High-end graphics cards and CPUs are all very exciting, don't get me wrong, but it's the budget components that really get my blood flowing. So my veins are certainly working overtime right now as there's a hint that we might be getting new AMD APUs before too long, courtesy of MSI's latest 800-series BIOS update notes (via VideoCardz).
Admittedly, it's only a breath of a hint, and a vague one at that, because MSI just says that the latest Agesa patch supports 'future CPU' (yes, singular [sic]). That's led to speculation over what the future CPUs in question might be. One popular hardware boffin on X reckons it might be Strix Point or Gorgon Point for desktop, but another implies otherwise. Place your bets, I suppose.
It's also worth noting that, according to Wccftech, the latest beta BIOS updates from Asus support the same new CPUs, too. That would make sense, because these feature Agesa 'ComboAm5PI 1203e', and the MSI BIOS updates to Agesa 'PI-1.2.0.3e'.
AMD's Strix Point chips are the accelerated processing units (APUs) currently found in some of the best handheld gaming PCs and gaming laptops. It combines a CPU with a pretty decent GPU in one chip—that's what makes it an APU. Gaming laptops often have a discrete GPU alongside this, but it's good to have the integrated one as an option for less intensive tasks and games to save power.
One of the great things about APUs, apart from being good for efficient handhelds and so on, is that if they come to desktop, they give people a cheap entry into PC gaming. We've long recommended AMD APU builds as some of the best cheap gaming PCs to buy if you're on a tight budget. That might mean a Ryzen 8000G chip or even a Ryzen 5000G one if you're on a very tight budget.
Currently, Strix Point only exists in mobile form, but just a couple of months ago, we heard a rumour that AMD is planning a late 2025 launch for desktop versions. If it shares the same spec entirely, this would mean a desktop APU that packs in up to 16 RDNA 3.5 compute units alongside a multi-core CPU. It would give desktop PC gamers on a budget the option to have a bash at many modern games at 1080p without having to buy a discrete graphics card at all.
Gorgon Point, for those wondering—the other option mentioned—is just a rumoured Strix Point refresh, although it's said to have marginally better performance and a better NPU.
As I said earlier, though, at least one hardware boffin on X—Hassan Mujtaba, Editor at Wccftech—reckons this Agesa update isn't referring to Ryzen 9000G. Whether that means it's not referring to Strix Point or Gorgon Point, or just that the new chips won't be called 9000G, is unclear.
We'll just have to wait and see, of course, but if Strix Point on desktop is just around the corner, gamers on a budget could have something to look forward to. Plus gamers with discrete graphics, I suppose, depending on the price point for the APUs, because there's benefit to having integrated graphics as a backup in case (God forbid) anything happens to your graphics card.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
