AMD RDNA 5+ in 2029 With Zen 7 Grimlock APUs: Leak Explained

If you are waiting for AMD graphics on a gaming handheld or a mainstream laptop to catch up with desktop Radeon cards, a fresh leak says the wait is long. Well-known hardware leaker Kepler_L2 wrote on the NeoGAF forum that AMD will bring "RDNA5+" to its Zen 7 "Grimlock" APUs in 2029. AMD has not announced or confirmed any of this, so treat it as an unconfirmed rumour.

• Reported by: Kepler_L2 on NeoGAF, picked up by TechPowerUp, OC3D and VideoCardz.
• The claim: RDNA 5+ graphics arrive with Zen 7 "Grimlock" APUs in early 2029.
• What is missing: no details on how RDNA 5+ differs from RDNA 5.
• Status: unconfirmed. AMD has not confirmed the name or timing.

What exactly did the leaker say?

Kepler_L2 was replying to a forum user who guessed that RDNA 5 would reach regular mobile chips in 2028 or later. His answer was "RDNA5+ in 2029 with Grimlock." He gave no specs and did not explain what the "+" changes. OC3D reads the claim as "early 2029," which would fit CES 2029 timing, and speculates the final marketing name could be RDNA 5.5, mirroring how RDNA 3.5 was named. That naming is OC3D's guess, not a leak.

What is Grimlock?

Grimlock is the codename for AMD's Zen 7 Ryzen generation. Earlier leaks, which OC3D cites, say Zen 7 will use TSMC's A14 node with advanced packaging and that mass production is aimed at late 2028. That would put shipping devices in early 2029, which lines up with the new RDNA 5+ claim. Again, none of this is AMD-confirmed.

Why would AMD wait until 2029 for RDNA 5 in laptops?

TechPowerUp points to an earlier Kepler_L2 claim from January: AMD is splitting its APU roadmap in two. Chips that do not need strong integrated graphics, such as office laptops or laptops paired with a powerful discrete GPU, would stay on RDNA 3.5 until 2029. Only "premium" parts would get RDNA 5, with Medusa Halo expected to be one of them.

The picture is messy. TechPowerUp notes that Medusa Point is expected to use RDNA 4m, a tweaked RDNA 3.5 with FSR 4 support, and that AMD's HIPRT 3.2 release notes list Medusa GPU targets gfx1170, gfx1171 and gfx115E. The gfx115x family is RDNA 3.5, so at least one Medusa chip could stay on it.

RDNA 5 timeline: what is claimed so far

What does this mean for handheld and laptop buyers?

If the leak holds, the first RDNA 5 handheld you can buy would be Sony's, per OC3D, while Windows handhelds from ASUS, Lenovo and others would stay on older architectures for years. OC3D also notes that AMD often pairs its newest CPU cores with older graphics: even now, nearly two years after RDNA 4, its newest mobile chips use RDNA 3.5.

Our take: waiting three years for a rumoured chip makes little sense. If you want a handheld or a gaming laptop, buy based on what ships and what it costs today. GPU pricing is already volatile, as covered in our Radeon price increase report, and NVIDIA's own schedule may slip too, see the RTX 60 series delay rumour. For Intel's side of the story, read the Moon Lake leak, and keep an eye on our launch calendar for confirmed dates.

How reliable is Kepler_L2?

He has a long record of AMD and console leaks. Still, a one-line forum reply is thin evidence, and roadmaps three years out change often. Wait for AMD at CES or Computex before planning around it.

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