AMD is one of the world’s biggest computer chip companies, best known for its fierce competition with Intel. It’s a rivalry that really kicked off in the early 2000s when AMD’s Athlon and Opteron processors saw great success. While AMD has often struggled to keep up with Intel, its latest Ryzen CPUs are some of the most competitive chips it has produced in years. AMD also acquired ATI in 2006, a 3D graphics card company. It now produces a variety of Radeon GPUs that compete with Nvidia’s GeForce line of graphics cards. AMD also produces the chips found in the latest PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and the Valve Steam Deck, and it re-entered the server market with its Epyc brand in 2017.
Yesterday we found out the price of the new AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition, the real name of a real product that I guess buyers are expected to learn.
jakobsturm:
Great name!
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If you want one of the best AMD desktop processors for gaming, development, and creation then it’s going to set you back $899. That’s the price of AMD’s new Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, which is releasing on April 22nd. It has 16 cores, 208MB of total cache, and both chiplets have AMD’s 3D V-Cache. AMD is promising 5–10 percent performance gains over the 9950X3D in DaVinci Resolve and Blender.
The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is a follow-up to last year’s excellent gaming chip, with 16 Zen 5 cores and 208MB of total cachem with the V-Cache split across both chiplets.
However, its upgrades may not do much for gaming alone, with the company’s pitch instead highlighting a 5 - 10 percent performance bump in creative apps like DaVinci Resolve, positioning it as a compromise option between Threadripper CPUs and options like the Ryzen 7 9850X3D.
Lenovo’s 15-inch Legion 7A is its first with an AMD Strix Halo APU. The 7A will charge via 180W USB-C and be configurable with a gaming-focused Ryzen AI Max Plus 392.
It launches in July from $2,299, competing with Asus’ upcoming TUF Gaming A14. Remember, integrated graphics are good now.
After buying millions of Nvidia’s AI chips last week, Meta has now also signed a multi-year agreement to buy six gigawatts worth of AMD processors for AI data centers. The deal could see Meta owning 10 percent of AMD’s stock, and follows a similar agreement between AMD and OpenAI.
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This pricey laptop has got sleek no-frills looks and Strix Halo strengths on lock.
If you’re wondering what kind of access a gold-and-Gorilla-Glass statue, a $1 million donation, and endless fawning buys you, well, it gets a special advanced screening of a state-sanctioned propaganda documentary film about the First Lady. Okay, it buys more than that, this is just a nice bonus.
The 25 percent tariff announced on Wednesday only applies to chips imported into the US then exported to other countries, as the New York Times reports. While it won’t apply to chips imported for use in the US, it will let the government collect some of the earnings from sales of AI chips to China.
[The New York Times]
Here it is next to the Framework Desktop and Corsair’s AI Workstation 300, each of which are plenty small on their own (4.5 liters)! Nvidia’s Spark, already on sale, might be slightly smaller? I saw one earlier but don’t have it to compare. AMD’s Halo is coming Q2 2026, no price yet.
The AMD Ryzen AI Halo is built with Ryzen AI Max Plus series processors and is “capable of running up to 200 billion parameter models locally,” AMD says. It’s “planned for introduction” in the second quarter of 2026, with information about pricing and commercial availability to be shared “closer to launch.”
AMD, October 30th: “Future driver updates with targeted game optimizations will focus on RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 GPUs.”
AMD, October 31st: “New features, bug fixes and game optimizations will continue to be delivered as required by market needs in the maintenance mode branch.”
AMD today, after a wave of anger: “Yes, game optimization and support for all RDNA Series 1 through 4 will roll out at the same time in both driver packages — including but not limited to CoD, Crimson Desert, and Resident Evil.”
Oracle will begin offering cloud services using AMD’s new Instinct M1450 Series GPUs next year, before expanding the rollout in 2027 and “beyond” as growing AI usage eats up more compute. The deal comes just days after OpenAI announced a deal to use AMD’s chips in its AI data centers.
Does a sale count? Either way, seven months later, Newegg is finally selling an entry-level RX 9070 at MSRP rather than scalping it. Guess it wasn’t “launch-only pricing” after all.
(In case you’re wondering why I call it “scalping,” I did a dive into changing sticker prices back in April.)
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That’s according to a report from Semafor, which says the discussions are still at an “early stage.” Intel doesn’t have the technology to support AMD’s most advanced processors, which are mostly produced by the Taiwan-based TSMC, Semafor reports.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the details of Trump’s plan to take a 15 percent cut of Nvidia and AMD’s chip sales to China are “being ironed out by the Department of Commerce,” CNBC reports. Leavitt also added that the charge “could expand in the future to other companies.”
Amid reports that Nvidia and AMD will be given permission to sell AI chips to Chinese companies only if they pay the US government a 15 percent cut, some ask how exactly the money solves the national security risks.
oghowie:
So it’s a national security issue unless you give us a cut?
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The Financial Times first reported on this “highly unusual” arrangement that is part of reopening the gate for Nvidia and AMD to sell previous-gen AI chips to companies in China:
The US official said Nvidia agreed to share 15 per cent of the revenues from H20 chip sales in China and AMD will provide the same percentage from MI308 chip revenues. Two people familiar with the arrangement said the Trump administration had not yet determined how to use the money.
The necessary driver is available now. CD Projekt Red technically added FSR 4 support to the game with Update 2.3 last month, but now you can actually take advantage of it.
Five to 20 percent, to be a little inexact. That’s according to AMD CEO Lisa Su, who told Bloomberg that components from TSMC’s Arizona facilities will cost more than similar parts made in Taiwan, but says it’s worth it for diversifying supply chains.
AMD is expecting its first Arizona-made chips by the end of the year.
[bloomberg.com]
Phenomenal battery life, plenty of ports, an okay screen, and the worst laptop speakers I’ve heard in my life.
Including Ghost of Tsushima, F1 25, and The Finals. Check out the full list on AMD’s website.
AMD SVP and GM of computing and graphics Jack Huynh shared that the company will hold a press conference livestream at the trade show in Taipei, Taiwan on Wednesday, May 21st at 11AM local time (Tuesday, May 20th, 11PM EST). Huynh says AMD will “unveil groundbreaking AI advancements” that redefine gaming, PCs, and professional workloads.
