With version 1.61, HWMonitor has received an update that seems unspectacular at first glance, but makes a clear strategic statement on closer inspection. The monitoring software from CPUID expands its CPU database to include several upcoming AMD and Intel platforms, including Zen 6 mobile APUs, new X3D models and Intel’s Arrow Lake Refresh series. This is not a feature firework display, but a look behind the curtain of the upcoming product cycles.

Early support as an indicator, not as marketing

HWMonitor has been a reliable tool for reading voltages, clock rates and sensor values for years. The decisive factor here is less the user interface than the up-to-dateness of the internal database. It is no coincidence that version 1.61 already lists CPUs that have not yet been officially introduced. Such entries are usually created on the basis of early microcode information, board support packages or internal manufacturer documentation. In short, where HWMonitor appears, the hardware is usually closer to reality than to the rumor mill.

AMD: X3D expansion and the first shadow of Zen 6

On the AMD side, the update covers several generations at once. A new addition is the Ryzen 5 7500X3D, a Zen 4 six-core with 96 MB L3 cache, which is clearly positioned as a price entry into the X3D world. Technically conservative, strategically sensible. However, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, which is also newly listed, is much more interesting. Based on Zen 5 and with a 400 MHz higher boost clock compared to the 9800X3D, this processor is positioned as a logical further development for gaming and is considered a likely candidate for a presentation around CES 2026. The fact that the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is still missing indicates less a rejection than a later database entry. Almost incidental, but politically relevant, is the note “preliminary support” for Medusa Point. This refers to AMD’s upcoming mobile CPU family based on the Zen 6 architecture. The classification as preliminary shows that the platform has not yet been finalized, but is already firm enough to be considered by tool developers. The fact that Medusa Point already appears in parallel in GCC 16 for early compiler optimizations underlines this finding.

Source: 9550pro

Intel: Arrow Lake refresh gets closer

Intel is not left out either. HWMonitor 1.61 adds three Arrow Lake Refresh models to the database, specifically Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus. Technically, no radical change is to be expected here, but rather fine-tuning, clock optimizations and minor adjustments within a familiar architecture. The fact that the refresh CPUs are now fully supported indicates a launch date that is closer than Intel is publicly communicating.

HWMonitor had already previously included Panther Lake. In combination with Arrow Lake Refresh, the result is a picture that looks less like an experiment and more like consolidation. Intel is stabilizing its portfolio instead of taking new risks.

An update without glamor, but with significance

HWMonitor 1.61 is not an update for end users hoping for new functions. It is a tool update for observers of the market. The software functions here as a seismographic instrument that makes early movements in the CPU ecosystem visible. Zen 6 is real enough to be named, X3D remains a key differentiator at AMD and Intel continues to focus on evolutionary refresh cycles.

If you read between the lines, you will recognize fewer sensations, but planning security. And that is a scarce commodity in the current semiconductor market.