Strix Halo, Panther Lake, Ryzen Z2 and more: What to expect from processors in 2025?

The year 2024 was a pretty good year for the processor world, with major launches from Intel and AMD. Launches in the last 12 months have, unlike other opportunities, been around the arrival of artificial intelligence computers (AI PCs), which have a specialized unit to perform AI-related tasks.

Things won’t be any different until 2025, as the semiconductor industry becomes increasingly concerned with the rise of artificial intelligence computers. However, it seems that Intel, AMD, Qualcomm and Nvidia are rolling up their sleeves to make next year a busy year. world of chips.

Strix Halo is coming

During Computex 2024, AMD announced the Ryzen IA 300 generation, codenamed Strix Point, which brings the highest amount of TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second) to a laptop processor. However, before that, there were rumors that the red company would announce Strix Halo models with a very high generation jump.

It is still unknown whether Strix Halo, which has been speculated on for a long time, represents a new processor family or a single product. In any case, the CPU needs to be under the Ryzen A9 300+ umbrella and run on Zen 5 architecture with up to 16 cores and work with a powerful graphics card with RDNA 3.5 microarchitecture.

In fact, the attraction of this series is the iGPU, which, according to leaks, will have more than 40 Computing Units. By comparison, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, the most powerful of the current generation, has only 16 of these graphics structures. The reveal could happen in early January, during CES 2025.

Panther Lake

Also at Computex 2024, Intel announced Intel Core Ultra 200V processors, known as Lunar Lake, for laptops. The company’s next step seems a bit unclear, but the trend is that the next generation the blue team will launch will be the Panther Lake generation.

These new CPUs should be called Core Ultra 300, likely aimed at thinner and lighter laptops and not necessarily enthusiast products geared towards extreme performance.

There isn’t much information about these chips, but Intel has confirmed several times that these models will be produced using Intel 18A lithography, i.e. around 1.8mm. The announcement should only occur from mid-2025.

New Snapdragon

Qualcomm shook the industry structures by disrupting the Intel and Nvidia duopoly by launching Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus for laptops in 2024. Although they still need to mature, these chips are quite capable and the company appears to be already developing a successor.

Latest rumors suggest that the company is working on the upcoming Snapdragon X Elite 2 for laptops and desktops. The model, called Project Glymur, is expected to use Qualcomm’s new Oryon V3 cores and make a significant leap between generations.

Additionally, some speculations suggest that the company is planning to launch a cheaper Snapdragon. The fact that this CPU, developed for the entry-level market, has only six cores strengthens the possibility that it will be announced in January and again at CES 2025.

Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chip

If you find it strange to read Nvidia in a text about processors, this is a sign that the market has really changed. There has long been speculation that Nvidia was collaborating with MediaTek to develop a processor for portable devices such as consoles or laptops.

The chip will use Arm’s architecture together with MediaTek’s Cortex X5 BlackHawk cores, while Nvidia will work on the graphics capabilities of the model. Considering that MediaTek is a strong player in the smartphone chip market and Nvidia is a reference in graphics cards, the expectations for this launch are quite high.

The product would also have advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, but there are not many details yet. On the other hand, the launch of this chip is expected to happen only from September 2025, so there are still months to wait.

Ryzen Z2 for laptops

AMD knew very well how to work with Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme processors when releasing these models to equip portable consoles such as ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go. The natural move of the red team was to launch the continuation of these products. Which should be called from Ryzen Z2.

The main information suggests that the company will launch the Ryzen Z2 Extreme as the base model and two more variants namely the standard Z2 and Z2G. This Extreme edition will come with eight cores and up to 16 Compute Units on the Zen 5 architecture through a graphics card similar to the Radeon 890M of the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.

The other two models will reduce the number of builds and should be aimed at gaming devices with less graphics demand. This launch is one that could happen during CES 2025 and could set the pace for announcements for new portable consoles such as later versions of the Lenovo Legion Go.

Desktop CPUs

Intel and AMD release new processors for desktop computers every year. In 2024, the companies launched the Intel Core Ultra 200S and Ryzen 9000 respectively, but there is little movement on new chips for 2025.

Due to the lack of leaks or rumors, more measured speculation continues. When it comes to AMD, it wouldn’t be surprising if the company eventually releases Ryzen 10,000 or a one-off update to Ryzen 9000. One of the bets is that the red team will release its first processors for desktop computers with artificial intelligence units. following in the opponent’s footsteps.

Speaking of Intel, another team that may release an update for the Core Ultra 200S is the blue team, but there is less information about the company’s new strategy. In addition to being released only on laptops, Panther Lake is also available on desktop computers.