AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 385 Octa-core Processor Revealed on Geekbench: Budget-friendly Strix Halo Chips Coming Soon

After a considerable wait, the mid-range Zen 5 Strix Halo chip has finally emerged, a rarity among currently available devices.

A Closer Look at the AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 385: Benchmark Insights

AMD has recently reinforced its presence in the premium segment with the launch of its Zen 5 mobile chips. The Strix Halo lineup represents the pinnacle of this architecture, featuring configurations with up to 16 cores and 32 threads. However, most products in the market, such as AI mini PCs and laptops, have predominantly showcased the flagship variants, overshadowing the broader range of WeUs that AMD offers.

The Ryzen AI Max Pro 395, which is typically found in high-end mobile devices, comes equipped with 16 cores and 32 threads alongside a Radeon 8060S GPU. Yet, for the first time, we are seeing the mid-range Ryzen AI Max Pro 385, which includes 8 Zen 5 cores operating at a base clock of 3.6 GHz and can boost up to 5 GHz. This processor integrates the RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8050S graphics system. Although the Pro 385’s CPU capabilities are lower compared to the Pro 395, its graphics performance remains robust.

While direct comparisons are still pending, the Radeon 8050S lags behind the Radeon 8060S by just 8 Compute Units, suggesting that while the latter surpasses it in graphical capabilities, the 8050S is poised to become a leading integrated GPU option in the mainstream market. The Ryzen AI Max Pro 385 has made its debut in the HP ZBook Ultra G1a, a 14-inch mobile workstation. Although faster Strix Halo models exist, the introduction of more affordable options is a welcome development for consumers.

In recent tests, the Ryzen AI Max Pro 385 registered scores of 2489 in single-core and 14136 in multi-core evaluations. However, results may fluctuate across different testing platforms, and Geekbench 6, while insightful, does not consistently guarantee reliability for CPU benchmarking. What truly matters is the emergence of cost-effective alternatives to the more expensive Ryzen AI Max Pro 395 variants, particularly good choices for professionals and content creators. These devices are capable of delivering playable 1080p gaming performance.

Notably, the Ryzen AI Max Pro 385 offers impressive AI capabilities, providing up to 50 TOPS for NPU performance and exceeding 100 TOPS for overall AI tasks. While typical Ryzen AI Max Pro 395 systems are priced at around $2000 or more, the introduction of the 385 variant opens doors for sub-$1500 models, making advanced technology more accessible.

For more details, view the benchmarks at Geekbench and further analysis at Videocardz.

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