Strix Point and Ryzen AI 300
Strix Point, featuring Ryzen AI 300, is a promising product that replaced the Hawk Point Ryzen 8000 series. However, 2024 has not been particularly favorable for AMD’s consumer business unit. A design decision to use data center-optimized cores (Zen 5) in notebooks and prioritize data center products and wafers left AMD in a position where Qualcomm managed to generate more excitement among partners with its Snapdragon X Elite / Plus series.
Strategic Missteps and Market Consequences
Following Nvidia’s footsteps, AMD chose to prioritize its Data Center business over consumer products. This decision has had significant ramifications:
- Deteriorating OEM Relationships: AMD’s shift in focus has led to a “cold war ice age” in relationships with OEMs. This comes at a particularly inopportune time, as:
- Qualcomm is successfully generating excitement among partners with its new offerings.
- Intel has made a strong comeback with what might be its most powerful notebook CPU in the last decade.
- Startup Culture Limitations: Despite its growth, AMD’s persistent startup culture appears to be preventing the company from fully leveraging its market position. This contrasts sharply with Nvidia’s approach, which has maintained leadership in both consumer and data center segments.
- Market Position Erosion: Unlike Nvidia, which has balanced its data center focus while maintaining consumer market leadership, AMD’s decision seems to be compromising its position in the consumer space.
Hawk Point: AMD’s First AI Processor for Notebooks
Hawk Point was AMD’s first AI processor for the notebook market. In December 2023, in response to the Core Ultra Meteor Lake launch, AMD introduced Hawk Point, led by Ryzen 8040, and launched a substantial number of new systems. Behind the scenes, some of our contacts in the OEM environment reported shortages in obtaining the notebook chips in Q4 2023 and the following quarter. Partners cited miscommunication, unfulfilled promises, and generally poor treatment, reminiscent of Intel’s behavior during its dominant years.
These issues, combined with market excitement about Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite, resulted in a dramatic reduction of Ryzen AI 300 systems at launch.
Qualcomm’s Entry and Success
Meanwhile, Qualcomm, the new player in this space, managed to generate significant excitement in the press about its Snapdragon X Elite generation. Although Qualcomm had to wait for Microsoft to release the operating system and Copilot+, it still earned incredible credibility due to the impressive performance and power efficiency it demonstrated. With its first-generation product, Qualcomm managed to secure mentions in corporate presentations from both Intel and AMD.
Computex 2024
At Computex, AMD announced Strix Point and branded it as Ryzen AI 300. It was a last-minute decision to rename AI 200 to AI 300, but notably, only Asus committed with multiple SKUs and announced availability shortly after. Being a 28W part, it didn’t compete effectively with Meteor Lake, Intel Core Ultra, or especially Snapdragon X Elite. That role is reserved for Ryzen 8040 and its future Kraken Point replacement.
AMD’s official website refers to Strix Point as “AMD Ryzen™ Processors for Premium Laptops.” Currently, there are five SKUs listed: two from Asus, two from HP, and one from Acer, in 14- and 16-inch sizes.
Market Availability
Bestbuy.com offers multiple SKUs from Asus, including:
- Asus ProArt P16
- Asus ProArt PX13
- ASUS Vivobook S 14
- Zenbook S 16
- ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16
Prices range from $1,199.99 for the ASUS Vivobook S 14 to $2,699.99 for the top-tier ASUS ProArt P16 16″.
As of mid-September, we couldn’t find HP and Acer Ryzen AI 300-based notebooks available on their own websites or major e-tailers like Amazon and notebooksbilliger.de. The HP OmniBook Ultra 14-inch was supposed to be available in August but is still not on the market.
Lenovo’s website claims that the Yoga Pro 7 Gen 9 will be available in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) within the next two weeks. However, there’s no sign of Ryzen AI 300 at the US Lenovo store.
Qualcomm’s OEM Success vs. AMD
Snapdragon X Elite launched with seven OEMs, while AMD only managed to impress three at launch. This is a concerning trend, as newcomers typically take market share from the runner-up rather than the leader.
Future Outlook
The situation for Ryzen AI 300 is further complicated by Intel’s upcoming Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200 series, which will be available in the market in less than two weeks. The Arrow Lake notebook chip is not far behind.
According to rumors, AMD will have Strix Helo (with a larger GPU) and Kraken Point, a replacement for the Ryzen 8040 Hawk Point generation, potentially launching at CES 2025. There’s a possibility of a 10.10 event launch for one of them, but given AMD’s and its investors’ focus on AI and data centers, they may not want to dilute this launch with too much consumer-oriented content. Kraken Point features Zen 5 cores (hopefully a mix of Zen 5 and Zen 5c) and RDNA 3.5 GPU, which will hopefully result in more designs
