Here’s what’s coming, all in the first and second quarters of 2025. Full details can be found here and here.
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
This is AMD’s fastest and most advanced CPU to date, featuring 16 or 12 cores and designed specifically for creators and (especially) gamers. AMD says the new chip will provide an average 8 percent performance boost in gaming frame rates and a 10 percent improvement in other tasks.
AMD Ryzen AI 5, AI 7 and AI Max
The Ryzen AI chip is not an NPU but rather a CPU optimized for general performance, including AI workloads. The first Ryzen AI CPU, the Ryzen AI 300, launched in late 2024, and a collection of much faster follow-ups are coming soon, culminating in the Ryzen AI Max (available in seven different SKUs). With up to 16 cores and support for 128GB of memory, AMD says AI Max delivers 50 TOPS NPU performance. AMD, naturally, says that the Max is embarrassingly fast at all kinds of tasks and boldly says that it can compete with the Apple M4 CPU in some of them. Ryzen AI chips will also appear in mini PC designs.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 Series
AMD hasn’t revealed many details about what would distinguish its latest GPU, except that the 9070 line is aimed at mid-range users. Most notably, AMD’s naming scheme is evolving to more closely align with how Nvidia names its products. The 9070 and 9070 XT will arrive this quarter.
NVIDIA
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took the stage in a bright jacket and spent about two hours outlining the company’s upcoming plans, and as you might expect, it’s pretty much all about AI. But little of the keynote covered Nvidia’s entry-level GPUs, which include these new features. Full details can be found here and here.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series
Surprising no one, Nvidia announced a new graphics processor, the GeForce RTX 50 series. On desktop, these GPUs will be launched at the end of January 2025. The breakthrough is a technology called Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) 4 and Multi Frame Generation, which uses AI techniques to generate part of the pixel stream instead of. using brute force tactics, dramatically improving performance. Huang says the new graphics card has up to 4000 TOPS of AI power. The top-tier card in the series, the 5090, will cost just $1,999.
The RTX 50 series is also being scaled down for laptop deployments, starting in March 2025. You’ll get a little less than half the performance of the mobile versus desktop version, but Huang says AI will ensure your PC laptop does not melt. while you are using it. Prices for RTX 50-equipped laptops will reach $2,899 and provide a maximum power of 1,850 AI TOPS.
NVIDIA GB10
This is the backbone of Nvidia Project Digits, “a personal AI supercomputer” that will bring Nvidia’s Blackwell AI platform to the masses. Do you want to run inferences on your desktop, offline? Digits and the GB10 “super AI chip” will make this possible, with 1 petaflop (1000 TOPS) of performance. The system will cost a minimum of $3,000 and will be available in May 2025.