AMD’s Medusa Point “Zen 6” APUs: No RDNA 4 or RDNA 5, but an RDNA 3.X refresh?

AMD is apparently relying on a revised RDNA 3.X graphics unit for the upcoming Medusa Point APUs instead of an upgrade to RDNA 4 or even RDNA 5.

Evolution instead of revolution? AMD’s Medusa Point will probably stay with RDNA 3.X

Information on AMD’s Zen 6 “Medusa Point” processors has been scarce so far. While there has already been speculation about the desktop versions with the code name “Medusa Ridge”, the current rumors focus on the notebook offshoots. These are set to replace the current Strix Point, Strix Halo and Krackan Point APUs, and last year there were reports that Medusa Point could receive an RDNA 5 GPU, skipping the RDNA 4 generation completely. However, according to a new leak from “Golden Pig Upgrade” on Weibo, everything now indicates that Medusa Point will only receive a revised RDNA 3.X graphics unit. Whether this is RDNA 3.5 or another further development remains to be seen.

RDNA 3.5 – Proven, but not revolutionary

Past reports have already suggested that AMD could use RDNA 3.5 for more than just one generation. RDNA 3.5 is currently used in several Zen 5 APUs, including Strix Point, Krackan Point and Strix Halo. The architecture has proven powerful enough to eliminate the need for an entry-level dedicated GPU in many laptops.Strix Halo offers up to 40 compute units, reaching a performance class that can compete with mobile GeForce RTX 4060 or even 4070 GPUs in some cases. Nevertheless, RDNA 4 remains a far more advanced approach with significant improvements in efficiency and performance. The fact that AMD is not directly focusing on a new architecture here could therefore have more to do with internal development priorities than a lack of potential.

Zen 6 meets Panther Lake – AMD has to deliver

Regardless of which GPU architecture ends up in Medusa Point, performance will ultimately determine the success of the platform. Intel is planning the next big attack on AMD’s APU strategy with Panther Lake and the Xe3 GPU architecture. If AMD does not step up its game sufficiently here, the current lead in laptop APUs could quickly shrink. Until the official launch, however, everything remains speculation. Concrete details on Medusa Point are not expected until the second half of 2025. Until then, it remains to be seen how AMD’s plans for RDNA 3.X will actually develop.

Source: Weibo