Intel's Razor Lake-AX could bring back on-package memory to compete with AMD's 'Halo' series

According to a new rumor, Intel plans to bring back on-package memory with its upcoming Razor Lake-AX processors, expected to launch sometime in 2028. This will see the return of memory sitting close to the chip, which is something we haven't seen from Intel since its Lunar Lake SoCs, so this move will undoubtedly be used to enhance performance and efficiency, with a similar approach to AMD's Ryzen 'Halo' products like Strix Halo.

And with that, it looks like Intel's next-gen Razor Lake-AX processors will go head-to-head with AMD's next-gen Medusa Halo processors. The memory type for Razor Lake-AX is still to be determined, but with the release and launch a little while off, the expectation is that it will adopt the LPDDR6 standard for extra bandwidth.

This would make sense as Razor Lake, an optimized version of Nova Lake, will also bring improvements to its CPU technology and integrated Arc 'Celestial' or even 'Druid' graphics. This would position a premium Razor Lake-AX chip as something tailor-made for high-end portable computing, AI, and PC gaming.

The initial Razor Lake launch is on track for 2027, when we expect Intel to introduce several desktop and mobile variants. Given socket compatibility with Nova Lake, the transition should be relatively smooth for Intel and its partners. Adding on-package memory to the Razor Lake-AX makes it a complete SoC that combines CPU, GPU, controllers, and memory in a single package.

It'll be interesting to see how this all shakes out as Intel will not only be competing with AMD but itself, too, as the company's custom Serpent Lake SoCs are reportedly set to combine Intel x86 CPU cores with NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU hardware.