Recent developments in the AMD ecosystem suggest that new Ryzen 9000G series APUs may soon arrive for the AM5 platform, although AMD has yet to make an official announcement. The latest clues come from data miners who have uncovered references to “Krackan Point” desktop APUs within AMD’s AGESA 1207 firmware code. These findings have been corroborated by MSI BIOS updates, which mention the 00B60Fxx microcode, and ASUS X870 beta BIOS changelogs that reference “new APU support”—strongly hinting at the upcoming Ryzen 9000G lineup.
Krackan Point APUs: What We Know So Far
Krackan Point APUs have previously been exclusive to mobile devices, powering laptops with the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 and Ryzen AI 7 350 earlier this year. For desktop users on the AM5 platform, the most recent APU option has been the Ryzen 7 8700G, which debuted in January 2024. The discovery of Krackan Point in desktop BIOS code marks the first indication that these APUs are being prepared for desktop release.
There is ongoing debate about the architecture underpinning the Ryzen 9000G series. While some leaks suggest these APUs will be based on the latest Zen 5 architecture, others indicate they may be a refreshed version of the 8000G series, utilizing Zen 4 cores. Regardless of the underlying architecture, the presence of Krackan Point in BIOS updates signals that a launch is on the horizon, though it may still be some time before these APUs become available to consumers.
Expected Features and Performance
If the desktop variants follow the mobile Krackan Point silicon, users can expect the integration of AMD’s RDNA 3.5 graphics architecture. While these integrated GPUs (iGPUs) are not expected to match the performance of the high-end Strix Halo 8060S, they should offer a notable improvement over previous generations. The new APUs are likely to feature the Radeon 860M iGPU, as seen in the laptop models, or potentially the more powerful Radeon 890M. The latter would provide an additional 256 shaders compared to the 780M found in the Ryzen 8000G series, resulting in a meaningful boost in graphics performance. However, the 890M configuration may be reserved for Strix Point models.
Current speculation also points to the Ryzen 9000G series maintaining core counts similar to previous generations, with Ryzen 7 models offering up to eight CPU cores and Ryzen 5 models featuring six cores. This balance of CPU and GPU performance is expected to appeal to users seeking a capable all-in-one solution for mainstream desktops, home theater PCs, and compact systems.
Looking Ahead
While official details from AMD are still pending, the appearance of Krackan Point references in BIOS updates from major motherboard manufacturers is a strong indicator that the Ryzen 9000G series APUs are in development for the AM5 platform. As more information emerges, users can look forward to enhanced integrated graphics and updated CPU architectures, further expanding the versatility and performance of AMD’s desktop APU lineup.
