AMD Ryzen AI 300 processors cost twice as much

GPD, a manufacturer of gaming laptops and notebooks, recently announced the pricing for its Duo notebook, which features two OLED displays. This PC was one of the first confirmed devices to feature the company’s next-generation APU. AMDlater revealed as the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 based on Strix Point.

Initially, GPD announced that the Duo notebook would feature a Phoenix/Hawk Point APU with Zen4 architecture, but the specifications were later updated. However, it appears that GPD decided not to scrap the original specifications altogether, possibly for an entirely different reason.

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AMD chips are costing twice as much

AMD is apparently selling Strix Point APUs to companies like GPD for twice the price of the Hawk Point (Ryzen 7 8840U). This forces companies like GPD to reconsider whether their product can maintain enough margin for a successful launch.

GPD isn’t a big player in the notebook market; in fact, this is one of its first systems. While the innovative dual OLED display is certainly an interesting concept, with the notebook expected to cost at least $1,650 at launch (with the HX 370), many users may opt for a more affordable option.

The alternative could be the Duo with the Ryzen 7 8840U, which will cost just $1,270, or $380 less than the top-end version. However, it’s worth noting that the HX 370 model also has twice the memory (32GB vs. 16GB) and twice the storage (1TB vs. 512GB), so the comparison isn’t entirely equal.

Handheld consoles could get more expensive

Of course, the price discrepancy between Hawk Point and Strix Point raises concerns that the long-awaited Strix Halo could also come with a significant price hike, possibly pushing such systems out of the affordable range.

At the same time, it’s unclear whether the Strix Point’s higher price is fixed or something that could be negotiated later. Perhaps the Ryzen Z2 series, expected to launch next year, will be more affordable.

Otherwise, next-gen gaming laptops could unfortunately become more expensive. It’s worth adding that AMD also has Krackan in development, a smaller APU with 8 Zen5 cores/c and 8 RDNA3.5 Compute Units.

Source: VideocardZ