Gaming laptop

A new roadmap from AMD confirms both its next-gen Ryzen 8000 CPUs with Zen 5 technology and an updated “Navi 3.5” graphics architecture will arrive next year. Some rumours suggest Navi 3.5 could enable integrated graphics with performance on par with an Nvidia RTX 3070.

AMD has mentioned Zen 5 previously, but this is the first mention of Ryzen 8000 (via Videocardz ). It’s also the first official listing of a new Navi 3.5 graphics architecture.

The official roadmap doesn’t go into any details regards Navi 3.5. But a recent Twitter post from serial leaker Kepler_L2 suggests that it’s largely the RDNA 3 architecture with a few bits from RDNA 4.

More specifically, it’s said to have revised shader ALUs with support for new FP32 instructions and improvements to the geometry engine, but not new RDNA 4 scheduler and improved RT cores. What does all that mean for actual performance? Frankly, who knows.

Arguably the bigger news associated with this new Navi 3.5 graphics is that it’s rumoured by several sources including RedGamingTech to feature in a new mega APU variously referred to as Strix Halo or Sarlak that we’ve touched on previously . What everyone agrees on is that the integrated graphics in this new chip will top out at 40 Compute Units.

That’s the same as a current AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT and translates into 2,560 shaders or stream processors. The rumours indicate that graphics performance will be on par with an Nvidia RTX 3070. If true, that would be stellar for an integrated graphics solution, far faster than anything previously seen.

Of course, one area where integrated graphics have always struggled is memory bandwidth, what with both the CPU cores and the graphics sharing a memory controller and that controller typically being a narrow CPU-spec solution where high end GPUs have much wider buses with far more bandwidth.

Well, this rumoured APU is said to run a 256-bit memory bus rather than the usual 128-bit bus seen on most if not all CPUs and APUs for the PC. The catch is that the roadmap released by AMD and including the new CPU with Zen 5 cores and Navi 3.5 graphics explicitly covers chips for its existing AM5 desktop CPU socket and clearly indicates that AM5 continues through 2026.

AM5 only supports 128-bit memory interfaces, so this roadmap and the rumoured mega APU with RTX 3070 graphics performance do not fully align, at least in desktop terms. However, at this point there’s enough chatter about this new Strix Halo or Sarlak APU to have us excited. It’s probably real.

An APU with RTX 3070 level performance would be a pretty major game changer. Not only could it form the basis of more affordable laptops with decent gaming performance. If applied to the desktop, it would pretty much kill low-end graphics.

The caveat remains that it’s hard to square the rumoured specs of this big APU with the AM5 socket living on through 2026. The AM5 socket doesn’t seem to allow for the rumoured 256-bit memory bus on the desktop. The big APU will need to run in something other than AM5. That’s fine for mobile applications that have their own socket implementations. But it’s problematic for a desktop ecosystem built around AM5.

Anyway, as for what you can expect from Zen 5 and the CPU bit of Ryzen 8000, current rumours indicate it will maintain the existing AMD desktop CPU configurations of up to two CPU dies and 16 cores and carry over the same cache memory allocations, but improve IPC performance by around 20% and increase clock speeds to as much as 6GHz.

If true, that would make Zen 5 a decent but fairly incremental improvement over Zen 4 and the Ryzen 7000 family of CPUs you can buy today. On a side note, the new roadmap also seems to confirm that AMD’s Phoenix APU will arrive on the desktop for the AM5 socket at some point this year. The roadmap shows Ryzen 7000 including both Zen 4 and Navi 3.0 on the AM5 socket in 2023.

Currently, there is no desktop chip on AM5 that means that definition since all Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs use RDNA 2 (AKA Navi 2.0) graphics. Only the Phoenix laptop and gaming handheld APU, branded both Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen 7040 Series, currently combines Zen 4 and RDNA 3.

Whatever, it won’t be too long to find out, because all of these chips, rumoured and officially roadmapped, should be available by the end of next year.

SHOPPERS have been rushing to Studio to buy a summer must-have for kids that is going for £30 instead of £100.

The website has listed a children’s wooden mud kitchen playset for 70% off .

One savvy shopper posted the find in Facebook’s Extreme Couponing & Bargains group.

