AMDs fiscal results show GPU sales are tanking, and AI PCs are hugely important heres what that means for the future of computers

Date:
Wed, 01 May 2024 11:20:22 +0000

Description:
Is AMDs lack of any mention of Ryzen 9000 desktop processors telling here?

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AMD has just revealed its Q1 2024 earnings with some turbulent news on the
GPU front as well as an apparent focus on AI PCs when it comes to the Ryzen CPU side of the equation.

The Q1 results for the gaming division saw revenue fall precipitously to $922 million, which is 48% less than it was in the same quarter last year and 33% down compared to the previous quarter, thanks to a decrease in semi-custom revenue and lower AMD Radeon GPU sales.

Semi-custom refers to revenue taken from consoles, but clearly Radeon
graphics cards for PCs are struggling, as mentioned. Worse still, things wont be getting any better by all accounts.

Wccftech reports that Jean Hu, Executive VP and CFO at AMD, commented: We actually think the second-half will be lower than first-half thats basically how were looking at this year for the gaming business. And at the same time, Gamings gross margin is lower than our company average. So overall, will help the mix on the gross margin side, thats just some color on the gaming side. But youre right, Q2 game is down a lot.

Interestingly, AMDs big talking points on the CPU side were Epyc processors (for servers) and Ryzen Strix Point, next-gen laptop chips which promise to seriously up the ante for AI (with a very powerful NPU). Team Reds CEO, Lisa Su, announced that both of these Zen 5-based processor ranges were now sampling, and so are on track for a launch in the second half of 2024.

However, as per the Wccftech report, there was no mention made of Granite Ridge CPUs which are also Zen 5 based, and will be the chips that go in desktop PCs. Analysis: Should we be worried about the future here?

The lack of mention of Zen 5 desktop (Ryzen 9000) could be read as a little worrying. Its possible these chips were mentioned, and Wccftech didnt pick up on it, but theres certainly no talk of next-gen Ryzen for desktop in any of the materials weve seen related to AMDs Q1 fiscal revelations.

Could this even mean that while Ryzen Strix Point APUs are on track, that maybe Ryzen 9000 might not be? We doubt it, and thats reading too much into this. Indeed, all the rumors coming through about Ryzen 9000 including the fact that this family name has now actually been used by two motherboard makers in BIOS updates preparing the ground for the next-gen CPUs seem to point to the processors remaining on track. A Q3 launch seems the most likely bet, and theres surely no way AMD has let Ryzen 9000 slip to next year.

So, dont worry about that notion, but it is telling that AMD chose to focus
on Strix Point, and more broadly, AI PCs meaning laptops with beefy NPUs to accelerate AI workloads (these next-gen NPUs will be triple the speed, or more, compared to current efforts).

This is yet more food for thought regarding the push thats being given to AI PCs, combined with recent revelations that pretty much every laptop maker is getting behind these devices, and will be producing notebooks with Snapdragon X Elite (ARM) chips. Those will be followed by Strix Point, and also Lunar Lake CPUs from Intel in the same AI-boosting vein, later in 2024. (All the NPUs from these CPU ranges will be in the same kind of 45-50 TOPS trillions of operations per second territory). (Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

What about that big fall in gaming GPU revenue? Thats a clear concern for
AMD, even though its downplayed by the execs, which is naturally par for the course when it comes to a financial announcement.

Its perhaps not too much of a surprise, though, as AMD hasnt pushed out any big launches this year, with just a pair of new RDNA 3 offerings. Of those, the RX 7600 XT has received a lukewarm reception . However, theres also the
RX 7900 GRE launching outside of Asia and its a surprisingly strong
mid-range offering , in truth ( after some initial wobbles were dealt with ). Indeed, the GRE is actually top of our ranking of the best graphics cards right now, even though it has still flown somewhat under the radar for some gamers.

We dont expect much else from AMD until the launch of next-gen RDNA 4
graphics cards , and again, much as with Ryzen 9000, were hopeful of a Q3 launch . Especially if RX 7000 sales arent as strong as the rumor mill would have us believe, which seems to be the case going by the current state of
Team Reds coffers.

RDNA 4 could well turn things around, mind, with some seriously powerful mid-range offerings if the rumor mill is right. You might also like The best graphics card deals out there Top gaming PCs: great rigs for serious PC
gaming Best PC games of 2024: must-play titles you don't want to miss



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/gpu/amds-fiscal-results-show-gpu-sales-are -tanking-and-ai-pcs-are-hugely-important-heres-what-that-means-for-the-future- of-computers


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