A note on naming up front. Several early write-ups floated a “Ryzen AI Max+ 397” label for AMD’s mid-cycle refresh of the Strix Halo platform. The chip AMD actually detailed publicly on 21 May 2026 ships as the Ryzen AI Max 400 series, codename “Gorgon Halo”, with the Ryzen AI Max+ 495 as the flagship. We are writing the piece against the real, AMD-disclosed product. Where rumor and leak still drive the picture, we flag it.

What is the Strix Halo refresh?

Strix Halo — sold as the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and its siblings — is the chip that, in early 2026, turned 1-litre mini PCs into credible local-AI workstations. 16 Zen 5 cores, a 40-CU Radeon 8060S iGPU on RDNA 3.5, an XDNA 2 NPU rated at 50 TOPS, and up to 128 GB of unified LPDDR5X feeding all of it. That is the silicon inside the GMKtec EVO-X2, Framework Desktop, Beelink GTR9 Pro, HP Z2 Mini G1a and a handful of others.

Gorgon Halo is positioned as a mid-cycle refresh, not a generational jump. It uses the same 4 nm silicon, the same Zen 5 cores, the same RDNA 3.5 iGPU and the same XDNA 2 NPU. The architectural successor — Medusa Halo, with Zen 6 cores and a newer iGPU — is reported by multiple outlets to be a 2027–2028 product, depending on whose leak you trust. Gorgon Halo is the bridge.

For mini PC buyers, the relevant framing is simple: this is a clock-and-memory refresh, not a new architecture.

What we know about the Ryzen AI Max 400 series

Based on AMD’s 21 May 2026 disclosure and the leaked Pro-SKU specifications:

  • Top SKU — Ryzen AI Max+ 495 (Pro and consumer): 16 Zen 5 cores, base 3.1 GHz / boost up to 5.2 GHz (vs. 5.1 GHz on the Max+ 395). Integrated Radeon 8065S iGPU with 40 CUs, clocked up to 3.0 GHz (vs. 2.9 GHz on the 8060S). XDNA 2 NPU rated at 55 TOPS, up slightly from 50 TOPS.
  • Memory: the headline change. Gorgon Halo supports up to 192 GB of unified LPDDR5X, a 50 % jump over Strix Halo’s 128 GB ceiling. ServeTheHome and Tom’s Hardware both highlight this as the first x86 client processor that can hold a 300B-parameter LLM in unified memory on a single chip.
  • Lower SKUs: the family mirrors Strix Halo’s structure — two 8-core, two 12-core, and one 16-core variant, with Pro and non-Pro versions.
  • TDP: configurable 45 W / 55 W base, up to 120 W in workstation-class chassis.
  • NPU and firmware: XDNA 2 is unchanged at the silicon level; AMD’s communication leans on driver and firmware maturity rather than a new NPU generation.
  • FSR 4 status: AMD has publicly said FSR 4 will come to RDNA 3 and RDNA 3.5 GPUs, but as of late Q1 2026 has declined to commit to a date. Treat FSR 4 on Strix Halo / Gorgon Halo as announced but not yet shipping.
  • ROCm and Linux: Phoronix’s Ubuntu 26.04 testing shows the existing Strix Halo (gfx1151) continues to gain Linux performance, with the Vulkan back-end of llama.cpp showing the cleanest wins. Full ROCm 7.x support on the newest Ubuntu remains a moving target — workarounds still required at the time of writing.

The honest summary of the silicon: same chip, faster, with much more memory.

What it means for mini PCs already shipping Strix Halo

Several mini PCs are already in the wild with the current Ryzen AI Max+ 395:

Should current buyers wait?

Our read, based on what AMD and the leaks have actually disclosed:

  • If your use case is 70B-class dense LLMs at int4 or smaller, the current Max+ 395 with 128 GB already does the job. A 5 % CPU boost clock and a 3 % iGPU boost will not change the experience meaningfully — memory bandwidth is the bottleneck on Strix Halo, and Gorgon Halo does not change the memory bus, only the capacity.
  • If your use case is MoE models in the 200B–300B parameter range, or two 70B models loaded side-by-side, the 192 GB ceiling on Gorgon Halo is genuinely new capability and is worth waiting for.
  • If you do not need more than 128 GB, the smart play is to watch current Max+ 395 mini PCs drop in price once OEMs start refreshing — historically that happens as the new SKU ships, not before.

The one thing worth flagging honestly: the 55 W base / 120 W ceiling carries over. The chassis design of your mini PC still matters more than the silicon revision for sustained AI workloads.

Expected timeline and which OEMs likely refresh first

AMD has said systems based on the Ryzen AI Max 400 series will land in Q3 2026 from OEM partners. Named partners in the initial disclosure: ASUS, Lenovo, and HP. AMD is also opening preorders in June for a compact Ryzen AI Halo developer box priced at $3,999 — but that box ships initially with the previous-gen Max+ 395 and 128 GB, with the 400-series silicon arriving later.

Reading the OEM tea leaves:

  • HP is a named launch partner and already ships the Z2 Mini G1a — a refresh is the obvious move.
  • Lenovo is named but has no current Strix Halo mini PC; a ThinkStation- or ThinkCentre-branded box would be new territory.
  • Beelink and GMKtec are not in AMD’s named-partner list but were among the first to ship Strix Halo mini PCs and have a strong commercial incentive to refresh the GTR9 Pro and EVO-X2 lines. Expect announcements through Q3–Q4 2026.
  • Framework has not commented publicly on a refresh. Given its modular philosophy and the fact that Strix Halo is soldered LPDDR5X (not socketed), a refresh would likely be a new board rather than a drop-in upgrade.

For mini PC buyers specifically, the window to watch is Q3 2026 announcements with Q4 2026 / Q1 2027 retail availability. Anything faster than that would be unusual for this segment.

Sources and caveats

Three honest caveats:

  1. Some details remain leak-derived. The specific clock figures for the Max+ 495 (5.2 GHz CPU, 3.0 GHz iGPU, 55 TOPS NPU) come primarily from VideoCardz and confirmed-pattern leaks; AMD’s own 21 May disclosure foregrounded the 192 GB memory story and partner list more than the per-SKU clock tables. The 5.2 GHz / 3.0 GHz / 55 TOPS numbers are well-sourced but not yet on AMD’s product pages at time of writing.
  2. FSR 4 on RDNA 3.5 is announced, not delivered. Anyone buying a Strix Halo or Gorgon Halo mini PC for gaming should not pay a premium today on the assumption FSR 4 will arrive on a specific date.
  3. The “397” label is not a real SKU. If you see it in marketplace listings, treat it as a misreading of the 395 or a placeholder for the 495 — the actual flagship of the refresh.

We will update this piece when AMD publishes per-SKU spec sheets and when the first refreshed mini PCs are announced.