AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370: Linux Benchmarks

The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, part of the Zen 5 generation, has been benchmarked extensively, showcasing its power efficiency and performance. The initial testing was conducted on an ASUS Zenbook S 16, which was provided by AMD for launch-day Linux testing. The benchmarks compared the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 against various AMD and Intel laptop models, focusing on both raw performance and performance-per-Watt. The results indicate promising performance potential for upcoming Ryzen 9000 series and EPYC Turin processors.

The testing revealed that while the CPU support for the Ryzen AI 300 series is solid, there are challenges with GPU support, requiring Linux kernel 6.10+ and Mesa 24.2+ for optimal performance. Initial tests encountered kernel errors, but newer firmware provided by AMD resolved stability issues. The XDNA Linux driver for the NPU is in the process of being integrated into the mainline Linux kernel, with user-space software expected to utilize it by late 2024 or early 2025.

Additionally, there are ongoing efforts to improve heterogeneous core topology handling, which may not be available until the Linux 6.12 kernel cycle. The benchmarks included a variety of workloads, indicating the Ryzen AI 300 series could be beneficial for thin clients and IoT applications. Overall, the early results are encouraging for the future of AMD's Zen 5 architecture in various computing environments.