They said: “Not sure if anyone has up it on here already but I’ve just bought this for £30 instead of £100.

“Not sure if it’s any good as it’s new on their website so no reviews but my 2-year-old will love it for a year or two.”

Shoppers took to the comments to share their enthusiasm.

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One wrote: “We have one for my wee boy he loves his he got it at Xmas and still good condition.”

While another said: “I have a 9 year old and 6 year old and they play with it still.”

But one disappointed customers said: “It’s not new I bought it last year and it rotted and split within a couple of months.”

Do factor in delivery costs as well – standard delivery with Studio costs £4.99.

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At the time of writing, the product was in stock on the store’s website.

Studio does not have any stores so shoppers wanting to buy the mud kitchen can only do so online.

It’s worth shopping around for the best deal as you may be able to find something cheaper.

You can use websites like pricespy.co.uk or the Google Shopping tab to compare products.

If you can’t get the one from Studio, Wilko is selling a mud kitchen that is very similar for £45, down from £65.

And The Works also has one for £40 on its website, down from £50.

Studio is known for having some great deals for shoppers.

Just last month, customers were rushing to buy a six-litre air fryer for £39 instead of £130.

The fryer comes with a 4.5 out of five-star rating too, with dozens of customers full of praise for the appliance.

One said: “Amazing and what a bargain, never used my cooker since.

“It’s very stylish very easy to work.”

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A second shopper described it as the “best ever”, adding it was great value.

A third enthusiastic customer said: “Love this I use it nearly every day it’s the best one I have had and so easy to clean.”

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]

WARMER weather makes it easier to get outside and enjoy nature.

A picnic in the park makes a fun and budget-friendly family day. Here’s how to pack in the food without breaking the bank.

GRAB A DEAL : You can save a third on Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference picnic food.

The offer takes pots of olives down to £2, saving £1, and a roasted pepper dip to £1.50 from £2.25.

Morrisons has a two-for- £3.50 deal, saving £1.28, on selected picnic goodies including scotch eggs and cooked chicken skewers.

No picnic spread is complete without a big bag of crisps. Morrisons The Best sharing bags are 99p.

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ROLL WITH IT: Sausage rolls are a traditional picnic favourite. It’s easy and more delicious to make your own with this quick method.

You need ready-made puff pastry, £1.02 from Sainsbury’s, and your favourite sausages. Squeeze all the sausage meat out of its casing and into a bowl.

Cut the puff pastry into thick strips, around double the width of a normal sausage roll.

Put the meat down one side of the strip, not too close to the edge. Then fold the pastry over the filling, pressing it into the other side.

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Brush the top of the strips with a beaten egg and cut into equal bite-sized portions. Place them on to baking paper on a baking tray and put in the oven on a high heat for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

You can also get creative by adding different ingredients. For example, cheese or chutney.

COOL TIP: Pack all your food into an insulated bag to keep it cold. A large family cooler is down from £23.99 to £11.99 at Robert Dyas.

You can get specialist ice packs to help cool food. Or fill up and freeze an old water bottle to do the same job.

And don’t forget a ball and games to make a day of it.

• All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability.

Deal of day

STYLE your hair and cut down on damage with a Dyson Corrale straightener. It is reduced from £399.99 to £299.99 at Currys.

SAVE: £100

Cheap treat

GIVE your garden furniture an easy refresh with a selection of striped outdoor cushions from B&M, £6 each. Available in three colours.

SLIP your feet into these statement green metallic mules for £12.50.

New in at George from Asda .

Top swap

KEEP your summer essentials in this bright pink straw-effect bag, left, for £19.99 from New Look . Or head to Primark for a similar bag, right, costing £10.

SAVE: £9.99

Shop & save

GIVE your mouth some shine with NYX butter lip gloss, down from £6.50 to £5.20 at Boots.

SAVE: £1.30

RID your laptop of dust and dirt with ease.

Use this Oxo sweep and swipe cleaner, £9.99 from Lakeland.co.uk .

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AT Hobbycraft, make a Pride tote bag, £25, or rainbow heart badge, £35. For each workshop booking, £5 goes to the Albert Kennedy Trust.

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JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle.

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