Something to look forward to: Since AMD introduced its Ryzen 9000 series and Strix Point Ryzen AI processors, users have been eagerly anticipating other members of the Zen 5 family, such as Ryzen AI Max and Fire Range. Now, ECS has become the first manufacturer to confirm plans to unveil a product featuring AMD’s mainstream-focused Krackan Point chips at CES 2025.
ECS is set to showcase the first laptop featuring AMD’s upcoming Krackan Point APUs at CES 2025. AMD has already confirmed that Krackan Point is designed to offer a low-cost entry point into Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC standard, positioning it to compete with Intel’s Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V series.
The processor powering the ECS UP42KP laptop is likely the Ryzen AI 7 350. The manufacturer’s description matches the rumored specifications of this chip, which include four Zen 5 cores, four Zen 5c cores, an integrated GPU with eight RDNA 3.5 compute units, and an XDNA 2 NPU capable of 40 TOPs – meeting the threshold required for Copilot.
With a TDP ranging from 15W to 54W, the 14-inch 1080p laptop supports DDR5-5600 RAM, 16 PCIe lanes, Wi-Fi 6, HDMI 2.1, and USB 4. It also supports Windows Hello via an IR camera with a privacy shutter. While the release date and pricing details remain unclear, AMD aims for Krackan Point devices to retail for under $800.
The Ryzen AI 7 350 is the most powerful Krackan Point APU announced so far, but a lower-tier version – the AI 5 340 – was spotted on Geekbench last November. This cheaper variant will maintain the AI 7 350’s NPU performance but feature three Zen 5 cores, three Zen 5c cores, and a Radeon 840M iGPU with four RDNA 3.5 CUs.
Krackan Point sits just below Strix Point in AMD’s Zen 5 lineup. Since its debut late last year, Strix Point APUs, such as the Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, have started appearing in the latest handheld gaming PCs. Lenovo is expected to unveil a device featuring the Z2 Extreme variant at CES.
Ryzen AI Max, featuring up to 16 Zen 5 cores and 40 RDNA 3.5 CUs, is the next step up. A benchmark of an engineering sample was recently spotted running on an upcoming high-end 2-in-1 notebook from Asus.
Users are also eagerly awaiting the launch of AMD’s Fire Range, the company’s most powerful Zen 5 laptop processors. A recent Geekbench AI test suggests they will debut in Asus’ 2025 ROG Strix G-series laptops.
In the desktop sector, AMD is also set to unveil new Ryzen 9000 X3D CPUs this month. TechSpot recently named last year’s 9800X3D the best gaming CPU, and it has outpaced all of its non-X3D counterparts in sales at Mindfactory.
The new ECS Krackan Point laptop will be accompanied by a new Snapdragon X Plus notebook, a mini PC, and new Intel motherboards.
