. 20A/N2/14A is the future a can do a help to build this APU. HBM could help too.

 

[RNR_Forte]

The future is fusion. I'm talking about something AMD and Intel tried to make an apu to do what MAC gamers want eight years ago.

Lunar lake lacks CPU firepower a bit. ARL answer this very well but is still a little fatty. RDNA4 rocks but still is behind Apple in PPA.

PS: the situation is consoles with min detalis and PCs with max settings.

 

[Meteor Late]

I think the big limitation with Strix Halo in a gaming handheld is price, not power consumption. Strix Halo already been leaked in a 13 inch tablet. It's designed for thin and light (but powerful) devices. I fully expect that at least one company will launch a gaming handheld with it sooner or later, albeit with a $1000+ MSRP.

I mean, $1000+ MSRP is what... Strix Point handhelds already cost, I would like to know what you guys are smoking with these prices for Strix Halo honestly, either that or AMD has been doing like the biggest scam ever with Strix Point.