AMD’s big CES 2024 reveals left some fans wanting more. The company announced the expansion of its existing Ryzen 7000X3D desktop CPUs, Ryzen 7000 mobile CPUs, and new RX 7000 mobile GPUs. Team Red also revealed the Ryzen 8000G series lineup of desktop APUs with built-in graphics. It sounds like a lot, but the anticipated Zen 5 architecture was missing.
The good news is that the first wave of AMD’s new Zen 5 CPUs sounds like it’s being prepared for a possible launch later this year. The rumor was posted by @Kepler_L2 on X (formerly Twitter), who answered a query regarding mass production of the upcoming Granite Ridge desktop chips.
While this information is yet to be officially confirmed, it aligns with the trajectory of previous CPU launches. If we draw parallels to the Ryzen 7000 CPUs, where rumors of mass production surfaced approximately six months ahead of the official release, a potential launch window for Zen 5 could be in July or shortly after.
Zen 5 being in mass production is an exciting prospect, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate an immediate release. Historically, AMD tends to take its time between production initiation and the actual release. With the rumored late arrival of Intel’s Arrow Lake processors in 2024, AMD has enough time on its hands to strategize the Zen 5 launch without being pressured. This approach would also ensure sufficient production and stock availability, minimizing the risk of inventory shortages.
According to alleged benchmark scores of early sample Zen 5 CPUs leaked last year, it could be one of the largest gen-to-gen boosts from AMD. According to sources cited by RedGamingTech, the flagship 16-core model will average around 49,000 points in the multi-threaded Cinebench R23 test. This is a huge jump compared to the 38,000 points achieved by the Ryzen 9 7950X. Similarly, the 12-core CPU reached 36,000 points, which is slightly above the Ryzen 9 7950X3D.
While the launch strategy for AMD’s next-gen Zen 5 architecture remains uncertain, there’s a bit of hope that it might bear the Ryzen 9000 branding — a move that would undoubtedly make a lot of sense. The realm of chipset nomenclature has been plagued by poor naming conventions, and here’s a golden opportunity for AMD to break the trend and do things right.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.