AMD Krackan APUs coming to desktops

AMD might launch the Ryzen 9000G series soon.

According to HXL, the latest AGESA 1.2.7.0 update released for some MSI motherboards is said to introduce support for Krackan Point (KRK) and Krackan Point 2. This would likely be the first, and possibly the only, update required for the Ryzen 9000G series.

Community-maintained SMU/MC AM5 charts also note that both Krackan and Krackan 2 can only be found in BIOS data. So while the new AGESA supports these CPUs, actual confirmation still comes from BIOS data mining. From my understanding, this means that it may take a while before we see it action.

The Krackan Point series is based on Zen 5 architecture. So far, AMD has released two mobile variants: Ryzen AI 5 350 with 8 cores and Ryzen AI 5 350 with 6 cores. These feature 8 and 4 RDNA 3.5 Compute Units respectively (Radeon 860M and Radeon 840M graphics) and operate at up to 54W TDP.

For desktop use, TDP would increase to around 65W, which would raise performance. If AMD brings these chips to desktops, possible models could include Ryzen 7 9700G with 8 GPU cores and Ryzen 5 9500G with 6 GPU cores. That would be a downgrade from the 12 RDNA3 Compute Units on the 8700G, so keep in mind that this is just a guess.

The real question is why AMD hasn’t launched any APU for the AM5 socket since Phoenix. The Strix Point APU series seems well suited for desktops and has already proven itself in mini-PCs. It’s possible that both Strix Point and Krackan Point could appear in the upcoming lineup, but so far, only Krackan has shown up in AGESA updates.

If I were to guess, we won’t see Strix Point on the AM5 socket. AMD will likely prioritize this silicon for its Ryzen AI 300 series laptops and the Ryzen Z2 series, which are already in volume production for devices like the ROG Xbox Ally. Mini PC makers have also noted that Strix Point chips are about twice as expensive, making it difficult to hit the same price targets as the Ryzen 8000G series. Price has always been the strongest selling point for these APUs.

Source: HXL