AMD has a lot of good things in store for us next year. Its new hardware is expected to launch in 2025, including RDNA 4 graphics cards, more Ryzen 9000 processors — including new 3D V-Cache offerings — and a slew of APUs that could seriously power gaming laptops. Lightweight PC gaming laptops range in size. road.
There are some exciting things brewing, and the best part is that a lot of these devices are rumored to be showcased by AMD early next year, at CES 2025.
Next generation RDNA 4 GPUs
Probably the most anticipated launch from AMD next year – and certainly for PC gamers who can’t afford the prices of top graphics cards – will be the new RDNA 4 desktop GPUs.
As long rumored, AMD’s RDNA 4 series is expected to top the mid-range. Team Red will not challenge Nvidia at the higher end of the market by all accounts.
The latest speculation (at the time of writing) has assumed that AMD will launch the RX 9070 XT and the vanilla 9070, which, if that happens, seems like a weird kind of one-upmanship game with Nvidia (as in RX 9070 > RTX 5070 in the mid-range). Previously, rumors believed the RX 8800 XT would be a next-gen flagship, and it could still happen, but we’re in strict wait-and-see territory here.
If rumors are on the money, the high-end RDNA 4 (Navi 48) graphics card, whatever it’s called, could equal Nvidia’s RTX 4080 GPU for non-ray tracing performance, and the RTX 4080 Super when it comes to ray tracing – an exciting prospect. Yes, the theory is that AMD has made huge strides forward in terms of ray tracing performance in particular.
We should see these RX 9070 models (or indeed the 8800 XT and sibling) being unveiled at CES 2025 if the hype around the grapevine holds true, with the GPUs going on sale in the first quarter. Of course, there will likely be more RDNA 4 products in the pipeline later in the year as well.
If the initial release is indeed the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070, we would expect to see the RX 9060 variant(s) later in 2025, and perhaps a real budget GPU as well – perhaps the RX 9050? We can only hope, since AMD’s RX 6600 is one of the most powerful cheap GPUs for budget PCs, but it looks clearly Tired now (especially after the successful launch of Intel Arc B580).
FSR 4 finally embraces artificial intelligence
On the software front, AMD told us it’s working on bringing AI to FSR boost technology (finally).
FSR 4 will undoubtedly arrive sometime in 2025 to pack AI, and AMD has said it will usher in “the next generation of machine learning based on… [machine learning, or AI] FSR” for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 to start with (and other PC games will undoubtedly follow). A recent rumor suggested that FSR 4 could be broadcast at CES 2025.
We don’t know much about how the AI works yet, but it should improve FSR frame generation, as well as raise the bar on image quality.
Many hints have been dropped that FSR 4 will help mobile devices achieve better battery life, which is a key aspect for portable gaming devices. If it does show up at CES, expect to get just a teaser and some initial information.
A great deal of Ryzen 9000 CPUs
Another sure bet for 2025 is the launch of more Ryzen 9000 processors, as there are only five models so far.
The latest arrival is the 3D V-Cache gaming champion, the Ryzen 9800X3D, and it is expected to be joined by the high-end Zen 5 Unveil them.
In 2025, at some point, we’ll be counting on seeing a more wallet-friendly 3D V-Cache chip, like the Ryzen 9600X3D perhaps (and if that happens, it’ll be interesting to see if that product becomes a Micro Center exclusive in the US again) .
AMD will certainly be expanding the range of vanilla Ryzen 9000 processors as well, and will likely add regular (slightly more affordable) non-X variants of the Zen 5 CPUs, as it did with the Ryzen 7000 – so we’ll get a Ryzen 9600 (in the works) alongside Side by side with 9600X) etc. In fact, the Ryzen 9600 may appear in January 2025, based on recent speculation.
We also expect some more affordable AM5 motherboards to be released early in 2025, with the B850 and B840 models seeing release earlier in the year to go along with the more premium X870 offerings.
A veritable feast of new APUs
AMD has been making a name for itself with its powerful APUs lately, all-in-one chips that contain not only a CPU, but also an integrated GPU and an NPU — and we’re going to have some big new companies in terms of laptop APUs in 2025.
The most excitement has been generated around the Ryzen AI Max 300 (known as Strix Halo) mobile chipset.
The flagship Strix Halo is rumored to be an absolute beast of an APU with 16 cores (Zen 5) and RDNA 3.5 (updated RDNA 3) integrated graphics with 40 CUs – theoretically providing a similar level of performance to an RTX 4070 laptop GPU.
That’s incredible for an integrated GPU, frankly, if it works, which could mean this is one of the highlights of the year, again with the expected CES 2025 reveal (and launch later).
The problem with the Ryzen AI Max 300 is that the high-end APUs may be destined for workstations rather than gaming laptops, and the latter may only get the average Strix Halo silicon processor. However, even if this happened, these chips could still be impressively powerful.
Rumor has it that Ryzen AI Max 300-equipped workstations could arrive in Q1 2025, and thin-and-light gaming laptops could debut this quarter as well, though the majority of the latter devices could follow in Q2. .
AMD is also rumored to be launching Kraken Point APUs, which will follow the existing Hawk Point chips, which sit below the Strix Halo – built on Zen 5 and RDNA 3.5 – but are still positioned as premium offerings.
Alongside that, we have Fire Range, an AMD company adopting the Ryzen 9000 as a laptop APU, following in the footsteps of the Dragon Range. More importantly, it will include X3D models, and all of these APUs are expected to be unveiled at CES 2025.
New APUs to boost mobile performance
This will not be the case for new APUs in 2025, as we also expect a sequel to AMD chips designed for mobile devices.
The Ryzen Z2 and Z2 Extreme are the next-gen offerings that we expect to be shown off again at CES 2025, if the rumors are true.
The Ryzen Z2 Extreme could reportedly feature 8 Zen 5 CPU cores as well as RDNA 3.5 graphics with 16 CUs, making it a lively upgrade over its Z1 predecessor.
It’s worth noting that the Z2 could mean better efficiency, and therefore battery life, for mobile devices, which is another key aspect in the portable gaming arena – longevity gains that can be amplified with FSR 4, as we’ve already touched on.
Concluding thoughts
We’re very much looking forward to the RDNA 4 graphics cards, with rumors of an RX 9070 XT making the board look like it could become a mid-range champion for desktop GPUs – if AMD attaches the right price tag to the product.
Seeing the RX 9060 model debut early next year will be great for those looking for an affordable GPU as well.
Other major highlights for us are the Strix Halo APUs, which have looked phenomenal since the first leak about the chips, as well as the Ryzen Z2 mobile processors that could seriously help improve the performance and battery life of these mobile devices. Whichever way you choose, there’s a lot to look forward to from AMD in 2025.