AMD Zen 6 Chip Appears on Geekbench and Performance Looks Promising

Several months after its presentation, expected at CES 2027 in January, the new generation of AMD APU based on the Zen 6 architecture, codenamed Medusa Point, has reportedly appeared on Geekbench. The benchmark relates to a development sample identified as AMD Eng Sample 100-000001713-33_N, associated with the AMD Plum-MDS1 platform, which has previously been linked to the Medusa Point family.

The processor found in the database features a configuration of 10 cores and 20 threads, with a structure of 4+6, a base frequency of 2.0 GHz, 10 MB of L2 cache, and 32 MB of L3 cache. However, this last piece of information is considered unreliable by some sources, which suggest that the amount of L3 cache may have been reported incorrectly and does not represent the final specifications of the chip. The operating frequency also appears rather low and may differ from the final version.

AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470@ 5.2 GHz
Single-Core Score: ~3000
MDS1 ES ~4.5-5.0 GHz???
https://t.co/shitApmTLN

— HXL (@9550pro)
July 8, 2026

On the performance side, the new Zen 6 sample recorded 3,174 points in the single-core test and 15,092 points in the multi-core test using Geekbench 6.6.0 for Windows 11 with AVX2 instructions enabled. These values are significantly higher than those observed in previous sightings of the same platform, which ranged between 2,200 and 2,300 points in the single-core test and between 11,500 and 13,000 points in the multi-core. Although those results presented some inconsistencies, the new benchmark highlights a marked increase.

The comparison with current AMD models is also interesting. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, the current reference of the Strix Point family, averages around 2,600 points in single-core and 13,400 points in multi-core, values lower by approximately 22% and 13%, respectively, compared to the new Medusa Point sample. Even against the Ryzen AI 9 HX 470, the prototype maintains a performance advantage in single-core. According to estimates reported by informant HXL, that model scores around 3,000 points, while the Medusa Point sample reaches 3,174 points, with a margin of about 5.8%. The same leaker also speculates that the tested processor may operate with a boost frequency ranging from 4.5 to 5.0 GHz, lower than the 5.2 GHz of the HX 470, a detail that would make the result even more interesting if confirmed.

The benchmark also shows a curious behavior compared to the Ryzen AI 9 Max+ 395 based on Strix Halo. The new Medusa Point sample achieves a single-core score over 400 points higher, while in the multi-core test, it lags behind the high-end solution. However, the direct comparison only concerns the CPU component, as the integrated graphics of the two platforms belong to different categories.

At this point, it is advisable to interpret these data with caution. Medusa Point is still in development, and the tested processor represents a simple "engineering sample." The final specifications, as well as operational frequencies, cache, and performance, may undergo changes before the commercial debut. Nevertheless, the results so far indicate that the Zen 6 architecture could provide a significant performance increase, even with the same number of cores, compared to the current generation.