AMD’s Strix Halo chip, otherwise known as the Ryzen AI Max, has always been technically interesting. But it hasn’t really added up for gaming. Until, perhaps, now. It seems the variant we always wanted to see, which majors in graphics rather than CPU grunt, is set to be released.

Chinese PC specialist SixUnited has a couple of new Ryzen AI Max models listed on its website (via Videocardz), and indeed, a SixUnited tablet running one of the “new” APUs has popped up in the PassMark database.

The most exciting model is the Ryzen AI Max+ 388. That combines eight CPU cores with the maximum 40 graphics compute unit count available from Strix Halo.

Currently, the only way to get a version of Strix Halo with all 40 RDNA 3.5c CUs is to go with the very top Ryzen AI Max+ 395 model. That’s a very expensive APU and comes with fully 16 Zen 5 CPU cores, which is arguably overkill for mobile gaming, especially within the confines of a handheld.

In practice, Strix Halo has therefore thus far been of more interest as a tool for running local AI models on a limited budget than for gaming. But what if there was a cheaper model that kept the 40 graphics CUs and 256-bit memory bus, but cut the CPU down to eight cores?

The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is megabucks on the OneXPlayer OneXFly Apex, maybe a new eight-core variant would be more sensible? (Image credit: OneXPlayer)

That would be both more affordable and more power efficient, while offering little to no compromise when it comes to gaming performance versus the 395 model. Just as an idea of how expensive handhelds can get with the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, full pricing for the OneXPlayer OneXFly Apex has just been announced. And the model with the 395 chip starts at (starts at!) $1,599. Ouch.

According to SixUnited’s website, which still lists these supposedly unannounced Strix Halo variants as I type these words, the other new model is the Ryzen AI Max+ 392, which gets 12 cores but, again, all 40 graphics CUs. Assuming all this information is correct, it seems the “+” in AMD’s Ryzen AI Max nomenclature refers to models with the full-spec iGPU with 40 CUs, which is branded Radeon 8060S.

Technically speaking, this is all pretty plausible. Strix Halo is a chiplet design with a large SoC die containing the iGPU, memory controller and more, plus either one or two eight-core CPU dies.

AMD already does a Ryzen AI Max model with just one CPU die, the Ryzen AI Max 385. That uses the same SoC chip as the Max+ 395, just with some iGPU CUs fused off. So, a Strix Halo with one CPU die and a fully functional GPU is absolutely doable.

(Image credit: AMD)

Of course, its appeal for gaming will come down to pricing and power efficiency. The top Strix Halo APU makes for a fearsomely pricey and thermally dubious proposition for handheld devices.

An eight-core Strix Halo with the full iGPU still wouldn’t be cheap or an ultra-low power device. But it ought to be better by both measures, and it certainly could have the makings of the best handheld gaming CP chip yet. Here’s hoping.

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