While AMD largely dominates the APU market, is Intel really in a position to challenge this hierarchy?
In the small world of processors (or CPUs for Central Processing Units), we also sometimes speak of APUs (Accelerated Processing Units). In fact, under the impetus of AMD, we're talking more and more about APUs. Behind this acronym lies a normal processor to which a more powerful graphics solution has been grafted. We're not talking here about a few computing units that are just good enough to manage the Windows display. No, on an APU, the graphics solution is particularly muscular, enabling you to do without a graphics card altogether, even for relatively demanding tasks. In reality, however, APUs are still a long way behind graphics cards, and they don't allow you to enjoy the latest video games, for example. Too demanding.
But that was before. Before the announcement of AMD's Strix Halo generation which, at least on paper, should provide a solid answer to all users who want a processor capable of taking display seriously. A true technological showcase, Strix Halo boasts 16 Zen 5 CPU cores, combined with 40 RDNA 3.5 GPU processing units. In both cases, we're talking about the very best AMD has to offer, and the American firm doesn't pull any punches when announcing that its chip should offer graphics performance equivalent to that of a GeForce RTX 4070. And that's just on paper, because few people have ever laid their hands on - let alone tested - the brand-new Strix Halo chips.
Nova Lake AX and Strix Halo chipset specifications © VideoCardz
Intel has no intention of standing idly by, however, and several rumors point to Intel's plans for Nova Lake chips. This new generation isn't due to arrive until next year, but there's already talk of a possible "Nova Lake AX" variant, designed to compete with the Strix Halo. VideoCardz compiles the various rumours to paint a glowing picture of this future chip: Nova Lake AX could feature 28 CPU cores divided into 8 high-performance cores, 16 efficient cores and 4 low-power cores, but above all 384 Xe3 execution units, i.e. a total of 48 Xe3 GPU cores, two more than are found on Intel ARC B580 graphics cards, to say the least.
However, while the potential of such a chip is appetizing, it's still a long way from being realized. Firstly, Intel hasn't mentioned any Nova Lake AX references for the time being, but more importantly, VideoCardz points out that several informants don't believe in the launch of the chip, which is said to have been planned, but is simply no longer part of Intel's direct projects. It remains to be seen whether the leak is simply a test organized by Intel to gauge the buzz around a Nova Lake AX? It's also possible that if AMD is successful with its Strix Halo, Intel may decide to launch its own chip.
